Changes

==History==

==History==

The region including future Pemiscot County was at one time inhabited by members of the Mississippian culture, many of whom constructed earthen mounds to support domestic dwellings or possibly ceremonial sites. One of the largest of these, the Murphy Mound Archaeological Site southwest of present-day Caruthersville, was occupied from 1200 to 1500 AD. Other tribes, including members of the Delaware, Fox, and Shawnee, later moved into the area.<ref>O'Brien, Michael J. and Robert C. Dunnell. ''Changing Perspectives on the Archaeology of the Central Mississippi Valley''. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, 1998.

The region including future Pemiscot County was at one time inhabited by members of the Mississippian culture, many of whom constructed earthen mounds to support domestic dwellings or possibly ceremonial sites. One of the largest of these, the Murphy Mound Archaeological Site southwest of present-day Caruthersville, was occupied from 1200 to 1500 AD. Other tribes, including members of the Delaware, Fox, and Shawnee, later moved into the area.<ref>O'Brien, Michael J. and Robert C. Dunnell. ''Changing Perspectives on the Archaeology of the Central Mississippi Valley''. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, 1998.</ref>

The region may have been explored by [[Hernando de Soto]] in his voyages along the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] in 1539-41. However, the first settlement was not made until 1794, when Francois Le Sieur, a French-Canadian fur trader who had been one of the founders of [[New Madrid, Missouri|New Madrid]], established the town of Little Prairie south of the later site of Caruthersville. Mostly populated by other French settlers, Little Prairie flourished until it was almost completely destroyed by the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12, and only a few settlers remained in the area in the years afterward. One of these was Colonel John Hardeman Walker, who was instrumental in organizing the inclusion of the "Bootheel" region within Missouri upon the state's creation in 1821.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=G-AlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA107#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref>

The region may have been explored by [[Hernando de Soto]] in his voyages along the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] in 1539-41. However, the first settlement was not made until 1794, when Francois Le Sieur, a French-Canadian fur trader who had been one of the founders of [[New Madrid, Missouri|New Madrid]], established the town of Little Prairie south of the later site of Caruthersville. Mostly populated by other French settlers, Little Prairie flourished until it was almost completely destroyed by the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12, and only a few settlers remained in the area in the years afterward. One of these was Colonel John Hardeman Walker, who was instrumental in organizing the inclusion of the "Bootheel" region within Missouri upon the state's creation in 1821.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=G-AlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA107#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref>