Difference between revisions of "Arcadia, Missouri"

Revision as of 15:48, September 14, 2020

Arcadia is a city in northeastern Iron County, Missouri, located within the Arcadia Valley. It had a population of 608 at the 2010 census.

History

The city of Arcadia received its name from Arcadia Valley, not vice versa. This stretch of land among the St. Francois Mountains, about six miles in length and three miles in width, appears to have been first settled by a Colonel Cyrus Russell, a native of Connecticut, who bought a large tract of land in the valley in 1838 and petitioned for the establishment of a post office there the following year.^[1] It supposedly received its name from the inspiration of a New England lady (possibly Russell's wife), who was struck with the pastoral beauty of the region, and compared it to a mountainous district of Greece also called Arcadia, and thought to have the same qualities.^[2] The valley definitely bore the name from 1839 onward.

The town of Arcadia, one of the first settlements in what became Iron County, was first laid out in 1849. It was a considerable business center during its early years, and briefly served as the first county seat after Iron County's creation in 1857; however, that honor was soon transferred to the new town of Ironton, which thereafter surpassed it. Like many communities in the region, Arcadia saw periodic occupation by both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War, and it is said that Ulysses S. Grant received his commission as a brigadier general at the home of Arcadia resident John W. Emerson.^[3]

After the Civil War, Arcadia revived and maintained its separate identity, due to the picturesque landscape, which led many wealthy urban dwellers to use it and Ironton for summer residences, and to the opening of Arcadia College in 1877, operated by the Sisters of the Order of St. Ursula as an academy for young women. The school closed in 1971 (though Ursuline nuns remained until 1985), but is today a restaurant and bed-and-breakfast, and the tourism generated by it and the Arcadia Valley still contribute to a strong community life.

Geography

Arcadia is located at the intersection of Missouri State Highways 21 and 72 in northeastern Iron County, directly south of Ironton and about two miles southeast of Pilot Knob. Its exact coordinates are 37°35’17”N 90°37’44”W.

The city sits within the Arcadia Valley for which it is named, with Stouts Creek, a tributary of the St. Francis River, forming part of the boundary between it and Ironton. Several hills of 1,200 feet or higher rise just to the north and south of Arcadia, and Taum Sauk Mountain, the highest peak in Missouri, is just a few miles to the southwest. The city has a total area of 0.84 square miles, and an average elevation of 909 feet.^[4]

References