Viburnum, Missouri
Viburnum is a city in western Iron County, Missouri. It had a population of 693 at the 2010 census.
History
Originally occupied by members of the Osage Indian tribe, the Viburnum area began to be populated by American settlers from Kentucky and Tennessee around 1837. Located well to the west of the older mining districts around Ironton and Farmington, it was primarily devoted to agriculture throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, although beginning in the 1880s, timber began to be cut to make charcoal for the iron foundries and forges to the east. In 1903, a post office was established for the evolving community (though it was initially located in neighboring Dent and then Crawford counties). The first postmaster, Dr. Jessee C. Mincher, was a physician and scientifically-minded man; when given the opportunity to name the post office and thus the town, he decided upon Viburnum, after the genus of flowering shrubs of the same name (related to honeysuckle).[1]
Never very large, the "town" of Viburnum steadily dwindled over the following decades, until by the early 1950s there were only a few families left. However, it was abruptly revitalized thanks to the mining industry. It had been known since the 1870s that deposits of lead and iron ore were located in the area, and in 1955, in response to dwindling output from its older mines, the St. Joseph Lead Company began opening a new shaft in Viburnum, followed by others nearby. The No. 28 mine, as it was officially titled, became the heart of the "Viburnum Trend," also known as the "New Lead Belt."[2] At the same time, the company took numerous steps to build up the local infrastructure for the sake of its workers. Streets were laid out, stores were opened, and the company moved much of its own headquarters there in 1974. Viburnum was finally incorporated as a city in 1967, gaining a school district the following year.
The city's growth was not always smooth; it was rocked by several miners' strikes during the 1980s, aggravated by fluctuating lead prices, and the St. Joe Lead Company eventually handed over its properties to the Doe Run Company, which now handles most mining operations. Nonetheless, Viburnum and the surrounding area remains prosperous and of national economic importance. Together, the New Lead Belt is the single largest region of lead production in the United States, in addition to furnishing significant amounts of copper, silver, and zinc.[3]
Geography
Viburnum is located along Missouri State Highway 49 in extreme western Iron County, its western edge forming part of the boundary between Iron and Crawford counties. The city is about 28 miles northwest of Ironton, and 24 miles southwest of Potosi. Its exact coordinates are 37°42’53”N 91°07’40”W.
The community sits in elevated but rolling terrain, near the western edge of the St. Francois Mountains. It has a total area of 1.73 square miles, and an average elevation of 1,270 feet, one of the highest among incorporated cities in Missouri.[4]
