Early history of Iron County: 1850-1899 1851 (February 17, 1851) The Missouri Legislature approved an Act declaring a road from Iron Mountain, Missouri to Greenville, Missouri a state road. The road was by way of Iron Mountain, Pilot Knob, Arcadia, Sinclair's Mills and Greenville. The responsibliity of the County Court was to keep the road open and in repair. This was the first improved public road in Iron County, Missouri. 1851 St. Mary's Catholic Church, Pilot Knob was founded. 1853 The most famous of the wooden roads, and the longest in the United States, was the Ste. Genevieve, Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob road. The 42 mile road connected Ste. Genevieve and Iron Mountain by way of Farmington. Heavy loads of Iron Ore and farm products creaked over it and through its five toll gates. The road was completed in 1853. It was used until 1857 when the Iron Mountain railroad was built in Pilot Knob. 1854 Glover Baptist Church organized. 1856 (August 24, 1856) Middlebrook, Missouri plat filed in St.Francois County. 1856 Pleasant Grove United Baptist Church, between East End and Viburnum was founded by Elder William Polk. 1857 (February 17, 1857) Act passed by Missouri General Assembly creating Iron County as 109th County of Missouri signed by Governor Trusten Polk. 1857 (First Monday, June ,1857) First county election held resulting in election of J.V. Logan, John W. Miller and Moses Edmunds, Justices of the County Court, John F. T. Edwards, Clerk of County and Circuit Courts; and John Cole, Sheriff. 1857 (August 4, 1857) First meeting of County Court held in Arcadia. 1857 (September 7, 1857) Ironton selected as the County seat by County election. 1857 Liberty United Baptist Church Arcadia (on Marble Creek) founded by Elder William Polk. 1857 Area of Iron County was surveyed by Allen W. Holloman, County Surveyor appointed by the Iron County Court. 1858 (January 6, 1858) County Court made an order to build a Courthouse. 1858 St. Louis-Iron Mountain Railroad built to Pilot Knob and remained the terminal until 1871. The first train arrived at Pilot Knob May 11, 1858. 1858 (April, 1858) Contract awarded to George S. Evans and William F. Mitchell to build the Courthouse for $14,000. Henry H. Wright was the architect whose Courthouse plan was accepted. The architect fee was $25.00. J. V. Logan, Presiding Judge of the County was Superintendent of the building. 1858 (July 4, 1858) Laying of cornerstone of Iron County Courthouse, Ironton, Missouri. 1858-60 Iron County Courthouse built and occupied in October, 1860. Now on the National Register of Historical Places. 1858 First Baptist Church, Ironton organized. The church was located at the corner of North Mountain and West Reynolds Streets. 1858 Mt. Zion (Negro) Methodist Church, Ironton organized. 1858-61 Ironton Furnace a free soil newspaper published at Ironton by James A. Lindsey. 1858 The first Circuit Court was held in Iron County in May, 1858 with Judge John H. Stone presiding. It was he who authorized at that session the design and use of a Circuit Court seal. On a circular border are the words "Seal of Circuit Court of Iron County, Missouri", with the impression of a furnace in the center. 1858 Emancipation papers granted to Ike Bolton "a man of color" and to Nancy "a woman of color" (1859) and set "foreer free". At that time there were 240 slaves within the county. The number of slaves in the County increased to 313 by 1860. 1859 Ironton, Missouri incorporated. It was the first town in Iron County to be incorporated. 1859 Gottlieb and Wilhelmina Funk and their five children left Thorn, Germany in East Prussia, now a part of Poland, to live in the United States. The trip to New Orleans by sailboat took 40 days. They traveled to St. Louis by steamboat and from there to Pilot Knob by train. Gottlieb Funk helped defend Fort Davidson during the Battle of Pilot Knob, September 26, 1864 . Gottlieb Funk settled on a farm on Funk Branch in 1868 in Annapolis. The farm is now owned by Ernest M. Funk, a grandson. 1860 Marble was found on Marble Creek, twelve miles south of Ironton. Some of it was quarried and sawed in blocks for market. 1860 Marble was quarried two or three miles west of Ironton and used in some portion of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. 1860 A one room log school house in Annapolis community near Tauk Spring. This was a subscription school. It is said the teacher received $1.00 per month for each pupil enrolled. 1861 General Ulysses S. Grant came to Ironto succeeding in command B. Gratz Brown. General Grant and his staff occupied quarters on the site of the present Villa Ste. Marie du Lac. It was while he was here that General Grant received the papers designating him Brigadier General. 1861 The United States Land Office was moved to Jackson, Missouri to Ironton by order of the Department in Washington, D. C., James Lindsey, Register and C. R. Peck, Receiver. 1861 The Fort Davidson earthern fort built under the direction of B. Gratz Brown who would later become Governor of Missouri. Now on National Register of Historical Places. 1862-63 Fort Hovey built by the United States Army on the hill between Ironton and Arcadia. It was named after Col. Hovey of the 33rd Illinois Infantry, then stationed here. This was later the location of the Fort Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 1864 Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pilot Knob estblished. Now on National Register of Historical Places. 1864 The Battle of Pilot Knob at Fort Davidson was fought. 1864 Courthouse twice in possession of Union forces and twice in the possession of Confederate forces during the Battle of Pilot Knob. 1865 (December 1865: County Court made an order to build a County Jail and sheriff's house. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Jeanette Henson McClure ====================================================================