History
Original Courthouse built in 1901, destroyed by a fire in 1997
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History denotes that in 1540 Hernando De Soto penetrated to the Arkansas River
and perhaps well into Southeast Missouri, populated only by various Indian tribes.
Under the pressure of a constantly advancing white immigration, the Indians were
forced to retreat further westward to survive.
The entire area of Southeast Missouri was noted for its level swampy lowlands,
subject to the overflow of the Mississippi River during periods of excessively heavy
rainfall.
Virgin forests attracted the timber barons who demanded the forests. Following the
clearing of the land, levees were built and drainage districts were formed. As hundreds
of miles of levees and dikes were constructed within the drainage districts, thousands of
acres of land were reclaimed for agriculture use. The reclaimed land, was made especially
rich by centuries of floods from the Mississippi River, was excellent farm land for corn,
wheat, cotton, and later soybeans.
Mississippi County is located in what was formerly known as "Tywappity Bottom", a vast
area bordered by the Scott County Hills on the north, St. James Bayou on the south, the
Mississippi River on the east and Little River on the west.
By 1820 settlements had been made in most of the present counties of Southeast Missouri.
The settlers, largely farmers, came from Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, in
search for fertile and cheap land which they found around Charleston.
The site of the present City of Charleston was originally entered in 1830. In 1837, a person
by the name of Thankful Randol sold Joseph Moore 22 1/2 acres of land and the City of
Charleston was immediately laid out. Its original boundary was 12 blocks - four north and
south and three east and west. The Original Plat was filed on May 20, 1837. An act to
incorporate the City of Charleston, Missouri, in the County of Mississippi, was enacted by
the General Assembly of the State of Missouri on March 25, 1872.