A collection
Lost and Renamed Towns
Some Missouri places moved, were renamed, or disappeared entirely under reservoirs and shifting county seats. These notes cover towns like old Linn Creek drowned by Bagnell Dam and Greenville relocated for Wappapello Lake, county seats that moved off flood-prone rivers, a county first organized under a different name, and living-history recreations of vanished settlements.
The trail
9 stops
Camdenton's county-seat story is tied to Bagnell Dam
Camdenton is Camden County's seat today because the Lake of the Ozarks era displaced old Linn Creek from that role.
The Camden County Museum keeps old Linn Creek in view
The Camden County Historical Society says its museum is in the former Linn Creek School House and preserves photographs, artifacts, and genealogy material from across the county.
Greenville, the St. Francis River, and Wappapello Lake
Wayne County's seat, Greenville, sits on the flood-prone St. Francis River; the Corps of Engineers' Wappapello Dam (begun 1938) lies downstream, and an older Greenville site figures in local history — confirm relocation specifics with the Corps or state archives.
Far West was Caldwell County's first county-seat story
Far West gives Caldwell County a careful 1830s story: a planned county-seat community, religious refuge, conflict site, and almost-vanished town west of Kingston.
Lafayette County was first organized as Lillard County
The county's official history says Lafayette County was organized as Lillard County, then renamed in 1825 after the Marquis de Lafayette.
Cole County's seat moved from Marion to Jefferson City
Cole County's own history page says the county seat was first located at Marion in 1822 and moved to Jefferson City in 1828.
Keytesville moved the county seat away from a flood-prone river town
Keytesville's county-seat story starts with Old Chariton's flooding, a donated town site, courthouse fires, and a present courthouse address on South Cherry Street.
Macon's City of Maples story starts with a tax deal
Macon's official city history ties the county seat to the Bee Trace, an 1863 move from Bloomington, and an 1872 maple-tree trade for back taxes.
Missouri Town 1855 is a county living-history site
Missouri Town 1855 is a Jackson County Parks living-history museum in Fleming Park, built as a reconstruction of a mid-19th-century crossroads town.
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Other trails through Missouri
Each collection strings together the towns and stories of a single theme.
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