County · Lake of the Ozarks / Osage Region

Hickory County

Short answer

Hickory County is a small, rural Ozarks county seated at Hermitage and shaped by two Corps of Engineers reservoirs: Pomme de Terre Lake on its southwest side and the southern reaches of Truman Lake to the north.

All counties All local notes

Towns, cities & local places in Hickory County

HermitagePomme de Terre DamPomme de Terre State Park

Region: Lake of the Ozarks / Osage Region
Local notes: 6
Notes nearby: 6
Nearby counties: 6

Property tax snapshot

Missouri has no single county rate. A bill is the sum of every taxing district on the parcel — county, school, city, fire, library, ambulance — and the school levy varies most within a county.

Estimate a bill Look up the exact rate

Practical guides

Common county next steps in Hickory County

Use these when the local office, parcel, vehicle, or deadline matters.

Property tax estimator Estimate a real-property bill, then confirm the exact parcel value and levy locally. Personal property tax guide Sort January 1 vehicle ownership, paid receipts, and statements of non-assessment. Vehicle title checklist Plan the license-office trip around title timing, inspections, emissions, and receipts. Assessment appeal guide If a value looks wrong, start with the county deadline and evidence about market value.

Local notes

Local rules and costs to check in Hickory County

Short notes on the taxes, paperwork, and local-government layers here — grouped by topic, each linking the official sources behind it.

Hickory County sits between two Corps of Engineers lakes A Hickory County lake parcel can front Pomme de Terre Lake or the southern arm of Truman Lake, and both are U.S Wells and septic for rural Hickory County property Much of Hickory County is rural and outside city water and sewer, so buyers often inherit a private well and an onsite septic system, each with its own rules and upkeep, overseen mainly by the Department of Health and Senior Services and the local health authority

Local notes

Worth knowing in Hickory County

History, rivers, lakes, and quirks that give the county some shape.

Why the county seat sits at Hermitage Hermitage has been Hickory County's seat since the 1840s. Knowing how the seat and courthouse square came to sit where they do helps a newcomer read the county's small-town layout. Hunting and fishing on Pomme de Terre and the county's conservation areas Anglers and hunters in Hickory County deal with statewide permits and seasons through the Missouri Department of Conservation, and MDC is also the authority for the conservation areas and lake access points in the county Pomme de Terre Dam and the Corps shape the lake Pomme de Terre Lake exists because the Pomme de Terre River was dammed by the Corps of Engineers, and how the dam is operated shapes lake levels and recreation for the county. Pomme de Terre State Park has two units on the lake Pomme de Terre State Park gives residents and visitors lake access, camping, and swimming on a Corps reservoir, with a state-parks layer on top of the federal lake.

Official sources

Where to confirm it

A short set of official county and agency pages cited here. The other 8 source links stay with their individual notes.

State Historical Society of Missouri — Hickory County (formation, naming, county seat) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Pomme de Terre Lake Missouri Department of Conservation — Pomme de Terre River Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Department of Conservation USACE Kansas City District Missouri Department of Conservation

Worth knowing nearby

Notes from the counties closest to Hickory County

Source-checked notes from the nearest counties — the local layer often carries across the county line.

Polk County tax questions start with the assessor-collector split Polk County · Polk County separates property valuation from tax collection, so a resident needs the assessor for value or ownership questions and the collector for bills, payments, and receipts. Dallas County tax paperwork starts with two different offices Dallas County · Dallas County residents should separate assessor questions from collector questions when tracing a property-tax or vehicle-tax record. Drake Harbor ties Warsaw's downtown to the Osage waterline Benton County · Drake Harbor in Warsaw links downtown Main Street, the Osage Arm of Lake of the Ozarks, riverfront trails, the boardwalk, festivals, and the Joe Dice bridge. Taberville Prairie is one of Missouri's larger native-prairie remnants St. Clair County · Taberville Prairie in St. Clair County is one of the largest remaining tallgrass-prairie remnants in Missouri, a National Natural Landmark managed by MDC and home to greater prairie-chickens and other grassland birds. Camden County value appeals start with the Board of Equalization Camden County · Camden County's assessor explains that the Board of Equalization hears fair-market-value disputes before a later State Tax Commission appeal. Stockton Dam controls the Sac River below the lake Cedar County · Stockton Dam impounds the Sac River to form Stockton Lake, and releases from the dam shape the river downstream, so lake levels and downstream flows in this part of the county are governed by how the Corps operates the dam

Nearby counties

Closest counties to Hickory County

Nearby counties with their own local notes.

Polk County A Bolivar-centered Ozark-border county with Southwest Baptist University, Pomme de Terre Lake nearby, the Frisco Highline Trail, farm ground, and county tax and vehicle paperwork. Dallas County A rural Ozarks county seated at Buffalo, shaped by the Niangua and Pomme de Terre watersheds, karst springs and sinkholes, farm ground, and rural well and septic questions. Benton County Benton County sits at the meeting of two big water systems: Truman Lake, a Corps of Engineers reservoir behind Truman Dam, and the far upper end of Lake of the Ozarks, which is Ameren-managed. St. Clair County St. Clair County is a rural west-central Missouri county where the Osage and Sac rivers feed Truman Lake, the Corps of Engineers reservoir that dominates the county's eastern and southern edges. Camden County The heart of Lake of the Ozarks: lake property layers extra rulebooks (dock permits from the lake manager, private roads/POAs, lake-area sewer districts, short-term-rental rules), county lines split coves, and karst and a marquee state park shape the geography. Cedar County Cedar County is organized around Stockton, the county seat, and Stockton Lake, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir behind Stockton Dam that is known regionally as a sailing lake and wrapped by Stockton State Park.

Reviewed June 18, 2026. These notes are a starting point — confirm exact parcel, license, tax, or permit details with the Hickory County office that controls each record.

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