County · Northern Missouri

Lewis County

Short answer

A small, agricultural Mississippi River county in far northeast Missouri where the county seat (Monticello) is an inland village while the best-known town (Canton) sits on the river with Culver-Stockton College and the USACE-operated Lock & Dam 20.

All counties All local notes

Towns, cities & local places in Lewis County

CantonLa BelleLa GrangeMonticelloWakonda State Park

Region: Northern Missouri
Local notes: 8
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 Lewis 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 Lewis County

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

Canton and La Grange sit on the Mississippi floodplain Canton and La Grange front the Mississippi, so flood-zone status is a real factor for buyers, and protection varies from one parcel to the next. Wells and septic systems on rural Lewis County property Outside the towns, Lewis County homes often rely on private wells and on-site septic systems, which carry permitting, testing, and maintenance responsibilities buyers should understand.

Local notes

Worth knowing in Lewis County

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

Culver-Stockton puts Canton on 'The Hill' above the Mississippi Culver-Stockton College gives Canton a hilltop campus story tied to coeducation, the Civil War, and a small river town's identity. Lock & Dam 20 at Canton is a federal river structure Lock and Dam 20 at Canton is part of the Upper Mississippi navigation system, so it shapes barge traffic and river levels without being a flood-control dam. Wakonda State Park's sand-bottom lakes near La Grange Wakonda State Park turns old sand-and-gravel mining ground south of La Grange into six lakes, rare sand prairie, waterfowl habitat, camping, swimming, and fishing. The county seat is Monticello, not Canton The best-known town in Lewis County (Canton, on the Mississippi) is not the county seat. The seat is Monticello, inland, so courthouse and core county business may be in a different place than newcomers expect. Right-to-farm, fences, and livestock on Lewis County land Lewis County is heavily agricultural, so buyers of rural land run into Missouri's fence law, right-to-farm protections, and livestock and nuisance questions that differ from town living. An Amish community is known near La Belle The La Belle area is known for a nearby Amish community, which shapes rural roads, local commerce, and everyday neighborly care.

Official sources

Where to confirm it

A short set of official county and agency pages cited here. The other 16 source links stay with their individual notes.

www.culver.edu www.culver.edu Culver-Stockton College U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Missouri State Parks Missouri State Parks Missouri State Parks

Worth knowing nearby

Notes from the counties closest to Lewis County

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

Molly Brown's Hannibal birthplace adds a Titanic story to Marion County Marion County · The Molly Brown Birthplace and Museum in downtown Hannibal connects Marion County to Margaret Tobin Brown's Hannibal roots and Titanic-era fame. Frost Island keeps a sand-prairie story on the Des Moines River Clark County · Frost Island Conservation Area ties Clark County to Des Moines River wetlands, flood recovery, and a small remnant sand prairie. Knox County's name reaches back to a Revolutionary War general Knox County · Knox County's own public history says the county was organized in 1845 from Scotland County and named for Henry Knox. Bethel preserves Shelby County's communal-village story Shelby County · Bethel Historic District is a Shelby County place where German communal-society history, brick colony buildings, North River geography, and a later Oregon migration all meet. Scotland County tax offices share the Memphis courthouse address Scotland County · Scotland County lists the assessor, collector, and recorder in the 117 South Market Street courthouse complex, but their jobs are different. Ilasco was a cement town built by immigrant labor Ralls County · The Ilasco Historic District near Hannibal preserves the remaining pieces of a once-busy cement-company town shaped by European immigrant workers.

Nearby counties

Closest counties to Lewis County

Nearby counties with their own local notes.

Marion County A northeast Missouri river county where Palmyra is the seat and Hannibal is the headline town, with Mark Twain tourism, caves, Mississippi River floodplain, and Civil War history. Clark County A small, rural county in Missouri's far northeast corner where the state meets Iowa and Illinois, with Kahoka as the county seat, agriculture across the uplands, and three rivers (the Des Moines, Fox, and Mississippi) shaping the land and its flood risk. Knox County A small, rural county in northeast Missouri with Edina as its county seat, agriculture across the uplands, the forks of the Fabius River draining the land, and a settled Amish/Mennonite community that brings a real rural road-safety consideration. Shelby County A small agricultural county in northeast Missouri with two anchor towns (Shelbyville, the seat, and the larger railroad town of Shelbina on U.S. 36), an Amish/Plain community, and the western edge near Mark Twain Lake country. Scotland County A small, remote, row-crop county in Missouri's far northeast corner, with Memphis as the county seat, the Fox and Wyaconda rivers draining its farmland, and a regional Amish/Mennonite presence. Ralls County A small, rural northeast Missouri county where New London is the county seat, the Salt River and the Army Corps' Mark Twain Lake behind Clarence Cannon Dam are the dominant water features, and agriculture sets the rhythm of the land.

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

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