Vera Cruz, Missouri

Vera Cruz, Missouri
Community

The old log church in Vera Cruz by the cemetery
Location of Vera Cruz, Missouri
Vera Cruz, Missouri

Location of Vera Cruz, Missouri

Coordinates: 36°54′51″N 92°29′37″W / 36.91417°N 92.49361°W / 36.91417; -92.49361Coordinates: 36°54′51″N 92°29′37″W / 36.91417°N 92.49361°W / 36.91417; -92.49361[1]
Country U. S. A.
State Missouri
County Douglas County
Elevation[1] 260 m (850 ft)
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
  Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)

Vera Cruz is an unincorporated community in central Douglas County, Missouri. It is located on Bryant Creek about 9 miles (14 km) east of Ava at the end of Route AB.[1][2]

Hunter Creek bluff above the old mill pond at Vera Cruz, Missouri
The cemetery in Vera Cruz, Missouri

History

Vera Cruz was established in the 1840s and named for Vera Cruz in Mexico.[3] The village was originally called Red Bud and was at the junction of the RockbridgeHartville road up Bryant valley with the Old Salt Road or Rockbridge Road which went northwest through Smallett to Springfield.[4] The name was changed to Vera Cruz in 1859. It was the first county seat of Douglas County.[3] In 1870 the county seat was moved to Arno and shortly after to Ava.[5]

The Civil War battle Battle of Clark's Mill on November 7, 1862 took place at a mill on Bryant Creek about one mile north of the current location.[6][7][4] A second battle occurred on November 3, 1864, near Wilson's Mill during which the Confederate forces were driven out of the area.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brushyknob, Missouri, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1973
  2. Ava, Missouri, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quad, USGS, 1985
  3. 1 2 Moser, Arthur Paul; A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets Past and Present of Douglas County, Missouri
  4. 1 2 3 Vinyard, J. C., The Battles of Vera Cruz, Nov. 7 1862 — Nov. 3, 1864, Douglas County Historical Society Journal, May, 1994, pp 18–21
  5. Earngey, Bill (1995). Missouri Roadsides: The Traveler's Companion. University of Missouri Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 0-8262-1021-X.
  6. U.S. National Park Service CWSAC Battle Summary Archived September 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. The Battle of Clark's Mill, Watersheds.org


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.