Knox County, Missouri

Knox County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for Henry Knox, Revolutionary War general.

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History of Knox County

Knox County is about twenty-five miles south of the Iowa State line and the same distance west of the Mississippi River. It was framed from Scotland County in 1843, though it remained attached to the county "until such time as it should be fully organized." Until the organization of Scotland County in 1841, it had been a part of Lewis County. Knox completed its organization by 1845, at which time it had four townships. Today it has twelve. It is bounded on the north by Scotland County, on the east by Clark and Lewis, on the south by Shelby and Macon, and on the west by Macon and Adair. The first settlers came originally from Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, and counties farther south. The Norwegians had a considerable colony on the headwaters of Black Creek and the North Fork of Salt River. There was an early Irish colony, and a large number of Germans came in. The closest land-office was at Palmyra. Land was not open to government entry until 1840, and the settlers as a consequence resorted to "Tomahawk Claims" (q.v.). The county was settled with startling rapidity, owing to its well-watered, undulating prairie, with its luxuriant growth of grass and ready supply of timber, its water courses ranging from only four to six miles apart. Knox was one of a number of counties in the United States named in honor of General Henry Knox (1750-1806), a Boston book seller, who became Washington's chief of artillery during the Revolutionary War, and served as the first Secretary of War of the United States (1785- 1794). A doughty soldier he is said to have been the chroniclers tell us that he went about the night before the night before the battle of Trenton "tugging at his guns like a Trojan and swearing like a pirate." He was much admired for his prowess. (HIST. KNOX 1887, 555, 556, 570, 572, 740, 741; ATLAS KNOX 1876, 54; Eaton, 182; Davis & Durrie 1876, 387, 388; INTERN. CYC.)

Source: Elliott, Katherine. "Place Names of Six Northeast Counties of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.

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