Description of Neosho

Neosho, a county seat town of 12,157, is located in Newton County on the western edge of the Missouri Ozarks. The name, Ne-o-zho or Ne-u-zhu, is of Indian derivation meaning "clear or abundant water." The nine springs within the city limits played an important part in the early development of Neosho.

First Settlement

The area was first settled in the early 19th century, with Neosho being named the county seat of Newton County in 1839. Missouri entered the Union as a slave state under the Missouri Compromise. During the Civil War, Neosho residents were divided in their loyalties, though leaned pro-Southern. Missouri Governor Claiborne Jackson, who was Pro-Southern, was forced to evacuate the State Capitol by federal troops. Following battlefield victories at Carthage and Wilson's Creek (outside of Springfield and near present-day Republic) by the Missouri State Guard and Confederate forces, Jackson convened a special meeting of the elected legislature in the Masonic Hall in Neosho. This meeting was short of a quorum, so the legislature met again three days later in Cassville and voted to secede from the Union. Although no major battles were fought in Neosho, much of the downtown area was burned in 1863.