Mississippi County, Missouri

Mississippi County is a county located in the Bootheel of the U.S. state of Missouri, with its eastern border formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,358. The largest city and county seat is Charleston. The county was officially organized on February 14, 1845, and was named after the Mississippi River.HistoryMississippi County is located in what was formerly known as "Tywappity Bottom," a vast floodplain area bordered by the Scott County Hills on the north, St. James Bayou on the south, the Mississippi River on the east and Little River on the west.In 1540, the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto penetrated to the Arkansas River and perhaps well into southeastern Missouri, which was populated by various Native American tribes. Under the pressure of a constantly advancing white settlement, the Native Americans gradually retreated westward to survive. The area of southeastern Missouri was noted for its level swampy lowlands, subject to the seasonal flooding of the Mississippi River, which had resulted in extremely fertile soils.By 1820 European Americans from the United States, many migrating from southern states, had settled most of the present counties of southeastern Missouri. The settlers were mostly farmers who came from Illinois and states of the Upper South: Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. They wanted the fertile and cheap lands found in the area of present-day Charleston, Missouri.