Iron County, Missouri

Iron County is a county in Missouri, United States, in the Arcadia Valley of the Saint Francois
Mountains about 90 miles south of St. Louis. It had a population of 9,537 at the 2020 census, an
estimated 9,318 by 2025, and covers 550 square miles (1,400 km2) centred near 37°33′N 90°46′W.

Ironton is the county seat; its postal code is 63650. The county holds 4 incorporated cities, 2
villages and more than a dozen unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central Time. Iron
County has no township government — Arcadia Township and Dent Township are geographic
divisions only, with no elected officials or budgets of their own.

Towns & Villages in Iron County

Iron County has 21 named places verified against Census and USGS records: 4 cities, 2 villages
and 15 unincorporated communities. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers
crossroads, former post-office hamlets and rural settlements with no local government.

Two names on the county’s old settlement list turned out to belong elsewhere and are
dropped here: Russellville is a city in Cole County, more than 130 miles northwest, and Berryman
sits on the Crawford–Washington county line, well outside Iron County. Goodland is genuine
but shares its name with an unrelated Goodland in Knox County, more than 200 miles north —
the two have nothing to do with each other.

ZIP Codes

• 63650 — Ironton (also covers Pilot Knob mail routes)
• 63663 — Pilot Knob
• 63621 — Arcadia
• 65566 — Viburnum
• 63620 — Annapolis
• 63636 — Des Arc
• 63623 — Belleview
• 63675 — Vulcan
• 65439 — Bixby

Graniteville, Glover, Middlebrook, Redmondville, Ghermanville, Minimum, Chloride, Sabula,
Banner, Hogan and Goodland have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under Ironton’s,
Belleview’s or Vulcan’s code depending on which is closer by road. Buick’s post office closed in
1955 and the site is now a ghost town with no active delivery.

Geography

Iron County sits in the Saint Francois Mountains, the eroded core of a billion-year-old
igneous range that forms the geological heart of the Ozarks. Taum Sauk Mountain, on the county’s
southeastern edge, rises to 1,772 feet and is the highest point in Missouri. Elephant Rocks State
Park, near Graniteville, preserves house-sized granite boulders left by that same volcanic
bedrock. Of the county’s 550 square miles, 1.8 square miles are water, mostly the Black River and
Big Creek, both of which drain the Arcadia Valley south toward the Ozark plateau. Mark Twain
National Forest covers a large share of the county’s western half, roughly 96,000 acres.

Washington County lies to the north, St. Francois County to the northeast, Madison County to
the east, Wayne County to the southeast, Reynolds County to the southwest, Dent County to the
west and Crawford County to the northwest. Washington County, St. Francois County, Madison County, Wayne County, Reynolds County, Dent County and Crawford County all border Iron
County directly.

Demographics

Iron County had a population of 9,537 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 9,318 residents, a slow decline typical of the rural Ozarks. Ironton and Pilot Knob
are the two largest communities, sitting less than two miles apart in the Arcadia Valley.
Median household income in the county runs well below the Missouri statewide figure of $68,545
(2023 ACS), and the county’s poverty rate is close to double the state average. Population
density works out to roughly 17 people per square mile of land, among the lowest in the state
outside the Ozark National Scenic Riverways counties.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 688 people,
followed by educational services at 360 and manufacturing at 338. Viburnum sits at the center of
Missouri’s New Lead Belt, and lead mining run by the Doe Run Company remains the county’s largest
private industrial employer, though the Glover smelter that once anchored the older Old Lead Belt
suspended operations in 2003. Arcadia is home to Arcadia Valley Career & Technology Center and
sits near the site of the former Arcadia College. Iron County R-1, R-2 and Viburnum R-VIII school
districts serve the county’s students. Amtrak’s Texas Eagle stops at the Arcadia Valley station,
reopened in 2016 after 51 years, connecting Chicago and San Antonio.

History

Missouri’s General Assembly formed Iron County on 17 February 1857, carving it from parts of
Madison, Reynolds, St. Francois and Washington counties. Both the county and its seat took their
name from the abundant iron ore mined nearby, most notably at Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain.
Ironton was platted as county seat that same year, and Union general Ulysses S. Grant camped
there in August 1861 with four regiments while campaigning in southeast Missouri.

The county’s defining Civil War event came on 27 September 1864, when Confederate forces under
Major General Sterling Price attacked the Union garrison at Fort Davidson, just outside Pilot
Knob, during Price’s Raid. The outnumbered defenders repulsed repeated assaults, inflicting
800 to 1,000 Confederate casualties against 213 Union losses, then slipped away that night after
detonating the fort’s ammunition magazine. The engagement delayed Price’s advance on St. Louis
and is preserved today at the Fort Davidson State Historic Site, where the earthworks and the
magazine crater still survive.

Getting There

No interstate highway crosses Iron County. Missouri Route 21 runs north–south through
Ironton and Pilot Knob toward St. Louis, and Missouri Route 49 runs the length of the county’s
south through Des Arc, Annapolis and Vulcan.

• St. Louis — about 90 miles north
• Farmington — about 25 miles northeast
• Salem — about 40 miles west
• Poplar Bluff — about 65 miles south

St. Louis Lambert International Airport, north of the city, is the nearest major commercial
airport. Amtrak’s Texas Eagle serves the Arcadia Valley station in Arcadia, running once daily in
each direction between Chicago and San Antonio.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Iron County located?
It sits in Missouri’s Arcadia Valley, in the Saint Francois Mountains, about 90 miles south of
St. Louis, bordered by Washington, St. Francois, Madison, Wayne, Reynolds, Dent and Crawford
counties.

What is the population of Iron County?
9,537 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 9,318.

How big is Iron County?
550 square miles (1,400 km2) of land, plus 1.8 square miles of water.

What is the county seat of Iron County?
Ironton is the county seat and largest city, established alongside the county in 1857.

How many towns and villages are in Iron County?
Four cities — Ironton, Pilot Knob, Arcadia and Viburnum — two villages, Annapolis and
Des Arc, and 15 verified unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Iron County use?
63650 for Ironton, 63663 for Pilot Knob, 63621 for Arcadia, 65566 for Viburnum, 63620 for
Annapolis, 63636 for Des Arc, 63623 for Belleview, 63675 for Vulcan and 65439 for Bixby.

What is Iron County known for?
Taum Sauk Mountain, Missouri’s highest point, the Battle of Pilot Knob in 1864, and Viburnum’s
lead mines in Missouri’s New Lead Belt.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Missouri.