{"id":5538,"date":"2023-07-11T14:04:26","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T14:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=5538"},"modified":"2026-08-11T21:32:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:32:47","slug":"iron-county-missouri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/iron-county-missouri\/","title":{"rendered":"Iron County, Missouri"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Iron County is a county in Missouri, United States, in the Arcadia Valley of the Saint Francois<br \/>\nMountains about 90 miles south of St. Louis. It had a population of 9,537 at the 2020 census, an<br \/>\nestimated 9,318 by 2025, and covers 550 square miles (1,400 km2) centred near 37\u00b033\u2032N 90\u00b046\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Ironton is the county seat; its postal code is 63650. The county holds 4 incorporated cities, 2<br \/>\nvillages and more than a dozen unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central Time. Iron<br \/>\nCounty has no township government &mdash; Arcadia Township and Dent Township are geographic<br \/>\ndivisions only, with no elected officials or budgets of their own.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Iron County<\/h2>\n<p>Iron County has 21 named places verified against Census and USGS records: 4 cities, 2 villages<br \/>\nand 15 unincorporated communities. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers<br \/>\ncrossroads, former post-office hamlets and rural settlements with no local government.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Ironton<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>1,475<\/td>\n<td>63650<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pilot Knob<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>671<\/td>\n<td>63663<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Arcadia<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>618<\/td>\n<td>63621<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Viburnum<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>667<\/td>\n<td>65566<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Annapolis<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>250<\/td>\n<td>63620<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Des Arc<\/td>\n<td>Village<\/td>\n<td>131<\/td>\n<td>63636<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Belleview<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>63623<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Vulcan<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>63675<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bixby<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>64<\/td>\n<td>65439<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Graniteville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Glover<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Middlebrook<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Redmondville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ghermanville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Minimum<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Chloride<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sabula<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Buick<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp. &middot; ghost town<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Banner<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hogan<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Goodland<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Two names on the county&#8217;s old settlement list turned out to belong elsewhere and are<br \/>\ndropped here: Russellville is a city in Cole County, more than 130 miles northwest, and Berryman<br \/>\nsits on the Crawford&ndash;Washington county line, well outside Iron County. Goodland is genuine<br \/>\nbut shares its name with an unrelated Goodland in Knox County, more than 200 miles north &mdash;<br \/>\nthe two have nothing to do with each other.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>63650 &mdash; Ironton (also covers Pilot Knob mail routes)<\/li>\n<li>63663 &mdash; Pilot Knob<\/li>\n<li>63621 &mdash; Arcadia<\/li>\n<li>65566 &mdash; Viburnum<\/li>\n<li>63620 &mdash; Annapolis<\/li>\n<li>63636 &mdash; Des Arc<\/li>\n<li>63623 &mdash; Belleview<\/li>\n<li>63675 &mdash; Vulcan<\/li>\n<li>65439 &mdash; Bixby<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Graniteville, Glover, Middlebrook, Redmondville, Ghermanville, Minimum, Chloride, Sabula,<br \/>\nBanner, Hogan and Goodland have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered under Ironton&#8217;s,<br \/>\nBelleview&#8217;s or Vulcan&#8217;s code depending on which is closer by road. Buick&#8217;s post office closed in<br \/>\n1955 and the site is now a ghost town with no active delivery.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Iron County sits in the Saint Francois Mountains, the eroded core of a billion-year-old<br \/>\nigneous range that forms the geological heart of the Ozarks. Taum Sauk Mountain, on the county&#8217;s<br \/>\nsoutheastern edge, rises to 1,772 feet and is the highest point in Missouri. Elephant Rocks State<br \/>\nPark, near Graniteville, preserves house-sized granite boulders left by that same volcanic<br \/>\nbedrock. Of the county&#8217;s 550 square miles, 1.8 square miles are water, mostly the Black River and<br \/>\nBig Creek, both of which drain the Arcadia Valley south toward the Ozark plateau. Mark Twain<br \/>\nNational Forest covers a large share of the county&#8217;s western half, roughly 96,000 acres.<\/p>\n<p>Washington County lies to the north, St. Francois County to the northeast, Madison County to<br \/>\nthe east, Wayne County to the southeast, Reynolds County to the southwest, Dent County to the<br \/>\nwest and Crawford County to the northwest. <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/washington-county-missouri\/\">Washington County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/saint-francois-county\/\">St. Francois County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/madison-county-missouri\/\">Madison County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wayne-county-missouri\/\">Wayne County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/reynolds-county\/\">Reynolds County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/dent-county\/\">Dent County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/crawford-county-missouri\/\">Crawford County<\/a> all border Iron<br \/>\nCounty directly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Iron County had a population of 9,537 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the<br \/>\ncounty near 9,318 residents, a slow decline typical of the rural Ozarks. Ironton and Pilot Knob<br \/>\nare the two largest communities, sitting less than two miles apart in the Arcadia Valley.<br \/>\nMedian household income in the county runs well below the Missouri statewide figure of $68,545<br \/>\n(2023 ACS), and the county&#8217;s poverty rate is close to double the state average. Population<br \/>\ndensity works out to roughly 17 people per square mile of land, among the lowest in the state<br \/>\noutside the Ozark National Scenic Riverways counties.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 688 people,<br \/>\nfollowed by educational services at 360 and manufacturing at 338. Viburnum sits at the center of<br \/>\nMissouri&#8217;s New Lead Belt, and lead mining run by the Doe Run Company remains the county&#8217;s largest<br \/>\nprivate industrial employer, though the Glover smelter that once anchored the older Old Lead Belt<br \/>\nsuspended operations in 2003. Arcadia is home to Arcadia Valley Career &amp; Technology Center and<br \/>\nsits near the site of the former Arcadia College. Iron County R-1, R-2 and Viburnum R-VIII school<br \/>\ndistricts serve the county&#8217;s students. Amtrak&#8217;s Texas Eagle stops at the Arcadia Valley station,<br \/>\nreopened in 2016 after 51 years, connecting Chicago and San Antonio.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Missouri&#8217;s General Assembly formed Iron County on 17 February 1857, carving it from parts of<br \/>\nMadison, Reynolds, St. Francois and Washington counties. Both the county and its seat took their<br \/>\nname from the abundant iron ore mined nearby, most notably at Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain.<br \/>\nIronton was platted as county seat that same year, and Union general Ulysses S. Grant camped<br \/>\nthere in August 1861 with four regiments while campaigning in southeast Missouri.<\/p>\n<p>The county&#8217;s defining Civil War event came on 27 September 1864, when Confederate forces under<br \/>\nMajor General Sterling Price attacked the Union garrison at Fort Davidson, just outside Pilot<br \/>\nKnob, during Price&#8217;s Raid. The outnumbered defenders repulsed repeated assaults, inflicting<br \/>\n800 to 1,000 Confederate casualties against 213 Union losses, then slipped away that night after<br \/>\ndetonating the fort&#8217;s ammunition magazine. The engagement delayed Price&#8217;s advance on St. Louis<br \/>\nand is preserved today at the Fort Davidson State Historic Site, where the earthworks and the<br \/>\nmagazine crater still survive.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>No interstate highway crosses Iron County. Missouri Route 21 runs north&ndash;south through<br \/>\nIronton and Pilot Knob toward St. Louis, and Missouri Route 49 runs the length of the county&#8217;s<br \/>\nsouth through Des Arc, Annapolis and Vulcan.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>St. Louis &mdash; about 90 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Farmington &mdash; about 25 miles northeast<\/li>\n<li>Salem &mdash; about 40 miles west<\/li>\n<li>Poplar Bluff &mdash; about 65 miles south<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>St. Louis Lambert International Airport, north of the city, is the nearest major commercial<br \/>\nairport. Amtrak&#8217;s Texas Eagle serves the Arcadia Valley station in Arcadia, running once daily in<br \/>\neach direction between Chicago and San Antonio.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Iron County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits in Missouri&#8217;s Arcadia Valley, in the Saint Francois Mountains, about 90 miles south of<br \/>\nSt. Louis, bordered by Washington, St. Francois, Madison, Wayne, Reynolds, Dent and Crawford<br \/>\ncounties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Iron County?<\/strong><br \/>\n9,537 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 9,318.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Iron County?<\/strong><br \/>\n550 square miles (1,400 km2) of land, plus 1.8 square miles of water.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Iron County?<\/strong><br \/>\nIronton is the county seat and largest city, established alongside the county in 1857.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and villages are in Iron County?<\/strong><br \/>\nFour cities &mdash; Ironton, Pilot Knob, Arcadia and Viburnum &mdash; two villages, Annapolis and<br \/>\nDes Arc, and 15 verified unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Iron County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n63650 for Ironton, 63663 for Pilot Knob, 63621 for Arcadia, 65566 for Viburnum, 63620 for<br \/>\nAnnapolis, 63636 for Des Arc, 63623 for Belleview, 63675 for Vulcan and 65439 for Bixby.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Iron County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nTaum Sauk Mountain, Missouri&#8217;s highest point, the Battle of Pilot Knob in 1864, and Viburnum&#8217;s<br \/>\nlead mines in Missouri&#8217;s New Lead Belt.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/missouri\/\">Towns and villages in Missouri<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\u00b033\u2032N 90\u00b046\u2032W. Ironton is the county [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Iron County, Missouri","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 25 places in Iron County, Missouri, including 5 cities and Des Arc village, with population, ZIP codes, and the 1864 Battle of Fort Davidson.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-5538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-missouri","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5538"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9627,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5538\/revisions\/9627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}