Vera Cruz, Missouri

Vera Cruz is an unincorporated community in central Douglas County, Missouri, United States.[2] It is located on Bryant Creek, approximately 9 miles (14 km) east of Ava, at the terminus of Route AB.[1][3]

Vera Cruz, Missouri
Community
The old log church in Vera Cruz by the cemetery
The old log church in Vera Cruz by the cemetery
Location of Vera Cruz, Missouri
Location of Vera Cruz, Missouri
Vera Cruz, Missouri
Location of Vera Cruz, Missouri
Coordinates: 36°54′50″N 92°29′37″W[1][2]
CountryU. S. A.
StateMissouri
CountyDouglas County
Elevation
[2]
260 m (850 ft)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)

History

Vera Cruz was established in the 1840s and named for Vera Cruz in Mexico.[4] The village was originally called Red Bud and was at the junction of the Rockbridge–Hartville road, up Bryant valley with the Old Salt Road or Rockbridge Road, which ran northwest through Smallett to Springfield.[5] The name was changed to Vera Cruz in 1859. It was the first county seat of Douglas County.[4] In 1870, the county seat was moved to Arno and shortly after to Ava.[6]

The Civil War battle Battle of Clark's Mill on November 7, 1862, took place at a mill on Bryant Creek, approximately one mile (1.6 km) north of the current location.[5][7] A second battle occurred on November 3, 1864, near Wilson's Mill, during which the Confederate forces were driven out of the area.[5]

  • Hunter Creek bluff above the old mill pond at Vera Cruz, Missouri
    Hunter Creek bluff above the old mill pond at Vera Cruz, Missouri
  • The cemetery in Vera Cruz, Missouri
    The cemetery in Vera Cruz, Missouri

References
  1. Brushyknob, Missouri, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1973
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Vera Cruz, Missouri
  3. Ava, Missouri, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quad, USGS, 1985
  4. Moser, Arthur Paul; A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets Past and Present of Douglas County, Missouri
  5. Vinyard, J. C., The Battles of Vera Cruz, Nov. 7 1862 — Nov. 3, 1864, Douglas County Historical Society Journal, May, 1994, pp 18–21
  6. Earngey, Bill (1995). Missouri Roadsides: The Traveler's Companion. University of Missouri Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN 0-8262-1021-X.


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