Compton is a historic community in western Webster County, in the U.S. state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. The post office was located at different locations in the area. One site was located along the bank of the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

along

Missouri Route B A supplemental route is a state secondary road in the U.S. state of Missouri, designated with letters. Supplemental routes were various roads within the state which the Missouri Department of Transportation was given in 1952 to maintain in additio ...

, but a second location is approximately three-quarters of a mile to the southeast above Compton Branch (a tributary of the James).Geologic Unit: Compton, type locality Geolex, USGS
/ref> This second location is within or adjacent to the Compton Hollow Conservation Area and about three miles south of Northview. The

Compton Limestone The Compton Limestone is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in southwest Missouri. It preserves brachiopod and echinoderm fossils of the Mississippian (geology), Mississippian Period (geology), subperiod.The Stratigraphic Succession in Mis ...

geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

was named for the community, because the type sections defining the unit were located in the vicinity. A post office called Compton was established in 1884, and remained in operation until 1906. The community has the name of John Compton, the original owner of the town site.

References

Ghost towns in Missouri Former populated places in Webster County, Missouri {{WebsterCountyMO-geo-stub