Mount Sterling is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in western Gasconade County,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, United States.

Location

Mount Sterling is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and

Missouri Route A 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 additi ...

. The

Gasconade River The Gasconade River is about longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 and is located in central and south-central Missouri. The Gasconade River begins in the Oz ...

flows past the west side of the town. The Gasconade- Osage county line is approximately one mile west of the community. The county seat of Hermann is 18 miles to the northeast.

History

A part of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

, Mount Sterling was first settled by American pioneers in the 1820s. In 1828, the Gasconade County seat was moved from Bartonville to Mount Sterling due to flooding problems from the

in the low-lying town. In 1843, county residents voted to move the county seat again, this time to the larger city of Hermann, located at the Missouri River. A post office called Mount Sterling was established in 1843, and remained in operation until 1965. It is unknown why the name "Mount Sterling" was applied to this community.

References

Unincorporated communities in Gasconade County, Missouri Unincorporated communities in Missouri {{GasconadeCountyMO-geo-stub