Pocahontas is a village in

Cape Girardeau County Cape Girardeau County is located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri; its eastern border is formed by the Mississippi River. At the 2020 census, the population was 81,710. The county seat is Jackson, the first city in the US ...

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 ...

, United States. The population was 97 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Cape Girardeau Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal citie ...

–

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

, MO- IL

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

Name

Tradition has that Samuel Green opened a post office and started the town, and was required by the government to provide a name for the town. Samuel Green had fallen in love with a princess of the Shawnee and Delaware tribes living along Apple Creek, but she had left the region along with the Shawnee and Delaware when they moved west. Green intended to name the town after this woman whom he longed for. Unfortunately, the name of this princess was difficult to pronounce and nearly as impossible to spell, so when registering the town’s name, Green instead decided to substitute his love’s name for the name of a historic Indian princess

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

, of colonial Virginia fame. "Joseph Abernathy who looked like an Indian and according to tradition was a descendant of Pocahontas, was the head of another branch of the Abernathy family. He too was born in NC and moved to MO at a very early date. The town of Pocahontas was named in honor of him and in recognition of this tradition."

History

The early inhabitants of the area were the Mississippian Mound Builders, who were part of the

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...

. The Mound Builders went into decline in the 12th and 13th centuries, resulting in a depopulation of the area. In the latter part of the 18th century, French and Spanish officials allowed the immigration of

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Indians from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. In the 1820s, these Indians were moved further west, with only a few remaining behind. The last of the Indians to stay were removed from the area in 1857. Early American settlers to the area were the Abernathy and Little families, who farmed the land around present-day Pocahontas. Samuel Green, an Englishman, purchased land from Joseph Abernathy and operated the Green Station general store and post office. The Applecreek Presbyterian Church was established in 1821 and celebrates its 200 year anniversary in 2021, German and Austrian immigrants began to settle around Pocahontas. St. John Iowa Synod Lutheran Church was founded in 1870, and in 1889 Zion Lutheran Church Missouri Synod was built. It was incorporated as a town in 1893. A flour mill was constructed by John Hatcher, and today the mill is still operated as the Bowman Milling Company. A public school and two Lutheran parochial schools were also established. As of 2015, the town had four stores, several shops, a planing mill and a lumber yard.

Geography

Pocahontas is located in north-central Cape Girardeau County, approximately thirteen miles north-northeast of

and seven miles due west of Neelys Landing on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

U.S. Route 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated ...

passes one mile west of the community. The village is located between the headwaters of

Blue Shawnee Creek Blue Shawnee Creek is a stream located in Cape Girardeau County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The Blue Shawnee and the Muddy Shawnee Creek merge to form the Shawnee Creek.''Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer,'' DeLorme, 1998, First edition, p. 58, The ...

and Muddy Shawnee Creek.''Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer,'' DeLorme, 1998, First edition, p. 58, According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the village has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 114 people, 44 households, and 30 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 52 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.12%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

and 0.88%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. There were 44 households, of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.8% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the village was 41 years. 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.5% were from 25 to 44; 30.7% were from 45 to 64; and 14% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.9% male and 49.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 127 people, 45 households, and 32 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 52 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 100.00%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.79% of the population. There were 45 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were

living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.36. In the town the population was spread out, with 30.7% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $41,667. Males had a median income of $29,500 versus $18,333 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $13,650. There were no families and 3.7% of the population living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including no under eighteens and 12.5% of those over 64.

Classification

Under Missouri Revised Statute 72-050, towns with populations under 500 at the time of passage (1939) were declared to be villages. Having been incorporated in 1893, Pocahontas was unaffected by this statute, and is classified as a town despite its small population.

Education

It is in the

Jackson R-2 School District Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, which operates Jackson High School.

Photo gallery

File: Zion Lutheran Church Pocahontas, Missouri.jpg, Zion Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod File: St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pocahontas, Missouri.jpg, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church File: Pocahontas Feed Mill.jpg, Pocahontas Feed Mill File:Apple Creek Presbyterian Church.jpg, Apple Creek Presbyterian Church

References

{{authority control Villages in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri Cape Girardeau–Jackson metropolitan area Villages in Missouri