Shamrock 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 Shamrock Township in the northeast corner of Callaway 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 community is on

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 ...

two miles west of the Loutre River. Auxvasse is ten miles to the west, Montgomery City is about nine miles east and

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

is five miles south.

History

The community was named after the

shamrock A shamrock is a young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of ...

, since a large share of the first settlers were natives of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The village of Shamrock was given a regional post office 1833, which, except during 1861–63, remained in operation until 1954. Its former post office successfully solicited orders for letters ('covers' in philatelic terminology) to be postmarked from there on St Patrick's Day, showing its 'Shamrock' postmark. These were sought in part by stamp collectors, but also Irish culture enthusiasts.Article 'Shamrock' in 'A History of Callaway County Missouri, 1984'. Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society, Fulton MO, 1984. p80.

References

Unincorporated communities in Callaway County, Missouri Unincorporated communities in Missouri Jefferson City metropolitan area {{CallawayCountyMO-geo-stub