Pocahontas is a village in Cape Girardeau County,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

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

Cape Girardeau Cape 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, making it the 17th-largest in the state. The city is one o ...

–

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, MO- IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Name

According to tradition, Samuel Green opened a post office and started the town. As a result, the government required him 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 tribes 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 decided to substitute his love’s name for the name of the historic Indian princess

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

, 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 collection of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building la ...

. 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 a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Indians from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. 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 main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

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 designat ...

passes one mile west of the community. The village is located between the headwaters of Blue Shawnee Creek 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, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

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

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

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 chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and 0.88%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

. 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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 ...

, including none under 18 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,
Text list
/ref> 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