Racine is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Newton 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. It is part of the

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

A post office called Racine has been in operation since 1869. The town was originally called Dayton, after

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, as was the surrounding township. However, there was already a

Dayton, Missouri Dayton is an unincorporated community in southeast Cass County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. Garden City is five miles north along Missouri Route F and Creighton lies 6.5 miles east along Missouri Route B. The Settles Ford Conservation Area a ...

, causing confusion for Postal Service deliveries. The name was changed in 1871 to Racine, after

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

. The name of Dayton Township remained the same.Ramsay Place-Name Card Collection. Western Historical Manuscripts Collection. University of Missouri Columbia.

Geography

Racine is located along the Frisco Railroad tracks between Neosho and Seneca in Lost Creek Valley. Racine is on Route 86 where Route K and Route CC intersect. It is positioned geographically among three other towns: it is 6 miles west of Neosho, 10 miles south of Joplin, and 5½ miles northeast of Seneca.

Education

Racine is encompassed entirely by the Seneca School District; it schools all students enrolled in public education in the community.

Buildings

There are two churches in town, an Apostolic Church and a large Christian church. A small fire station is located here that is part of the Seneca Area Fire Protection District.

References

Unincorporated communities in Newton County, Missouri Joplin, Missouri, metropolitan area Unincorporated communities in Missouri {{NewtonCountyMO-geo-stub