Dent County, Missouri
| Dent County, Missouri | |
|---|---|
|
|
 Location in the U.S. state of Missouri |
|
 Missouri's location in the U.S. |
|
| Founded | February 10, 1851 |
| Named for | Lewis Dent, a pioneer settler |
| Seat | Salem |
| Largest city | Salem |
| Area | |
| • Total | 755 sq mi (1,955 km2) |
| • Land | 753 sq mi (1,950 km2) |
| • Water | 1.7 sq mi (4 km2), 0.2% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 15,593 |
| • Density | 21/sq mi (8/km²) |
| Congressional district | 8th |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www |
| Dent County, Missouri | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected countywide officials | ||||
| Assessor | Brenda Bell | Democratic | ||
| Circuit Clerk | Ruth Ann Lough Williams | Democratic | ||
| County Clerk | Angie Curley | Democratic | ||
| Collector | Dennis O. Medlock | Democratic | ||
|
Commissioner (Presiding) |
Darrell Skiles | Republican | ||
|
Commissioner (District 1) |
Dennis Purcell | Republican | ||
|
Commissioner (District 2) |
Gary Larson | Republican | ||
| Coroner | Gina White | Democratic | ||
| Prosecuting Attorney | Sidney Pearson III | Democratic | ||
| Public Administrator | Larry Edwards | Republican | ||
| Recorder | Cindy Ard | Republican | ||
| Sheriff | Rick Stallings | Democratic | ||
| Surveyor | Craig Ruble | Democratic | ||
| Treasurer | Denita Williams | Republican | ||
| Dent County, Missouri | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2008 Republican primary in Missouri | ||
| John McCain | 442 (22.48%) | |
| Mike Huckabee | 959 (48.78%) | |
| Mitt Romney | 411 (20.91%) | |
| Ron Paul | 127 (6.46%) | |
| Dent County, Missouri | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2008 Democratic primary in Missouri | ||
| Hillary Clinton | 962 (62.23%) | |
| Barack Obama | 493 (31.89%) | |
| John Edwards (withdrawn) | 74 (4.79%) | |
| Uncommitted | 13 (1.06%) | |
Dent County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,657. The largest city and county seat is Salem. The county was officially organized on February 10, 1851 by Dustin Counts & Nicholas Berardy, and is named after state representative Lewis Dent, a pioneer settler who arrived in Missouri from Virginia in 1835.
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was one of the earliest visitors to Dent County, which was then unmapped and unknown. In 1818, Schoolcraft and Levi Pettibone left Potosi, Missouri on an adventure that often left them hungry, lost, lonely and in danger. They started headed west from Potosi on a trail that is now followed by Highway 8, then turned south through southern Dent and Shannon counties, where Schoolcraft found the Current River, "a fine stream with fertile banks and clear, sparkling water.” Today the river attracts tourists who launch canoes by the thousands during the summer to enjoy the fast-moving water of the Current and Jack's Fork Rivers in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Schoolcraft traveled to the area of today's Springfield, Missouri, then went east on White River and finally back to Potosi, completing a journey of 89 days.
The White River trail had long been used by Native Americans in Dent County. It later became one of the branches of the Trail of Tears, which saw many Cherokees pass through on their forced trek to Oklahoma. Some stopped in Dent County and many old families take pride in their Cherokee heritage. The "trace" wound from Sligo southwest to the Ephraim Bressie Farm on Spring Creek north of Salem. It left the county about the present town of Maples.
The first white settler was George Cole, who cleared a farm on the Meramec near Short Bend. It was later the site of the Nelson Mill. An abundance of waterpower and difficulty of transportation made mills important in the settling of the new land. Some of the first settlers came in 1829, mostly to the Meramec, Spring Creek and Dry Fork valleys. Land could be purchased for five cents or less an acre. William Thornton, Daniel Troutman and Daniel W. Wooliver were among the 1829 settlers, followed by William Blackwell, Nicholas Berardy, Elisha Nelson, Jerry Potts, Ephraim Bressie, Robert Leonard, Abner Wingfield, Lewis Dent, Wilson Craddock, Thomas Higginbotham, Jack Berry, Silas Hamby, Smith Wofford, Turkill McNeill, Dr. John Hyer, Samuel Hyer and David Lenox.
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