Silex, Missouri
| Silex, Missouri | |
|---|---|
| City 4th Class | |
| Motto: A Rural City Moving Forward | |
 Location of Silex, Missouri |
|
| Coordinates: 39°7′23″N 91°3′27″W / 39.12306°N 91.05750°WCoordinates: 39°7′23″N 91°3′27″W / 39.12306°N 91.05750°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| County | Lincoln |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.19 sq mi (0.49 km2) |
| • Land | 0.19 sq mi (0.49 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 499 ft (152 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 187 |
| • Estimate (2016) | 285 |
| • Density | 980/sq mi (380/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 63377 |
| Area code(s) | 573 |
| FIPS code | 29-67808 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0726439 |
Silex is a 4th Class City in Lincoln County, Missouri, United States. The population was 280 at the 2010 census.
Silex had its start in the 1880s when the railroad known as the Northern Hannibal Railway, was extended to the town for the purposes of transportation. A post office called Silex has been in operation since 1882. The community was named after the main cash crop production of silicon sand. The Silex original township was located approximately a quarter mile north of the current old town portion now. The original town was located next to the Hannibal Railroad and much of the towns habitats that lived in the town also worked in the silicon mine. As many settlers and farmers moved to the area for work and settling, the town started to grow. The town relocated to the now called old town portion of Silex due to space issues. The town had shut down the production of silicon sand due to imperfections in the sand and most of the settlers stayed and began to farm. The town became a center point for shopping, trade, social events and festivals that brought many from afar. With the town rich history of farming and mining some of the rich history is standing today. I would call them historic but not listed as a building that is still standing on MO Hwy E also known as Main Street has the engraved carving of 1908 when the building had been built. Also to be noted is Duncan Mansion located on top on the bluff looking over the City. There are few buildings standing in the old town portion of Silex due to flooding. The town has sustained several floods that devastated the town's people due to flash flooding. The Town is surrounded by local waterways, creeks and a river. In 2008 the town flooded and displaced most of the residents. This had a major impact on the small town forcing it to come up with an options. With the County as a whole facing financial difficulty's in revenues and the town also due to losing business' from the flood, the trustees decided to move the residents out of flood way and plain. After the town applied for a relocation grant from USDA it was granted partial funding for the move in sections. First and foremost moving the residents out to a safe location. Some accomplished this by agreeing to build a new home at a special rate and given grant funds to do so and some residents took a portion of the grant funding and simply picked their house up and moved it up on the hill and the City's new location Stephens bluff addition. With the move of a whole town there were many complications in the process and that are ongoing. One is removing the old households many of which had contaminated pipes because of the age of the home and re-engineers City utility services. With the move of the town to its new location has taken the people out of harms way. But with the difficult time of the economy the town still has an open project to this date on the original plans and struggles to meet, Department of Natural Resource requirements because of the relocation project. The town had applied for infrastructure grants and received one in late 2008 for a sewer project. That came at a price of issuing bonds to pay for the project which was another out of pocket expense for residents. This is still an ongoing project to this date with the finalization of the project to completed in December 2015. Before the project was finalized in 2015 the town was hit with another flood in the spring of 2015. With a small work force City employees' scrambled and only one boil order was issued and City services continued which was an amazing to accomplish. Many residents were stunned that they had lost water in the new town portion, but during the storm that had dropped 7 inches of rain on the City and points north the new water tower was struck by lightning and disabled the pump. With all of the towns sewer lift stations underwater and the towns sewer treatment plant under this was a major task and test for the City. The worker's and even the town Chief of Police jumped into action. Several people who lived just outside of town had to be rescued by boat from the second story windows of their home. "This was the fastest I have ever seen it come up and I've lived here all my life" said local resident Johnny Thompson. The 2015 flood has been the highest on record flood event for the town. Reminiscence of this is painted on the rear wall of Bargeoloa Hardware and lumber. The town has recently annexed a portion of Mo Hwy E towards Hwy 40/61 to Mo RA and plans to grow the town while keeping a small town feel. The City's Administrator and Chief of Police William Barnes II gave the town its first City logo and slogan in early 2016. The City of Silex's slogan is "A rural City Moving Forward" and just that is what they are doing.
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