Former County Names
| County | Etymology | Changed to |
|---|---|---|
| Allen County | Unknown | Atchison County in 1845 |
| Ashley County | William Henry Ashley (1778–1838), early settler | Texas County in 1845 upon organization |
| Decatur County | Stephen Decatur (1779–1820), American naval officer | Ozark County in 1845 |
| Highland County | Unknown | Sullivan County in 1845 upon organization |
| Kinderhook County | Kinderhook, New York, birthplace of Martin Van Buren | Camden County in 1843 |
| Lillard County | James Lillard of Tennessee, who served in the first state legislature of Missouri | Lafayette County in 1825 |
| Niangua County | Niangua River, a tributary of the Osage River – "niangua" comes from the Native American word nehemgar, which means "a river of numerous springs or sources" | Dallas County in 1844 because of the difficulty in pronouncing and spelling Niangua |
| Seneca County | Seneca Nation, a group of Native Americans from New York | McDonald County in 1847 upon organization |
| Van Buren County | Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), eighth President of the United States and also Vice President under Andrew Jackson | Cass County in 1849 in honor of Van Buren's opponent in the presidential election of 1848 |
Read more about this topic: List Of Counties In Missouri
Famous quotes containing the words county and/or names:
“Hold hard, my county darlings, for a hawk descends,
Golden Glamorgan straightens, to the falling birds.
Your sport is summer as the spring runs angrily.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“It is a sad truth, but we have lost the faculty of giving lovely names to things. Names are everything. I never quarrel with actions. My one quarrel is with words.... The man who could call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one. It is the only thing he is fit for.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)