Putnam County | |
|---|---|
 Putnam County Courthouse in Unionville | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Missouri | |
 Missouri's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 40°29′N 93°01′W / 40.48°N 93.02°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Missouri |
| Founded | February 28, 1845 |
| Named for | Israel Putnam |
| Seat | Unionville |
| Largest city | Unionville |
| Area | |
| • Total | 520 sq mi (1,300 km2) |
| • Land | 517 sq mi (1,340 km2) |
| • Water | 2.3 sq mi (6 km2) 0.4% |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 4,681 |
| • Density | 9.0/sq mi (3.5/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 6th |
| Website | nemr |
Putnam County is a county in north central Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,681.[1] Its county seat is Unionville.[2] The county was organized February 28, 1845, and named for Israel Putnam, a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War.[3]
Putnam County was established February 28, 1845, from parts of Adair and Sullivan counties. The following year a portion of Putnam was removed to form Dodge County. Both Putnam and Dodge extended nearly nine miles further north until an 1851 ruling by the Supreme Court on a border dispute with Iowa assigned the contested land to Iowa. Both counties were left with less than the statutory minimum area for a county as set by the state legislature, so Dodge County was dissolved and its area added to Putnam.[4]
In its early years, the county seat changed frequently, often with contentious debate. Putnamville, Bryant Station (both no longer in existence), and Hartford all served until a central location called Harmony, later renamed Unionville, was chosen.[5]
In the 1860 U.S. Census Putnam County had 9,240 residents, with eighteen sawmills and three flour mills.[6] Coal had been an abundant since its earliest settlement. Following the arrival of the Burlington & Southwestern Railway in 1873, coal mining became a major industry, especially in the east of the county. At one time three railroads crossed Putnam county: the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul; the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy; and the Iowa and St. Louis.[7] Putnam County lost over two-thirds of its population between the years 1900 and 2000 (see census data below), when the United States changed from a rural to an urban country.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Eaton, David Wolfe (1917). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. pp. 343.
- ^ Missouri State Historical Society marker, 1958
- ^ "A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets of Missouri". thelibrary.org. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
- ^ The Missouri Handbook by P.M. Pinckard. Published 1865
- ^ A History of Northeast Missouri, Vol.1 Chapter 25. Published 1913.