| Pike
County, Missouri
Settlers
came to
Pike
County in the 1800s, in the days
of the Louisiana Purchase. Before, then
after the war of 1812, they built the towns
of Clarksville and Louisiana along the banks
of the Mississippi. Those two towns, along
with Bowling Green – the county seat,
named after Bowling Green, Kentucky – are
today the three largest in the county. Other
cities: Annada, Ashburn, Curryville, Eolia,
Frankford, Paynesville and Tarrants.
The county is famously rich in American
history. Cemeteries bear witness to the
tragedies of the Civil War; churches are
architectural gems. St. Johns Episcopal
Church built near Eolia in 1854 is the
oldest Episcopal Church west of the
Mississippi, and is listed on the National
Register of Historical Places.
Natural beauty abounds throughout the
county, especially along the Mississippi,
which borders the county’s eastern side.
View bald eagles at Lock & Dam #24 in
Clarksville, and other waterfowl at Clarence
Cannon Nat’l Wildlife Refuge. Other
wildlife areas: The Dupont Reservation
Conservation Area, for camping and fishing;
Edward Anderson Wildlife Area, for camping;
Ranacker Wildlife Area, and the Ted Shanks
Wildlife Area, where there are wetlands,
waterfowl, camping and fishing.
Pike County also boasts several scenic
highways and byways. The Little Dixie
Highway of the Great River Road, a
nationally designated scenic byway,
stretches 30 miles, from Clarksville to the
county line. Another scenic byway roams from
Route W in Clarksville to U.S. Highway 61.
For art fans, there’s the twice yearly
Provenance Studio Tour. Local artisans and
artists in Clarksville, Louisiana, Bowling
Green, and Hannibal join together and
produce “50 miles of art” along the
Mississippi Great River Road, open to the
public the first weekend of November and the
fourth weekend of April.
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