Vera Cruz, Missouri

{{Short description|Unincorporated community in the American state of Missouri}}

{{Infobox settlement

| name = Vera Cruz, Missouri

| native_name_lang = EN

| settlement_type = Community

| image_skyline = File:Vera Cruz log church.JPG

| image_alt =

| image_caption = The old log church in Vera Cruz by the cemetery

| pushpin_map = Missouri#USA

| pushpin_label_position =

| pushpin_map_alt = Location of Vera Cruz, Missouri

| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Vera Cruz, Missouri

| coordinates = {{coord|36|54|50|N|92|29|37|W|region:US-MO|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| coor_pinpoint =

| coordinates_footnotes = Brushyknob, Missouri, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1973

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = U. S. A.

| subdivision_type1 = State

| subdivision_name1 = Missouri

| subdivision_type2 = County

| subdivision_name2 = Douglas County

| established_title =

| established_date =

| founder =

| elevation_footnotes = {{GNIS|728164}}

| elevation_m = 260

| population_footnotes =

| population_total =

| population_as_of =

| population_density_km2 = auto

| population_demonym =

| population_note =

| timezone1 = CST

| utc_offset1 = -6

| timezone1_DST = CDT

| utc_offset1_DST = -5

| postal_code_type =

| postal_code =

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| iso_code =

| website =

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}}

Vera Cruz is an unincorporated community in central Douglas County, Missouri, United States. It is located on Bryant Creek, approximately {{convert|9|mi}} east of Ava, at the terminus of Route AB.Ava, Missouri, 30x60 Minute Topographic Quad, USGS, 1985

History

Vera Cruz was established in the 1840s and named for Vera Cruz in Mexico. The village was originally called Red Bud and was at the junction of the Rockbridge–Hartville road, up Bryant valley with the Old Salt Road or Rockbridge Road, which ran northwest through Smallett to Springfield.Vinyard, J. C., The Battles of Vera Cruz, Nov. 7 1862 — Nov. 3, 1864, Douglas County Historical Society Journal, May, 1994, pp 18–21 The name was changed to Vera Cruz in 1859. It was the first county seat of Douglas County.[http://thelibrary.org/lochist/moser/douglaspl.html Moser, Arthur Paul; A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets Past and Present of Douglas County, Missouri] In 1870, the county seat was moved to Arno and shortly after to Ava.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xcxWsmxRzVEC&pg=PA11 | title=Missouri Roadsides: The Traveler's Companion | publisher=University of Missouri Press | author=Earngey, Bill | year=1995 | pages=11–12 |isbn= 0-8262-1021-X }}

The Civil War battle Battle of Clark's Mill on November 7, 1862, took place at a mill on Bryant Creek, approximately {{convert|1|mi|spell=in}} north of the current location.

[http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/mo017.htm U.S. National Park Service CWSAC Battle Summary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924080159/http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/mo017.htm |date=September 24, 2008 }}
[http://www.watersheds.org/history/battle.htm The Battle of Clark's Mill, Watersheds.org] A second battle occurred on November 3, 1864, near Wilson's Mill, during which the Confederate forces were driven out of the area.

Gallery

File:Hunter Creek bluff.JPG|Hunter Creek bluff above the old mill pond at Vera Cruz, Missouri

File:Vera Cruz, Missouri cemetery.JPG|The cemetery in Vera Cruz, Missouri

References

Category:Unincorporated communities in Douglas County, Missouri

Category:Unincorporated communities in Missouri