Alton History

    The discovery of the Eleven Point River by an English speaking traveler is credited to Edmund Jennings, a North Carolina man who hunted, trapped, and fished with the Indians in the region about 1800 and referred to the area as the County of the Six Boils, or the Six Great Springs.  Among which were probably Big, Mammoth, Greer, Boze, and Blue Springs.  Credit is given to Charles Hatcher as the first pioneer of the Eleven Point River who settled near the present town of Thomasville about 1809, naming his home Rich Hill when the territory was part of New Madrid County.
    Oregon county, with its county seat at Alton, is located in the south-central part of Missouri. Various Indian tribes roamed this area until 1809 when pioneers, mostly from Tennessee and Kentucky, began to settle this area. Oregon County was formally organized in 1845 and got its name from the western territory of Oregon.  Oregon County was originally much larger than its present size.  However, in 1859, Oregon County was split to form Howell County, which now lies directly to the west.  Consequently, Thomasville, which was the first county seat of Oregon County and located on the Eleven Point River, was no longer near the geographic center of the county and a new county seat had to be established.  At this time the county seat was moved to the more centralized location of Alton, Missouri, where a new courthouse was constructed.  Probably the first two businesses established in Alton were the general merchandise store and a grist mill by John Crawley and Judge John L. Keel, respectively.  The Oregon County Courthouse was completed in 1860.
    Oregon County was pro-Confederate during the Civil War though Union troops occupied the County Courthouse during part of the war.  When Union troops vacated the building on October 21, 1863, they burned both it and the grist mill.  The county records were saved as Matthew G. Norman and other officials hid them in a Piney Creek cave on the Norman Farm.  The grist mill was reopened and continued operation until the mid 1920's.  The school house in Alton was destroyed by fire in the 1890's and was replaced by a longer and more modern building.  The school district is now the pride of Alton with an enrollment of 732, which is greater than the population of the town itself (692).  Along with the their public buildup, there was an increase in residential development, some of which still stand today.  A new courthouse was built on the old foundation in 1871 at the cost of $5,795.  This courthouse was remodeled, had a third floor added in 1903-1904, and served until 1939 when it was vacated and demolished in order to make room for a more modern structure.  Construction of the present courthouse began in 1939 by the W.P.A. and was completed and became official on February 1, 1942.  The courthouse has stood since that time and has only recently had the addition of an elevator to serve its three floors.
    Alton is located near the beautiful Eleven Point River, although not a national park, a 44 mile portion of the Eleven Point between Thomasville and the SR 142 bridge was designated in 1968 as a National Scenic River under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture.  The river is fed by some of Missouri's most beautiful springs; its lower section , doubled by Greer Spring is floatable all year.  Stocked with trout for the first eleven miles below the spring, this cool, fast stream flows near scenic areas like the Irish Wilderness.