Dade County

The major the county is named for died in the opening volley of a war. On December 28, 1835, Francis L. Dade was leading about 110 soldiers on the road from Fort Brooke to Fort King in central Florida when some 180 Seminole and Black Seminole fighters under Micanopy, Jumper and Alligator struck the column; Micanopy is said to have fired the first shot. Of the soldiers, 108 were killed, while the Seminole lost three. The fight opened the Second Seminole War, which ended in 1842 without a treaty. The ground near Bushnell is a Florida state park.

What the plaque says

Dade County Encompassing 504 sq. miles of the west slope of Missouri's Ozarks, Dade County was organized in 1841 and named for Maj. Francis L. Dade killed in Florida War with Seminoles in 1835. In territory ceded by Osage tribes in 1808, the county was early settled by Southern pioneers. Greenfield, the county seat, laid out 1841, is on a plateau above nearby Turnback Creek. The town site, with rolling prairies on the west and wooded hills on the east, was given by Matthias and Mary Allison. Here was Ozark (Presby.) College, 1881-1903, founded as an academy, 1870. In Ebenezer Presbyterian Church (built in 1854, rebuilt 1884) was organized the Ozark Presbytery, including 25 counties in 1870. A divided county in the Civil War, Dade suffered guerrilla raids, troop movement, and skirmishes. In Oct., 1863, Union soldiers stationed in Greenfield withdrew at the approach of Confederate General Joseph O. Shelby's troops who burned the courthouse. Rebuilt 1867, the courthouse was replaced in 1934. In 1881, the Kansas City & Memphis R. R. (Frisco) was built through the county. (See other side) Erected by State Historical Society of Missouri and State Highway Commission, 1961 Dade County (Continued from other side) Dade County, dairy, livestock, grain, and fruit farming area, was briefly mined for coal, zinc, iron, and more extensively for lead. In 1874, discovery of a 50,000 lb. lead boulder brought the opening of Corry Mine and founding of the one-time boom town of Corry. Other mines were worked before lead mining stopped in the early 1900's. Dadeville, once known as Crisp Prairie and Melville, was settled by Redden and John Crisp about 1818. Burned in the Civil War, it was rebuilt and renamed. Arcola was laid out, 1880; Crisp became a post office in 1890's; and South Greenfield, Everton, and Lockwood were laid out along the railroad in 1881. In the 1880's, a number of Germans settled in and around Lockwood. In Dye Park at Everton is the William Penn log cabin, first building to serve as a courthouse. Near there is Dilday Mill; near Greenfield is so-called Spanish Fort built by prehistoric Indians; and near Lockwood is the interdenominational Sinners Union Church. In adjacent Cedar County is site of Stockton Dam impounding the waters of the Sac River in Cedar and Dade counties. Erected by State Historical Society of Missouri and State Highway Commission, 1961

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Harry S Truman Birthplace State Historic Site — 24 mi
  The small Lamar house where Harry S Truman was born on May 8, 1884, bought by his parents for $685 and dedicated as a state site in 1959 with Truman on hand.
• Battle of Carthage State Historic Site — 30 mi
  Carter Spring, where Franz Sigel's Union troops camped before the Battle of Carthage of July 5, 1861 and the State Guard camped after it, eleven days before Bull Run.
• Wilson's Creek National Battlefield — 31 mi
  The farm valley southwest of Springfield where the first major Civil War battle west of the Mississippi was fought on August 10, 1861, and where Nathaniel Lyon became the first Union general killed.

More markers nearby

• Cedar County — 19 mi
• Lamar — 24 mi
• Polk County — 27 mi
• Butterfield Overland Mail in Missouri - 1858-1861 — 27 mi