Etna, Missouri

Unincorporated community in Missouri, U.S.

Etna is an unincorporated community in Scotland County, Missouri, United States.^[1] It lies at an elevation of 755 feet (230 m).

History

The first settlement at Etna was made as early as 1855 by a colony of Germans.^[2] Etna, named for the Sicilian volcano, was surveyed and laid out in April 1865 by Andrew Hunt.^[3]

Etna was the site of a small skirmish during the early days of the Civil War. On July 21, 1861, the 1st Northeast Missouri Home Guards under Colonel David Moore, with assistance of additional units from Iowa and Illinois, attacked pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard (MSG) forces at Etna. The action was part of General Nathaniel Lyon's efforts to clear "rebels" from rural Missouri. After a brief battle the MSG forces, mostly lightly armed cavalry, were driven from the town and surrounding areas of Scotland County and Moore's unit returned to its main base at Athens, Missouri.

Notable person

Tom Horn, American Old West lawman, scout, and outlaw; raised on a farm near Etna.

References

^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Etna, Missouri
^ "Scotland County Place Names, 1928–1945". The State Historical Society of Missouri. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
^ Eaton, David Wolfe (1916). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. p. 362.