Pilot Knob, Missouri

Pilot Knob is a city in northeastern Iron County, Missouri. It had a population of 746 at the 2010 census. The city is famous as the site of a Civil War battle in 1864.

History[edit]

Pilot Knob lies at the base of a small mountain of the same name, rising nearly 600 feet above the surrounding Arcadia Valley. Supposedly, it was identified as far back as the Spanish expedition of Hernando de Soto in 1541, and was a later landmark for miners and settlers entering the region in the early 19th century, resulting in its unique name.^[1] A village of Delaware Indians existed at the foot of the mountain at this time, and the forced Cherokee migration along the Trail of Tears would pass nearby in the late 1830s.^[2]

By the 1830s, it was known that deposits of iron ore were located in and around Pilot Knob, and the first mine was opened in 1835, followed in subsequent years by the establishment of furnaces and forges. Largely to transport the refined ore to distant markets, the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad was completed in the late 1850s, about the same time as the organization of Iron County in 1857.^[3] It was also at this time that the community of Pilot Knob, growing from the arrival of miners and ironworkers, came into existence, being formally laid out in 1858.

Civil War History

With the outbreak of the Civil War, the Arcadia Valley-Iron Mountain region was considered of strategic importance by both sides thanks to its natural resources and its proximity to St. Louis, and a small Union force (initially under the command of Ulysses S. Grant) was sent to occupy it in 1861. The following year, a fortification known as Fort Davidson was erected between Pilot Knob and nearby Shepherd Mountain to guard the approaches to the Arcadia Valley from Confederate attacks.

Fort Davidson saw little action until September 1864, when it was one of the targets of a large-scale raid of Missouri by Confederate General Sterling Price, one of whose goals was to destroy the Union garrisons in and around Pilot Knob and, if possible, to follow this up with an attack upon St. Louis. Union reinforcements were rushed to the fort, which was assaulted by the Confederates on September 27 in the Battle of Fort Davidson. The results of the battle were inconclusive: the Union defenders held their ground through the day and inflicted heavy casualties on Price's army before ultimately being forced to retreat that night. However, the battle discouraged Price from continuing on to St. Louis, and therefore could be considered a Union victory.^[4] The fighting at Pilot Knob is often reckoned among the fiercest of any that occurred during the war in Southeast Missouri.^[5]

Geography[edit]

Pilot Knob is located along Missouri State Highway 21 in northeastern Iron County, about two miles northwest of Ironton and about four miles southwest of Iron Mountain Lake. Elephant Rocks State Park is just to the northwest of town. The city's exact coordinates are 37°37’25”N 90°38’37”W.

Pilot Knob lies within an arm of the scenic Arcadia Valley, and is ringed on most sides by prominent mountains: the mountain of Pilot Knob itself rises just to the east-southeast, with Cedar Mountain to the north and Shepherd Mountain to the south. All three have peaks of over 1,400 feet. Nearly all of the city itself rests on the valley floor in between. It has a total area of 0.89 square miles, and an average elevation of 961 feet.^[6]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Pilot Knob had a total of 746 inhabitants, grouped into 335 households, with a population density of 838.2 people per square mile. This figure was practically unchanged from the 2000 census, when Pilot Knob had a population of 697. 94.37% of the inhabitants were White, 1.34% were African-American, 1.47% were Native American, 0.40% were Asian, and 2.41% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.61% of the population.

The median age in Pilot Knob was 39.9 years, with 24.1% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 8.4% between 18 and 24 years old, 22.7% between 25 and 44, 24.1% between 45 and 64, and 20.6% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 46.4% male, 53.6% female.^[7]

According to the 2018 American Community Survey, Pilot Knob had a median household income of $31,154, and a median family income of $32,500. The unemployment rate was 20.4%. The per capita income was $18,919. About 25.8% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 32.1% of people under the age of 18 and 18.3% of people 65 years old or older.^[8]

Education[edit]

Like nearby Ironton and Arcadia, Pilot Knob is served by the Arcadia Valley R-II School District, all of whose facilities are located in Ironton. A few students on the western fringes of the area attend Belleview R-III Elementary School, a K-08 public school located in the unincorporated community of Belleview to the northwest.

Local Attractions[edit]

The main point of interest in Pilot Knob is the Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site, containing the remnants of Fort Davidson. The grounds were purchased by the state of Missouri in 1968, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Most of the earthworks that made up the fort are still in place, and there is also a museum and interpretive center nearby. A reenactment of the 1864 battle is typically held each autumn.^[9]

Other draws to the Pilot Knob area include Elephant Rocks State Park just to the northwest, as well as hiking in the nearby mountains.

References[edit]