Fredericktown, Missouri facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fredericktown, Missouri
City
Madison County Courthouse
Location in Madison County and the state of Missouri
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Madison
Area
• Total	4.50 sq mi (11.64 km2)
• Land	4.33 sq mi (11.20 km2)
• Water	0.17 sq mi (0.44 km2)
Elevation	699 ft (213 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	4,429
• Density	1,024.05/sq mi (395.36/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	63645
Area code(s)	573/235
FIPS code	29-25768
GNIS feature ID	2394816

Fredericktown is a city in Missouri, United States. It is the main city, also called the county seat, of Madison County, Missouri. The city is located in the northeastern part of the St. Francois Mountains.

In 2020, about 4,429 people lived in Fredericktown. This was more than the 3,985 people who lived there in 2010. The city is surrounded on three sides by the Mark Twain National Forest.

History of Fredericktown

Early Exploration and Mining

The story of Fredericktown is closely linked to lead mining. Around 1715, French explorers came to this area. Local Native Americans showed them places where lead could be found. At that time, this land was part of "Upper Louisiana." The French hoped to find silver too.

Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who was the French governor of Louisiana, did not find silver. However, he encouraged other French investors to form the Company of the West in 1717. This company wanted to use the valuable minerals found in Louisiana.

First Settlements in the Area

The first European settlement nearby was Mine La Motte. It was a small community about 6 miles (10 km) north of where Fredericktown is today. Europeans settled there to mine a large amount of galena, which is lead ore. This ore was found in dolomite rock right at the surface.

Lead was very important for making ammunition. This made Mine La Motte one of the first European settlements deep inside North America. Another early settlement was Saint Michel, a French Catholic community. It was just north of Fredericktown, across Saline Creek.

Becoming an American Town

After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, more American settlers moved to the area. Many were German families from Bollinger County. Others, like Moses Austin, also came. Moses Austin, who later helped settle Texas, mined for lead here between 1800 and 1820.

In 1818, the area became Madison County. It was named after James Madison, who had been the fourth president of the United States. He had also helped with the Louisiana Purchase. The land south of Saline Creek belonged to Col. Nathaniel Cook. A new town was planned on his land, which was higher and safer from floods. This new town was named "Fredericktown" to honor Col. Cook's friend, Col. George Frederick Bollinger.

Recent Events

On October 24, 2021, a strong tornado hit the city. It was an EF3 tornado, which caused a lot of damage.

On October 30, 2024, a fire broke out at the Critical Mineral Recovery (CMR) battery plant. There were explosions inside the building. People living north and east of Fredericktown had to leave their homes for safety. This plant is one of the biggest Lithium-ion battery facilities in the world. A few days after the fire, thousands of dead fish were found in Village Creek and the St. Francis River. It is thought that chemicals from the firefighting foam caused this. The company plans to rebuild and expand its operations.

Historic Places to See

Several places in Fredericktown are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites. They include:

• Fredericktown Courthouse Square Historic District
• Fredericktown Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot
• Fredericktown United States Post Office
• Madison County Courthouse
• St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad Depot

Geography and Nature

Fredericktown is in northern Madison County. It sits in the valley of the Little St. Francis River, which flows west into the St. Francis River. U.S. Route 67 runs along the city's western edge. This road goes north to Farmington (18 miles) and south to Poplar Bluff (65 miles). Missouri Route 72 goes through the north side of Fredericktown. It leads east to Jackson (41 miles) and west to Ironton (20 miles).

The city of Fredericktown covers about 4.50 square miles (11.64 square kilometers). Most of this is land, with a small part being water. City Lake, a reservoir on the Little St. Francis River, is in the northern part of the city.

Black Mountain is about 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Fredericktown. Highway E runs near its base, next to the St. Francis River. Black Mountain is not the highest point in Missouri, but it has the biggest difference in height from its base to its top. The St. Francis River at its base is about 540 feet (165 meters) above sea level. The top of Black Mountain is 1,502 feet (458 meters) high. This means it rises about 962 feet (293 meters) from its base. In comparison, Taum Sauk Mountain, which is the highest point in Missouri, only rises about 700 feet (213 meters) from its base.

Climate in Fredericktown

Geology and Minerals

Fredericktown is special because of the many different minerals and metals found and mined nearby. These include lead, iron, copper, silver, cobalt, nickel, zinc, tungsten, and even small amounts of gold. All these have been mined at different times within 20 miles (32 km) of the town.

The mines just east of Fredericktown were once a huge source of lead in the United States. One of the oldest lead mines in North America is 6 miles (10 km) north, in Mine La Motte. While not much iron has been mined in Madison County itself, there are very large deposits of iron ore 20 miles (32 km) to the west in Iron County. These have been mined since the Civil War.

Silver Mines Recreation Area

West of Fredericktown, in Madison County, is the Silver Mines Recreation Area. This area is along a steep gorge of the St. Francis River. Here you can find the remains of a silver mine from the 1920s and a World War II-era tungsten mine.

You can still find examples of the minerals that were once mined there. Look in the piles of leftover rock on the south side of the St. Francis River. You might see shiny, metallic-looking minerals like sphalerite, arsenopyrite, and marcasite. These are often found in clear veins of quartz. If you look carefully, you might also find crystals of wolframite, which is a tungsten ore. It was mined during World War II when other sources were hard to get. Small pieces of topaz can also be found. These tiny stones caused problems for the early silver miners because they wore out their diamond-tipped drills quickly. You can also find tiny black grains of magnetite and ilmenite (titanium ore) in the black sands along the main swimming area's beach.

Madison County also has unique rocks not found anywhere else. One example is Devonite. This is a colorful decorative stone. It is only found in one specific rock formation called a dike on Mount Devon.

Population and People

Population in 2010

In 2010, Fredericktown had 3,985 people living in 1,669 households. About 995 of these were families. The city had about 920 people per square mile (355 people per square kilometer). There were 1,902 homes in total.

Most of the people in the city were White (96.41%). A smaller number were Black or African American (0.28%), Native American (0.55%), or Asian (0.58%). About 1.83% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

In 30.9% of homes, there were children under 18 years old. About 41.3% of homes had married couples. The average household had 2.31 people, and the average family had 2.97 people.

The average age in the city was 38.6 years old. About 24.4% of residents were under 18. About 19.9% were 65 years or older. The city had slightly more females (53.7%) than males (46.3%).

Education in Fredericktown

The Fredericktown R-I School District runs the local schools. It includes two elementary schools, one middle school, and Fredericktown High School.

Fredericktown also has a public library. It is part of the Ozark Regional Library system.

See also

In Spanish: Fredericktown (Misuri) para niños