Iron Mountain, Missouri facts for kids
Iron Mountain is a small, unincorporated community located in southwestern St. Francois County, Missouri, United States. It's about six miles south of a town called Bismarck. An "unincorporated community" means it's a place where people live, but it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town would.
The Story of Iron Mountain
The community of Iron Mountain began in 1836. It was founded as a place for mining, which means people dug deep into the ground to find valuable minerals. The area was named after a nearby mountain, which people once believed was made entirely of iron ore. Iron ore is a rock from which we can get iron metal.
A post office was opened in Iron Mountain in 1846. This post office helped people send and receive mail for many years, finally closing its doors in 1978.
Iron and the Civil War
Iron Mountain became very important during the American Civil War. This war was fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The iron found at Iron Mountain was very pure. This meant it was good enough to be used for making cannons, which were essential weapons during the war. Because of its valuable iron, the community played a small but important role in the conflict.
Railroads and Mining
The history of railroads is very important to Iron Mountain. Trains were the best way to move the heavy minerals that were dug up from the mines. The Iron Mountain and Southern Railway was a major railroad company. It played a big part in helping Iron Mountain grow and develop during the 1800s. The railway helped transport the iron ore to factories where it could be turned into useful metal.
