Zeta, Missouri

Zeta
Ghost town
Zeta is located in Missouri
Zeta
Zeta
The location of Zeta within Missouri
Coordinates: 36°57′20.18″N 89°52′5.32″W / 36.9556056°N 89.8681444°W / 36.9556056; -89.8681444
CountryUnited States
StateMissouri
CountyStoddard County
Elevation
[1]
322 ft (98 m)

Zeta is a ghost town in Stoddard County, in the U.S. state of Missouri.[1] It was named after the Greek letter zeta by George H. Crumb, who built a rail line between Zeta and Bloomfield.[2][3]

Development

The town was a stop along the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway within Richland Township, located near Aquilla and Durnell.[2] It also was a stop along the "Cotton Belt Route", and had been a part of the defunct Missouri Southeastern Railway service between Zeta and Bloomfield.[4][5] Additional rail lines existed between Zeta and Vanduser in neighboring Scott County.[6]

Varying records indicate that a post office called Zeta was established in 1895 and potentially also in 1910, and remained in operation until 1936.[7][8][2] Zeta also was home to multiple farms and sawmills.[9]

Current state

One of the few remnants of Zeta left is the Crowder-Zeta special road district; its name being shared with nearby Crowder.[10][11] As of 2024, a Nestlé Purina PetCare factory is located immediately north of the historical location of Zeta, south of Missouri supplemental route Y, which was formerly and locally known as the "Zeta-Crowder road."[12][13][1]

Notable events

In 1916, a man from Zeta, Emil L. Gerardi, claimed to be a candidate for president in the 1916 United States presidential election.[14]

On May 30, 1917, an F3 tornado touched down west of Acorn Ridge, Missouri and crossed through Zeta and Stoddard County, killing three people in Zeta.[15]

On December 6, 1924, the Zeta rail depot was set on fire along with the depot in nearby Ardeola, which had completely burned down.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Zeta (historical)
  2. ^ a b c Hamlett, Mayme Lucille (1938). Place names of six southeast counties of Missouri (Thesis thesis). University of Missouri--Columbia. doi:10.32469/10355/70281.
  3. ^ "George H Crumb, Zeta". The Bloomfield Vindicator. January 31, 1908. p. 5. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  4. ^ "Zeta MO Cotton Belt Route". The Bloomfield Vindicator. December 3, 1897. p. 3. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "Zeta MO rail line improvements". The Bloomfield Vindicator. September 11, 1908. p. 1. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "Zeta-Vanduser rail line". The Bloomfield Vindicator. November 14, 1902. p. 5. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  7. ^ "Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  8. ^ "A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets of Missouri". thelibrary.org. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  9. ^ Williams, Walter, ed. (1904). The state of Missouri; an autobiography. Missouri: Press of E.W. Stephens. LCCN 05009158.
  10. ^ Mintee, Susan (February 2007). Special Road District Financial Reporting Practices (PDF) (Report). Vol. 2007. Office of the Missouri State Auditor. p. 28. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  11. ^ "Crowder-Zeta Special Road District notice". The Bloomfield Vindicator. July 27, 1945. p. 3. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  12. ^ "Zeta Crowder road". The Bloomfield Vindicator. June 10, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  13. ^ "Zeta Crowder road rights". The Bloomfield Vindicator. October 1, 1948. p. 1. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "Emil Gerardi Zeta MO". The East Prairie Eagle. June 9, 1916. p. 2. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  15. ^ Grazulis, T. P. (1990). Significant Tornadoes, 1880-1989. Environmental Films. ISBN 978-1-879362-00-0.
  16. ^ "Zeta and Ardeola depot fire". The Bloomfield Vindicator. December 12, 1924. p. 1. Retrieved April 2, 2024.

36°57′20″N 89°52′05″W / 36.955606°N 89.868144°W / 36.955606; -89.868144