Cedar City, Missouri
Encyclopedia
Cedar City is an unincorporated community in southern Callaway County
, Missouri
, USA
. It is located at 38.600774, -91.926727 , opposite the Missouri River
from the main part of Jefferson City
and is near the interchange of U.S. Route 54
and U.S. Route 63
. Jefferson City has annexed the interchange and is now next to Cedar City. The community was founded in 1870 and is named after the Eastern redcedar
tree. It is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri
Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
When Jefferson City was named, by Governor McNair, as the site for the capital for the State of Missouri, a number of Irish settlers came to work on the new capitol building. The site that they selected to settle was on the North bank of the Missouri River at the confluence with Cedar Creek and Turkey Creek. The name Hibernia was the name given to the river landing site and settlement by the first postmaster, Patrick McMasters Dillon. Hibernia was taken from the ancient Latin name of Ireland, and that name was well applied to honor the small settlement of Irish immigrants who had made their home there
In 1834, John Yount and William B. Scott, purchased patents on the lands in section sixteen on which the village of Hibernia and its river landing were situated. The land patent of William B. Scott bore the notation, “assignee, Cedar City Land Company”, foretelling the future of Hibernia. With the continued growth of Jefferson City and establishment of landings on the North bank of the river directly across from Jefferson City, and three miles to the East of Jefferson City, Hibernia’s position on the river was diminished. It remained a favored steamboat landing nonetheless. With the gradual loss of steamboat traffic and decline of steam boating itself in the 1870s, the village of Hibernia faded in prominence and gradually became known as Cedar City, with the name of the post office being changed to Cedar City in 1871. With this change the fate of Hibernia was sealed and was to gradually fade from memory.
The severe flooding along the Missouri River in the 1880s, and particularly 1888, significantly changed the course of the river leaving Cedar City and Hibernia Landing approximately one-half mile inland from the river. It also created a new confluence for Cedar Creek approximately four miles to the West. The days of Hibernia as a village and as a river landing were gone as a result of this flooding, with the only remembrance being the naming of the Chicago & Alton Railroad depot at Holt’s Summit as Hibernia Station.
Steamboats, such as the J.W. Spencer and J.L. Ferguson, made their respective contributions as local ferry boats operating in the decade prior to the construction of the first bridge crossing the Missouri River at Jefferson City. To the immediate southeast of Hibernia is that bridge, built privately by the Jefferson City Bridge Company, which crossed the river at Bolivar Street in Jefferson City to a site on the North shore in Callaway County. It was the opening of the newly constructed bridge that finally brought the steamboat era to a close in the Jefferson City area. The closing of steamboat traffic on the Spencer was celebrated along with the opening of the new bridge in 1895 and shortly thereafter the Spencer was sold and transferred to St. Charles, Missouri. In the immediate area is the developing future of Jefferson City with new bridge, water tower, railroad service, churches and state capitol building.
The contribution that these small river landings made to the growth and settlement of Missouri and points further west is immeasurable. Steamboat traffic made the Missouri River the superhighway to the West and brought a flood of immigrants on a means of transportation less fraught with the rigors of overland and keelboat travel, and at a cost that was much more affordable as time progressed. It was the steamboats that brought most of our German immigrants to the hills of Central Missouri and took our produce and products to markets elsewhere. Steamboating, as with other means of transportation and travel, gradually faded into the past leaving new venues of railroads, roads and bridges, and also air travel for our future.
Cedar City was a victim of the great flood of 1993. Most all of the buildings have since been torn down and its residents moved to higher ground. It's since been annexed by Jefferson City which lies directly south across the Missouri River and most of what used to be Cedar City is now part of North Jefferson City Park.
Callaway County, Missouri
Callaway County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 44,332. Its county seat is Fulton. The county was organized in 1820. It was named for Capt. James Callaway, a grandson of...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located at 38.600774, -91.926727 , opposite the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
from the main part of Jefferson City
Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Cole County. Located in Callaway and Cole counties, it is the principal city of the Jefferson City metropolitan area, which encompasses the entirety of both counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,079...
and is near the interchange of U.S. Route 54
U.S. Route 54
U.S. Route 54 is an east–west United States highway that runs northeast-southwest for 1,197 miles from western Illinois to El Paso, Texas. It enters and leaves Texas twice...
and U.S. Route 63
U.S. Route 63
U.S. Route 63 is a long north–south United States highway primarily in the Midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 in Ruston, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 2 in Benoit, Wisconsin, about east of Duluth, Minnesota. It is not related to U.S...
. Jefferson City has annexed the interchange and is now next to Cedar City. The community was founded in 1870 and is named after the Eastern redcedar
Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus virginiana is a species of juniper native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Great Plains...
tree. It is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Cole County. Located in Callaway and Cole counties, it is the principal city of the Jefferson City metropolitan area, which encompasses the entirety of both counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,079...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Jefferson City, Missouri Metropolitan Area
The Jefferson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties – Cole, Callaway, Moniteau, and Osage – in central Missouri anchored by the city of Jefferson City...
.
History
The site of Hibernia was a choice river landing site among French trappers and traders and also among the early Kentuckians of territorial and early statehood times, because of its natural harbor at the confluence of the river and two major streams. Hibernia established itself as a center or river commerce and early migration landing site for both keelboat and steamboat traffic on the river and remained strong in its position among river landings throughout the early steamboat period.When Jefferson City was named, by Governor McNair, as the site for the capital for the State of Missouri, a number of Irish settlers came to work on the new capitol building. The site that they selected to settle was on the North bank of the Missouri River at the confluence with Cedar Creek and Turkey Creek. The name Hibernia was the name given to the river landing site and settlement by the first postmaster, Patrick McMasters Dillon. Hibernia was taken from the ancient Latin name of Ireland, and that name was well applied to honor the small settlement of Irish immigrants who had made their home there
In 1834, John Yount and William B. Scott, purchased patents on the lands in section sixteen on which the village of Hibernia and its river landing were situated. The land patent of William B. Scott bore the notation, “assignee, Cedar City Land Company”, foretelling the future of Hibernia. With the continued growth of Jefferson City and establishment of landings on the North bank of the river directly across from Jefferson City, and three miles to the East of Jefferson City, Hibernia’s position on the river was diminished. It remained a favored steamboat landing nonetheless. With the gradual loss of steamboat traffic and decline of steam boating itself in the 1870s, the village of Hibernia faded in prominence and gradually became known as Cedar City, with the name of the post office being changed to Cedar City in 1871. With this change the fate of Hibernia was sealed and was to gradually fade from memory.
The severe flooding along the Missouri River in the 1880s, and particularly 1888, significantly changed the course of the river leaving Cedar City and Hibernia Landing approximately one-half mile inland from the river. It also created a new confluence for Cedar Creek approximately four miles to the West. The days of Hibernia as a village and as a river landing were gone as a result of this flooding, with the only remembrance being the naming of the Chicago & Alton Railroad depot at Holt’s Summit as Hibernia Station.
Steamboats, such as the J.W. Spencer and J.L. Ferguson, made their respective contributions as local ferry boats operating in the decade prior to the construction of the first bridge crossing the Missouri River at Jefferson City. To the immediate southeast of Hibernia is that bridge, built privately by the Jefferson City Bridge Company, which crossed the river at Bolivar Street in Jefferson City to a site on the North shore in Callaway County. It was the opening of the newly constructed bridge that finally brought the steamboat era to a close in the Jefferson City area. The closing of steamboat traffic on the Spencer was celebrated along with the opening of the new bridge in 1895 and shortly thereafter the Spencer was sold and transferred to St. Charles, Missouri. In the immediate area is the developing future of Jefferson City with new bridge, water tower, railroad service, churches and state capitol building.
The contribution that these small river landings made to the growth and settlement of Missouri and points further west is immeasurable. Steamboat traffic made the Missouri River the superhighway to the West and brought a flood of immigrants on a means of transportation less fraught with the rigors of overland and keelboat travel, and at a cost that was much more affordable as time progressed. It was the steamboats that brought most of our German immigrants to the hills of Central Missouri and took our produce and products to markets elsewhere. Steamboating, as with other means of transportation and travel, gradually faded into the past leaving new venues of railroads, roads and bridges, and also air travel for our future.
Cedar City was a victim of the great flood of 1993. Most all of the buildings have since been torn down and its residents moved to higher ground. It's since been annexed by Jefferson City which lies directly south across the Missouri River and most of what used to be Cedar City is now part of North Jefferson City Park.