Editing Andrew County, Missouri (section)

==History==
The following material is inscribed on a plaque erected by the State Historical Society of Missouri and State Highway Commission in 1960, now located by the Andrew County Courthouse:

Andrew County, organized 1841, is one of six counties in the Indian [[Platte Purchase]] Territory annexed to Missouri in 1837. Named for Andrew Jackson Davis, a St. Louis editor, the county was first settled in the middle 1830s. Pioneers were from [[Ohio]], [[Indiana]], [[Tennessee]], [[Kentucky]], [[Virginia]], and other parts of Missouri.

Savannah, the county seat, was laid out in 1841. First briefly called Union, it was renamed for [[Savannah, Georgia]]. The Platte County Railroad (CB&Q) reached there in 1860, and today's Chicago, Great Western in the late 1880s. The town grew as a shipping point and trading center in the post Civil War era.

Divided during the Civil War, Andrew County sent troops to both sides. In August 1861, 1,500 soldiers from Andrew County and other counties joined the pro-Southern Missouri State Guard at Camp Highly in eastern Andrew County while others joined a large Union cap in adjacent Gentry County. In 1861, Union troops seized "Northwest Democrat," a pro-Southern newspaper, in Savannah and troops from Camp Highly seized the "Plain Dealer," a Union newspaper. Raiding guerrilla bands overran the county through 1863.

Andrew County's glacial plains support fertile livestock, grain, and fruit farms. The [[One Hundred and Two River]], along with the Platte River, are located in the county. Its western border is formed by the [[Nodaway River|Nodaway]] and [[Missouri River|Missouri]] rivers. In 1804 the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] camped on an island at the mouth of the Nodaway River. Members of fur trader [[W. Price Hunt]]'s 1811 [[John Jacob Astor|Astorian]] expedition wintered near the river's mouth as well.

Among the towns located in Andrew County are [[Amazonia, Missouri|Amazonia]], once on the Missouri River, now inland, laid out in 1857 near the site of Nodaway City, an early river port; [[Fillmore, Missouri|Fillmore]], established in 1845; [[Whitesville, Missouri|Whitesville]], established in 1848; [[Rochester, Missouri|Rochester]], established in 1848; [[Bolckow, Missouri|Bolckow]], established in 1868; [[Rosendale, Missouri|Rosendale]], established in 1869; [[Rea, Missouri|Rea]], established in 1877; [[Helena, Missouri|Helena]], established in 1878; and [[Cosby, Missouri|Cosby]], established in 1882.

The Andrew County Museum & Historical Society celebrates the history of Andrew County through exhibits, programs, publications, and special events. The museum and society collects, preserves, researches, and interprets documents and artifacts to promote the appreciation and preservation of the county's history and bring history to life in Andrew County.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://andrewcountymuseum.org/|title=Andrew County Museum}}</ref>