Editing Pocahontas, Missouri (section)

==History==
The early inhabitants of the area were the [[Mound Builders|Mississippian Mound Builders]], who were part of the [[Mississippian culture]]. The Mound Builders went into decline in the 12th and 13th centuries, resulting in a depopulation of the area. In the latter part of the 18th century, French and Spanish officials allowed the immigration of [[Shawnee]] and [[Delaware Nation|Delaware]] Indians from [[Ohio]]. In the 1820s, these Indians were moved further west, with only a few remaining behind. The last of the Indians to stay were removed from the area in 1857.<ref>{{Cite journal | url = https://archive.org/details/ahistorymissour01houcgoog | page = [https://archive.org/details/ahistorymissour01houcgoog/page/n98 72] | quote = mounds in perry county missouri. | title = A History of Missouri: From the Earliest Explorations and Settlements Until the Admission of the State Into the Union | publisher = R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company | author1 = Louis Houck | year = 1908}}</ref>

Early American settlers to the area were the Abernathy and Little families, who farmed the land around present-day Pocahontas. Samuel Green, an Englishman, purchased land from Joseph Abernathy and operated the Green Station general store and post office. The Applecreek Presbyterian Church was established in 1821 and celebrates its 200 year anniversary in 2021,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.krcu.org/education/2021-05-20/missouri-bicentennial-minutes-apple-creek-presbyterian-church-established|title=Missouri Bicentennial Minutes: Apple Creek Presbyterian Church Established|date=May 20, 2021|website=KRCU Public Radio}}</ref> German and Austrian immigrants began to settle around Pocahontas. [[St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church (Pocahontas, Missouri)|St. John Iowa Synod Lutheran Church]] was founded in 1870, and in 1889 Zion Lutheran Church Missouri Synod was built. It was incorporated as a town in 1893.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-AlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA373 | title=History of Southeast Missouri: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests, Volume 1 | publisher=Lewis Publishing Company | year=1912 | pages=373| isbn=9780722207536 }}</ref> A flour mill was constructed by John Hatcher, and today the mill is still operated as the Bowman Milling Company. A public school and two Lutheran parochial schools were also established. As of 2015, the town had four stores, several shops, a planing mill and a lumber yard.<ref name="SS_2015">{{cite news |last1=Sanders |first1=Sharon |title=10th Anniversary Edition: The bustling town of Pocahontas |url=https://www.semissourian.com/blogs/fromthemorgue/entry/63560 |access-date=August 23, 2021 |work=The Southeast Missourian |date=September 29, 2015}}</ref>