Oldest Counties in Missouri

The oldest counties in Missouri are generally those that were established when Missouri was still part of the Louisiana Territory before it became a state. In fact, all 13 counties listed below are all older than the state of Missouri itself. Here are the oldest counties in Missouri and their respective years of establishment.

(Note:  The Top 5 were the Original 5 Counties in Missouri)

This map shows the interesting history of Missouri’s original counties. As you can see, the five original counties that were founded in 1812 comprised the area around St. Louis and to the south along the Mississippi River. Howard County, which is known as the “Mother of Counties” makes up a large portion of central Missouri north of the Missouri River. Howard was eventually divided into 31 total counties including:

At one point, Howard County was larger than Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont.