Visitors Guide to Benton
Scott County, Missouri

Scott County was one of the first counties formed after Missouri gained statehood in August of 1821. In 1822 land was chosen for a county seat and the town of Benton was platted. Benton is named after Thomas Hart Benton, Missouri's first U.S. Senator. The first of five Scott County courthouses was constructed on the new public square in 1822. This log building, according to local history, had a loft and doubled as a church, school, gambling room, and .occasionally provided occasional shelter for livestock. Repeated raids during the Civil War caused the county seat to be moved in 1863 to nearby Commerce, where it remained until returned to Benton by popular vote in 1878. Because Benton was bypassed by the railroads until the 20th century, its economy was based on politics. The current Scott County Courthouse is the fifth courthouse for the county and is located in Benton's public square in the middle of a small commercial district and fronts a historic thoroughfare originally known as El Camino Real or Kings Highway (US 61.)