TOWNS
Scotland County administrative offices are located at 117 South Market Street, Memphis, MO 63555. Phone: (660) 465-7027.
The first white settlement in Scotland County was in 1833 by brothers Levi and George Rhodes and their families near a location known as Sand Hill. Sand Hill was in the southern part of the county, about 12 miles from present-day Memphis. A general store was opened there around 1835 by James l. Jones, who also served as Scotland County's first sheriff.
Scotland County was the scene of three notable engagements during the American Civil War. The first happened at Etna on July 21, 1861. The 1st Northeast Missouri Home Guards under Colonel David Moore with assistance of additional units from Iowa and Illinois attacked pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard (MSG) forces using Etna as a training and resupply point. The action was part of General Nathaniel Lyon‘s efforts to clear “rebels” from rural Missouri. After a brief battle the MSG forces, mostly lightly-armed cavalry, were driven from the town and surrounding areas of Scotland County and Moore’s unit returned to its main base at Athens, Missouri. [www.scotlandcountymo.org, accessed June, 2025]