ANSWERS: 1
  • The first settlers in Phelps County came in the early 1800s, as farmers and iron workers along the local rivers, such as the Meramec RiverMeramec, the Gasconade RiverGasconade, and the Little Piney RiverLittle Piney. The first settlement in the City of Rolla proper was the home of John Webber, built in 1844. Nine years later, railroad contractor Edward Bishop, considered to be the founder of Rolla, settled in this area. Rolla was officially set aside as a town in 1858. There are two stories on how the town of Rolla received its name. One, widely regarded as a folk legend, and acknowledged as such by the Phelps County Historical Society, comes from the battle to become county seat with neighboring Dillon, Missouri. When Rolla was made the county seat in 1861, the residents of Dillon, losing the chance to be the home to the county seat, were allowed to choose the name of the new city, and named it Rolla, after a good-for-nothing hunting dog. The other, more widely accepted story, came from a citizens' meeting. Webber preferred the name Hardscrabble, for the unfarmable clay dirt in the region, and Bishop pushed for the name Phelps Center; however, the name for the town came from new settlers originally from North Carolina, who missed their hometown of Raleigh, North CarolinaRaleigh, but chose to spell it phonetically. Rolla's original affiliation during the American Civil War was Confederate. However, the town was taken by Union forces in June, 1861. Two minor forts were built: Fort Wyman and Fort Dette. In most of its history, Rolla has served as a transportation center. Rolla was the original terminus of the St. Louis-San Francisco RailwaySt. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, colloquially known as the "Frisco Line". Today the BNSF Railway runs directly through the town. Rolla was a major town in Missouri along U.S. Route 66, being located almost exactly halfway between the larger towns of Saint Louis, MissouriSt. Louis and Springfield, MissouriSpringfield. Today, Interstate 44, U.S. Highway 63, and Route 72 (Missouri)Route 72 run through Rolla. http://www.rollachamber.org/210.html Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolla%2C_Missouri

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