Bismarck Neighborhood Watch

The city was platted and recorded on Nov. 19, 1868. In an effort to attract settlers of German heritage to the booming railroad town, the new village was named in honor of Prince Otto Eduard Leopold Von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor of Germany.

The strategy apparently worked. At the close of the Franco-Prussian War in the 1870s, many German immigrants came to America, where they were drawn to Missouri and the new town with the familiar name.

According to county records, Latourno’s Addition was laid out, surveyed and platted by John Latourno, Julia Ann Wallen and Francis M. Hines on Jan. 23, 1871. The new addition was also recorded on that date.

On June 9, 1877, the St. Francois County Court approved the incorporation of the town of Bismarck and Latourno’s Addition after receiving a petition representing two-thirds of the taxpayers of the area. Along with the incorporation papers, the petitioners also requested a police force to protect the growing community.