Where Did Monett Get its Name?

Where Did Monett Get its Name?. . Monett had four other names before it was called Monett. Monett was first named Kings Prairie Depot. Monett began as a Frisco Railroad town because of its location. By 1875, Plymouth had become a new name for Kings Prairie Depot. The name Plymouth has a complicated history. It belonged originally to the town now known as Billings. The town name of Plymouth began in July 1880. During this time, Plymouth was a flag station and telegraph office at the junction of Frisco's main line and the Arkansas Branch. In 1882 it became known as Plymouth Junction, which was frequently its name in contemporary newspaper articles and ads. In 1887 the name was changed to Gonten because the post office refused to recognize the name Plymouth because it was in use elsewhere and referred to the town as Gonten, named for its postmaster, Fredrick von Gonten. The names Plymouth, Plymouth Junction, and Gonten were all often in use at the same time, roughly from 1880 to 1887. Much of the original town of Plymouth burned down in a fire in 1886, likely started by sparks from a passing train. Houses west of Central survived, thus the West Monett moniker developed. The town of Monett was laid out next door to Plymouth, named for Henry Monett, a prominent official of the New York Central Railroad. The new town was heavily promoted in the Missouri press through the fall of 1887, with a big auction of town lots in October of that year. Separated from Monett only by the width of today's Central Avenue, Plymouth lost its separate identity and became part of Monett, although it was sometimes referred to as “West Monett” into the early 20th Century. , Written by: Edgar Montelongo [and] Charles Ortwein , This sign was created by students under the direction of Monett High School Missouri Literature and Composition teacher Amy M. Sampson and was paid for via a grant she wrote and was awarded from Rural Schools Collaborative and their 2023 Celia B. Godsil Grants in Place Fellows Program.