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Cities Near Rolla, MO
600 Iowa St
Rolla, MO (in city)
4 Bed, 2 Bath
Home
1344 sq.ft.
Local city information for Rolla, MO
Alternate uses: see Rolla (disambiguation).
Rolla is a city in Phelps County, Missouri, United States, midway between the larger cities of St. Louis and Springfield. The population was 16,367 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Phelps County. The Rolla Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Phelps County.
Rolla is an important center for state and federal education and research in science and technology. It is the home of the Missouri University of Science and Technology, originating as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy in 1870 and existing as the University of Missouri–Rolla from 1964 through 2007. In addition, the US Geological Survey operates a large regional facility with various centers: the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center III, the Missouri Water Science Center, the Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center, National Spatial Data Infrastructure Partnership Office Liaisons, and the Rolla Science Information and Library Services office. The headquarters of the Mark Twain National Forest, the only United States National Forest in Missouri, is also located in Rolla.
Although private businesses are more limited, Royal Canin, a major manufacturer of dog and cat food, operates in Rolla.
In addition, this is part of the Ozark Highlands American Viticultural Area, with vineyards established first by Italian immigrants to the area.
The first European-American settlers in Phelps County arrived in the early 1800s, working as farmers and iron workers along the local rivers, such as the Meramec, the Gasconade, and the Little Piney. In 1844 John Webber built the first house in what became the City of Rolla. Nine years later, railroad contractor Edmund Ward Bishop, considered to be the founder of Rolla, settled in the area. The state officially established Rolla as a town in 1858.
Two stories account for how Rolla was named. One, widely regarded as a folk legend, and acknowledged as such by the Phelps County Historical Society, comes from competition with neighboring Dillon, Missouri to be designated the county seat. When Rolla was made the county seat in 1861, the residents of Dillon, having lost a round, were allowed to choose the name of the new city and named it Rolla, after a good-for-nothing hunting dog.
The more widely accepted story came from a citizens' meeting about naming the town. Webber was said to prefer the name Hardscrabble, used to describe the soils in the region, and Bishop pushed for the name Phelps Center. New settlers from North Carolina voted to name the town after their hometown of Raleigh but chose to spell the Missouri version phonetically.
With numerous settlers from the South, many residents of Rolla leaned toward the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The town was taken by Union forces in June, 1861. They built two minor forts during their occupation, Fort Wyman and Fort Dette.
For most of its history, Rolla has served as a transportation and trading center. Rolla was the original terminus of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, colloquially known as the "Frisco Line". Today the BNSF Railway runs directly through the town.
Rolla was a regular stop along U.S. Route 66, as it was located almost exactly halfway between the larger cities of St. Louis and Springfield. Today Interstate 44, U.S. Route 63, and Route 72 all run through Rolla.
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