Pilot Knob, Missouri
city in Iron County, Missouri, United States
Pilot Knob is a city in northeast Iron County, Missouri, United States. The population was 671 at the 2020 census. It lies eighteen miles (29 km) south-east of Belgrade and twenty-seven miles (43 km) north-east of Centerville.
History
Pilot Knob was platted in 1858. The city was named after the Pilot Knob mountain nearby, which served as a navigational landmark or "pilot" to hunters and travelers. A post office called Pilot Knob has been in operation since 1858.
The Battle of Pilot Knob in the fall of 1864 was a notable clash in the area during the Civil War. A museum near the battle site is dedicated to this event.
Geography
Pilot Knob is located on Missouri Route 21 approximately one and a half miles (2.4 km) north-northeast of Ironton and three miles (5 km) southeast of Elephant Rocks State Park.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.90 square miles (2.33 km2), of which 0.89 square miles (2.31 km2) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2) is water.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Pilot Knob, Missouri” as city in Iron County, Missouri, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in Iron County, Missouri, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q953926. VIAF identifies the subject as 126860485. The Library of Congress control number is n2002021187. Authority coordinates are 37.624, -90.644. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1858 and 1864.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pilot Knob, Missouri”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pilot Knob, Missouri primary sources, Pilot Knob, Missouri archive and Pilot research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pilot Knob, Missouri”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pilot Knob, Missouri” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.