Illmo, Missouri

Illmo is an unincorporated community in Scott County, Missouri. It is next to Scott City. Its post office has closed and its mail now comes from Scott City. The community was founded in 1905 and its name is a contraction of "Illinois" and "Missouri" as the community is near Illinois and in Missouri. The town was created to support a major Frisco railroad hub in the days of steam locomotives, and when steam was replaced with diesel, the railroad yard was no longer needed and the town gradually dried up. At one time, this huge yard, like Spencer, N.C., and many others, were busy day and night, and the romantic sounds of steam engines and switchers could be heard throughout the neighborhoods. The bridge across the Mississippi, built in 1905, connected Illinois and Missouri, hence the name Illmo.