The first community in the vicinity of Arkoe was Bridgewater, which was about a mile north of the current village. Nodaway County's first railroad, called the Missouri Valley Railroad (later becoming part of the Burlington Northern route), built two bridges across the 102 river within 1,000 feet (300 m) of each on a bend in the river and the county built a road bridge between the two in the same location. The railroad platted the community of Bridgewater by the bridges in 1870 and a post office opened there. Dr. Perry H. Talbott who granted the right of way through much of the land in the area, insisted that the town site be located on his property, and on September 16, 1874, he and S.K. Snively laid out Arkoe. Nelson Wilson who had opened a merchandise store in Bridgewater in 1871 moved the building to Arkoe and became its first business in 1874. Other businesses followed including the…
Passages that mention Arkoe, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Nodaway county, Missouri, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., biographical sketches of its citizens1882 · page 327Read the page →
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ARKOE, about one mile north of the old town of Bridgewater, which was consequently abandoned. Dr. P. H. Talbott and S. K. Snively laid off the town of Arkoe, September 15, 1874. Judge John Brady surveyed and platted the town. Dr. Talbott found the name in reading the work •entitled " Twenty Thousand Miles Under the Sea," and selected it as the name of the new town. There was no public sale of lots. Lot 1, block 3, was presented by S. K. Snively to W. G. Turner. Dr. P. H.
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The history of Nodaway county, Missouri, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., biographical sketches of its citizens1882 · page 323Read the page →
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The first settler in White Cloud Township was Hiram Hall, who came in 1840, and settled one and one-fourth miles southeast of the present site of Arkoe. He entered a claim, and cultivated his farm for several years, but sold out about the year i860, and moved to Kansas. Thomas Groves came from Tennessee about the year 1842. and settled on section 6, township 63, range 35. He has lived there ever since his first settlement near the White Cloud, and has an excellent farm. He has recently met with a serious misfortune in the loss of his home by fire.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Arkoe, 1877 to 1953
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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