Blackwater, MO

Blackwater is a city in northwest Cooper County, Missouri, United States located along the Blackwater River, from which it takes its name. The 2020 census counted 170 residents. Founded by the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Blackwater's economy was largely defined by freight until the mid-twentieth century. The city has preserved a number of historic, rail-related structures that have been repurposed as museums, hotels, or antique shops. Blackwater's local map joins its older history to the places and landscapes that still shape the town today, all within the wider Missouri setting.

The local scoop is how Blackwater's history still shows up in the places people visit, work, learn, and meet. In the late nineteenth century, the Missouri Pacific Railroad sought to construct a "River Route" to link important sites like Kansas City, Boonville, and Jefferson City. Blackwater is located along Missouri Route K two miles north of I-70. The site is on the south bank of the Blackwater River, and the community of Nelson in adjacent Saline County lies two miles to the west-northwest.