Piedmont, MO

Piedmont is a Wayne County city at the foot of Clark Mountain, where Routes 34 and 49 meet in the Ozark foothills. The town was platted in 1871 when the Iron Mountain Railroad reached south to the site, and the line brought workers, farmers, supplies, and new businesses into what had been Danielsville. Clearwater Lake later added a reservoir and recreation landscape west of town, while the two nearby drive-in theaters preserve a very specific local tradition. Piedmont's name means “foot of the mountain,” and the map still fits it: rail town below a ridge, with lake country opening out beyond.