Before becoming Rolla, the county seat was Dunseith from 1884 to 1885 and St. John from 1885 to 1889.

Houston was an important place on the route from federal headquarters in Springfield to headquarters in Rolla.

The founder of Rolla, Edmund Ward Bishop, was originally a railroad construction contractor in New York.

There was disagreement over the site-the " westerners " wanted Rolla, and the " easterners " wanted Dillon, so the General Assembly did not legally declare Rolla to be the official county seat until 1861.

It was finally settled in favor of Rolla.

Rolla was officially surveyed, laid out and named in 1858.

The town of Rolla did not exist as of November 13, 1857, when the county was created.

During the American Civil War, Rolla was an important military post with as many as 20, 000 Union troops here.

The tension was thick when the group then moved to the newspaper office of Charles Walder, a Union supporter and editor of the Rolla Express.

From that day until the close of the war, Rolla was in Union hands.

The 13th Illinois Infantry Regiment, under Colonel John B. Wyman, was brought in to guard Rolla and the Pacific Railroad ’ s terminal.

President Abraham Lincoln ’ s personal order was that Rolla should be held at all costs.

Rolla was an important site during the Civil War because the southwest branch of the Pacific Railroad ended here.

After the commanding general of the Union Forces, General Nathaniel Lyon, was killed at the Wilson's Creek battle near Springfield, his body was brought to Rolla to be transported back East for burial.

Old town Rolla was located along Main Street near the Courthouse.

Tichenor was born in Ohio County in western Kentucky to Rolla Tichenor and the former Elizabeth Hymphrey.

The town was originally called Centertown because it was halfway between Rolla and Newburg.

Trustees of the new town upon its incorporation were Hargis, a fellow named " Durham " who was principal of the Newburg High School, Bob Crain who was an employee of the Missouri Burea of Mines in the town of Rolla, and Ike Towell who operated a filling station and grocery store.

Two stories account for how Rolla was named.

When Rolla was made the county seat in 1861, the residents of Dillon, having lost a round, were allowed to choose the name of the new city and named it Rolla, after a good-for-nothing hunting dog.

In 1964, the School of Mines ‡ was renamed UM – Rolla, and the original university in Columbia was renamed UM – Columbia.

The railroad ran its first train on December 22, 1860, making Rolla the terminus of the road.

Being situated at the terminus of the railroad, military wagon trains went out from Rolla to all Union armies stationed southwest in Arkansas, Hartville, and Springfield and northwest to the Linn Creek area, now known as Lake of the Ozarks.

Its eastern terminus is at Route 34 west of Jackson ; its western terminus is at I-44 on the exit with U. S. Route 63 in Rolla.

Its eastern ( or southern ) terminus is at Route 19 in Salem ; its western ( or northern ) terminus is at U. S. Route 63 north of Rolla.

Thousands of Union troops and their supplies came to Rolla by train from St. Louis and then were transferred to wagon trails to go to the battles of Wilson Creek in Springfield and Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove in Arkansas, plus a number of other smaller skirmishes.

Rolla is a city in Phelps County, Missouri, United States, midway between the larger cities of St. Louis and Springfield along I-44.

Rolla was a regular stop along U. S. Route 66, as it is located almost exactly halfway between the larger cities of St. Louis and Springfield.

The Daily Guide, commonly known as the Waynesville Daily Guide but based in St. Robert and serving the entire county, is owned by Gatehouse Media and is the central printing plant for three other Gatehouse newspapers in nearby counties, the daily Camden Lake Sun Leader and Rolla Daily News as well as the weekly St. James Leader-Journal.

It is owned by GateHouse Media and is the central printing plant for three other GateHouse newspapers in nearby counties, the daily Camden Lake Sun Leader and Rolla Daily News as well as the weekly St. James Leader-Journal.

The UM System was created in 1963 when the University of Missouri ( founded in 1839 in Columbia ) and its offshoot, the Missouri School of Mines ( now the Missouri University of Science & Technology ), founded in 1870 in Rolla, were combined with the formerly private University of Kansas City ( now University of Missouri-Kansas City, founded in 1933 ), and a newly created campus in suburban St. Louis ( University of Missouri-St. Louis ) in 1963.

After Raymer graduated from Parkway South High School in St. Louis, he enrolled at the University of Missouri – Rolla, where he majored in chemistry and became a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.

Image: Rolla Wells 1906. jpg | Rolla Wells, 30th mayor of St. Louis

* Western Historical Manuscript Collection — Rolla — University of Missouri-Rolla " Guide to the Historical Records of the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway Company " Retrieved September 16, 2005

The Daily Guide, commonly known as the Waynesville Daily Guide but based in St. Robert and serving the entire county, is owned by Gatehouse Media and is the central printing plant for three other Gatehouse newspapers in nearby counties, the daily Camden Lake Sun Leader and Rolla Daily News as well as the weekly St. James Leader-Journal.

Its county seat is Rolla.

The largest city and county seat is Rolla.

Vineyards and wineries were first established in the county by Italian immigrants in Rolla.

In 1844 John Webber built the first house within the present city limits of Rolla.

One year later, Lieutenant James Abert started the first railroad reconnaissance survey in Rolla.

Before the high court could make a decision, however, the Legislature took action on January 14, 1860, confirming the location of the county seat at Rolla.

The others agreed with Coppedge on the condition that it shouldn't have " that silly spelling, but should be spelled ' Rolla.

' The county seat locating commission designated the area now known as Rolla to be the county seat.

It is in this last road order, dated in July 1858, that the use of the name Rolla first appears in the court records.

Outside the courthouse, a group of men drew down the United States flag and raised a Confederate flag, which had been hastily pieced together by the women of Rolla.