right|thumb|200px|The Clark County, Missouri courthouse as it appeared circa 1878.
right|thumb|200px|Clark County Courthouse in 2007. It was demolished in 2010 despite being on the National Register of Historic Places.
Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,634. Its county seat is Kahoka. The county was organized December 16, 1836, and named for William Clark, leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and later Governor of Missouri Territory.
Clark County is part of the Fort Madison–Keokuk, IA-IL-MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Missouri folklorist Margot Ford McMillen wrote that early settlers were attracted by Clark County's good and inexpensive agricultural land. One section was called "Bit Nation" because land was sold there for just twelve and one-half cents ("one bit" of a Spanish dollar) an acre. In 1861, the Battle of Athens during the American Civil War took place in the town of Athens, Missouri in Clark County. The Battle of Athens Historical Site is a state park in Clark County at the site of the battle.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- Van Buren County, Iowa (north)
- Lee County, Iowa (northeast)
- Hancock County, Illinois (east)
- Lewis County (south)
- Knox County (southwest)
- Scotland County (west)
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Route 61
- 25px U.S. Route 136
- 20px Route 27
- 20px Route 81
National protected area
- Great River National Wildlife Refuge (part)