Sunset is a rural unincorporated community in Polk County, in the U.S. state of Missouri, located southeast of the county seat in Bolivar.[1]

Location of Sunset on 2011 USGS map, Cedar Vista Quadrangle.

History

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A post office called Sunset was established in 1888, and remained in operation until 1900.[2] The name Sunset most likely is a transfer from another American place of the same name.[3]

According to Place Names in Southwest Counties of Missouri (1930), "Sunet was the fanciful name given to a little store and post office about forty years ago. It was probably named from one of the seven other Sunsets in the United States."[4]

Sunset Bridge, which crosses the Pomme de Terre River, was the first "iron" bridge in Polk County, with its first iteration constructed in 1885.[5] The current Sunset Bridge span was protected by a bank stabilization project in 2016.[6] Since 2001 the bridge has been decorated with artwork and kept free of graffiti by students from Halfway High School.[7]

The Sunset Park Access is a popular park to access the river for boating and fishing and has a boat ramp. The river is considered a good place for novice canoeists.[8]

References

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  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Sunset, Missouri
  2. ^ "Post Offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  3. ^ "Polk County Place Names, 1928–1945". The State Historical Society of Missouri. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  4. ^ Myers, Robert Lee. Place names in the southwest counties of Missouri, p. (1930)
  5. ^ Sunset Bridge, Spanning Pomme de Terre River, Bolivar, Polk County, MO, Library of Congress
  6. ^ Way, Jill (30 November 2016). Voice of dissent:Sunset Bridge and road projects completed amidst differing opinions, Bolivar MO News
  7. ^ Maull, Jessica Franklin (26 May 2017). A living masterpiece, Bolivar Herald-Free Press
  8. ^ (24 August 2006). Remote park welcomes river visitors, Springfield News-Leader, p. 26

37°33′04″N 93°18′28″W / 37.55111°N 93.30778°W / 37.55111; -93.30778