Formed October 19, 1857 (108th county)
Douglas County (11,575), Ava (2,894)
The red brick Art Deco courthouse for Douglas County built in 1937, replaced an 1888 facility. There were also 1857, 1872, and 1873 courthouses. The courthouse is at 2nd Street and 2nd Avenue. Dan R. Sanford is the building architect. Missouri State Highway 14 is one block to the north of the site. Douglas County was established on October 19, 1857 from Ozark County as the 108th county. It is named for Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas. The county seat is named for the Biblical city. Red Bud was the original county seat, then Rome in 1860, and Ava in 1873.
Douglas County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners. One Circuit Court Judge serves Douglas, Ozark, and Wright counties and One County Court Judge serves Douglas County. The county is in southern Missouri. Springfield, Missouri is northwest and Saint Louis, Missouri is northeast of the county. The county center is 12.2 miles East of Ava. The county is surrounded clockwise by Wright, Texas, Howell, Ozark, Taney, Christian, and Webster counties.
The area of the county is 815 square miles. It is 12 out of 115 in the state. It ranks 78 out of 115 in population in the state. It has a density of 14.2 persons per square mile making it 92 out of 115 in the state. Douglas County has 25.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county. The county is a flat rectangle. Ava is in the western quarter of the county. Ava is the county seat and the largest city since it is the only incorporated city. It is 25.0% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced AE-VA.
Ava
