Formed December 12, 1855 (106th county)
Maries County (8,430), Vienna (579), Belle (1,384)
The masonry Art Deco building was constructed in 1940 and renovated in 1998. The courthouse is on a square at 3rd, Coffey, 4th, and Main streets. United States Highway 63 is one block to the west of the site. The courthouse was designed by Macon C. Abbitt and Allen Bethel. There was an 1869 courthouse earlier also in Vienna, the only county seat. The county was formed on December 12, 1855 from parts of Osage and Pulaski counties as the 106th county. It is named for the river which is French for “marsh.” The county seat is named for Vienna, Austria.
Maries County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners. Two Circuit Court Judges serve Maries, Phelps, Pulaski, and Texas counties and One County Court Judge serves Maries County. Maries County is in central Missouri. Saint Louis, Missouri is northeast and Kansas City, Missouri is northwest of the county. The county center is 1.3 miles Southeast of Vienna. The county is surrounded clockwise by Osage, Gasconade, Phelps, Pulaski, and Miller counties.
The area of the county is 528 square miles. It is 74 out of 115 in the state. It ranks 95 out of 115 in population in the state. It has a density of 16.0 persons per square mile making it 88 out of 115 in the state. Maries County has 20.8% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 63 crosses north to south in the county from Osage County to Phelps County. The county is a fat pistol facing east. Vienna is in the northwest quarter of the county. Belle is on the northeast border of the county and extends into Osage County. Vienna is the county seat and Belle is the largest city. Vienna is 6.9% of the county population while Belle is 16.4% of the county population. The county is pronounced MA-REES. The county seat is pronounced VIE-EN-A.
