RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Missouri >> Pike County >> ReadingIndex...

Welcome to Reading ...

Reading is located in Pike County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Reading, you might consider that their post office opened in 1868.

When the people of Reading refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Readingite<2>

Reading is 450 feet [137 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Reading lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Reading: 573 & 235<4>

Communities Also Named Reading ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 10 communities that are also named Reading - they are located in Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio (2), Ontario, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Reading.

Communities near Reading ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Reading.

  • Bowling Green
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Pittsfield
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Louisiana
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Barry
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Barry is located in Pike County (IL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,208 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Barry <5>
  • New London
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Hill
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Eolia
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Clarksville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Hull
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Hull is located in Pike County (IL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hull <5>
  • New Canton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • New Canton is located in Pike County (IL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Reading. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Reading.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Reading. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Reading.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Reading. See our Newspapers Page for Reading.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Reading ...

Looking for more information about Reading? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Reading, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Reading.

Adding Reading to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Reading in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Reading was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Reading post office opened in 1868. The Reading post office closed in 1901.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Reading.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Missouri's counties, including Pike, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Reading refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Reading may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Reading - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 573 code has been Overlayed with the 235 area code. New phone numbers in the Reading area will be assigned with one of these codes: 573 or 235. As a result, placing a call in the Reading area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/