The history of our State gives way to being called little Dixie, due to two main historical reasons. Agriculture, not because we copied the southeastern part of the country, but because of the amount and different products that we had in the Missouri relating to agriculture. Though we do still have cotton grown in the state (SE) tobacco and rice as well, we also had an abundance of other products. The Culture of our State, especially in the Central part, does relate to the Name "Little Dixie". Four of the five largest slave holding counties of the time were in Central Missouri, being Howard, Boone, Callaway, and Cooper. Clay county in the western part (KC) of our State being the other of the top five. Central Missouri held many a person that came from the South, especially Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Maryland.........there were those from the deep south as well. Little Dixie spread farther south than our northern county brothern would like to relate, but there is a town called Dixie between Jefferson City and Fulton, just off of highway 54. And the area as far south as Moniteau and Cole county have held the same name as well. It is my understanding that the term was used as a general term for both the cultural background and the Agriculture basis for our central Missouri region......but that is the historical part of it......in modern times I have seen it as far north as Mexico and Moberly and as far south as Tipton, used to discribe the area.........