Howard County was settled mainly from the upper Southern states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. They brought slaves and slaveholding traditions with them and grew hemp and tobacco. Howard was one of several counties settled mainly by Southerners along the Missouri River in the center of the state. Because of this, this area became known as Little Dixie, and Howard County was at its heart. Following the 1848 revolutions in germany, many German immigrants also came to this region.