Sciota was laid out in September 1867 by William B. Clarke and was called Clarkesville in his honor. Another town in Illinois already had been named Clarksville (without the "e") so when the new town's post office was established on February 7, 1868, it was called Amicus. This discrepancy between town name and post office name led the residents to change both names to Sciota, after Sciota Township in which the town lies (Sciota Township was named after the Scioto River in Ohio). The Illinois General Assembly approved the name change on March 29, 1869.