Wayfarrow

Cote Sans Dessein

Ghost town · Callaway County, Missouri

Mokane quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1945, 1:62,500)
Mokane quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1945, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Cote Sans Dessein is a ghost town in Callaway County, Missouri, recorded as human settlement in Missouri, United States of America. It is one of 9 former communities in Callaway County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 15th among the 102 Missouri counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Cote Sans Dessein as a historical populated place on the Loose Creek topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 38.5879° N, 91.9870° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleLoose Creek
Elevation610 ft
Nearest living townTebbetts, MO
Distance to it2.7 miles
GNIS feature ID738631
Coordinates38.58788, -91.98696

Open the location on a map

Then and now

Drag the slider: the old USGS map on the left, the same ground from the air today on the right. Both cover the same 1.9-mile square centred on the recorded location.

Cote Sans Dessein today, aerial view
Mokane quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1945, 1:62,500)

Left: Mokane quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1945, 1:62,500), U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection. Right: The same ground today: NAIP aerial imagery, USDA Farm Service Agency, National Agriculture Imagery Program (via USGS). Both public domain.

What's there now

Cote Sans Dessein is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Tebbetts, MO (population 419), about 2.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 610 feet above sea level. The aerial view above shows what covers the ground today. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Cote Sans Dessein?

Cote Sans Dessein is in Callaway County, Missouri, at 38.5879, -91.9870.

How many ghost towns are in Callaway County?

Callaway County, Missouri has 9 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-06.