The Village of Diehlstadt, Missouri is part of the metropolitan area of Sikeston. The village lies around Missouri Highway 77 and is typical of farming style country communities in this area of the U.S. Midwest. Although it is considered as part of Sikeston, it lies on the rural outskirts of the city.
To discover the history of Diehlstadt, you have to look at the history of Sikestonand the surrounding area which Diehlstadt is a part of. Originally, at the arrival of the first settlers, the area mostly consisted of cypress swamps and forest prairies. The first settlers were the Spanish and some believe that Hernando De Soto was one of the leaders in the expedition to claim this area for Spain although this remains to be verified.
One of the areas of interest near Diehlstadt is the Sikeston Depot Museum. This is a museum open to the public and on the National Register of Historic Places. It was a functioning railroad depot built in 1916 by the Iron Mountain Railroad. The museum brings attention to how Sikestonwas an important railhead even before 1916 when it was a supply depot
The Marshall-Dunn Hotel is also on National Register of Historic Places. Although not a museum, it is one of the first hotels built between 1895 and 1898 and still stands today as a reminder of the important people that stayed here during the heyday of Sikeston’s growth to include neighboring Diehlstadt. Many important people stayed in this hotel to include President Harry S. Truman and Alben W. Barkley.