Why visit Seneca
Townapedia lists 1 place to eat and 2 places to stay in and around town.
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 90°F; January lows average 25°F.
Weather in Seneca
Forecast from the National Weather Service. Full forecast
About Seneca
Seneca is a city in western Newton County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, Seneca had a population of 2,230. Located on the southwestern border of the state, the city is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From the Wikipedia article Seneca, Missouri (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Restaurants and cafes1
Sonic
Fast food · Burger · 1.3 mi
2314 Cherokee Avenue, Seneca
Mo-Th 07:00-22:00; Fr-Sa 07:00-23:00; Su 07:00-22:00
Where to stay2
Churches and places of worship1
Modoc Mission Church and Cemetery
Church · National Register of Historic Places · 3.2 mi
Church building and cemetery in Oklahoma, United States of America
Schools, colleges and libraries10
History
Seneca was platted by European Americans in 1869, following the Civil War. The city was named for the Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League, or Haudenosaunee, who had been historically based in New York and south of the Great Lakes.
In the 1830s, many of the Seneca people still in the East had been pushed west of the Mississippi River into Indian Territory, which included parts of present-day Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. "This tribe was moved to the Indian Territory not many miles west of town. The word is a corruption of the Dutch word "Sinnekaas," a term applied to them."
A post office called Seneca has been in operation since 1869.
Several houses in the rural northern Seneca area were destroyed by a tornado on May 10, 2008 in the Mid-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence. An EF4 tornado hit the county, killing 13 people. The Early Show broadcast their national weather report from the city on the following Monday morning.
On the one- year anniversary of the tornado, Bill Lant, owner of Lant's Feed and Country Store, unveiled a memorial for the people who had died in the disaster. He had donated the plot of land and memorial, and had the memorial built next to his store.
From the History section of Seneca, Missouri on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map of Seneca
14 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Climate by month
Monthly table
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46°F | 25°F | 2.5 in | 2.8 in |
| Feb | 51°F | 29°F | 2.4 in | 0.9 in |
| Mar | 60°F | 38°F | 3.7 in | 2.0 in |
| Apr | 70°F | 47°F | 5.3 in | 0.0 in |
| May | 77°F | 57°F | 6.7 in | 0.0 in |
| Jun | 85°F | 66°F | 5.7 in | 0.0 in |
| Jul | 90°F | 70°F | 4.2 in | 0.0 in |
| Aug | 89°F | 68°F | 3.6 in | 0.0 in |
| Sep | 82°F | 60°F | 5.0 in | 0.0 in |
| Oct | 72°F | 48°F | 4.1 in | 0.0 in |
| Nov | 60°F | 38°F | 3.7 in | 0.1 in |
| Dec | 49°F | 29°F | 2.9 in | 2.3 in |
U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 for Neosho Hcn (14 mi away), NOAA NCEI.
People and cost of living
American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates have margins of error, larger for small towns.
Disaster history
Newton County has had 23 federal disaster declarations since 2000, most often for severe storms.
- 2026-08-03: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2025-06-09: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2020-03-26: Covid-19 Pandemic (Biological)
- 2020-03-13: Covid-19 (Biological)
- 2019-07-09: Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding (Severe Storm)
- 2017-06-02: Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds And Flooding (Flood)
OpenFEMA disaster declarations summaries.
Getting there and nearby towns
Neosho Hugh Robinson Airport (EOS) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 12 miles away.
- Loma Linda 10 mi north, about 16 min by car
- Neosho 13 mi east, about 21 min by car
- Baxter Springs 14 mi northwest, about 22 min by car
- Miami 15 mi west, about 24 min by car
- Commerce 15 mi northwest, about 25 min by car
- Galena 16 mi north, about 26 min by car
- Anderson 16 mi southeast, about 26 min by car
- Joplin 17 mi north, about 27 min by car
- Duquesne 18 mi northeast, about 29 min by car
- Grove 20 mi southwest, about 33 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB, the NEMICO news database.
Reviews, tips and questions
Loading what members have shared...
Sources and licences
- NCES EDGE (Public domain): public schools
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (Public domain): climate by month
- OpenFEMA (Public domain): disaster declarations
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- U.S. Census Bureau (Public domain): population, income, housing, education, commute
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Downtown Seneca, TheWhitePelican, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Modoc Mission Church, AbeEzekowitz, CC BY-SA 3.0
Page built October 30, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.