Irish Wilderness in southern Missouri is a 16,227-acre protected wilderness within the Mark Twain National Forest, designated by Congress in 1984. Beneath its rugged forests lies the story of a brief Irish immigrant settlement founded in 1858 by Irish Catholic priest John Joseph Hogan. By 1859, about forty families, many arriving from St. Louis, had begun farming land partly bought and donated by Reverend James Fox. The community survived only a few years before the Civil War left it vulnerable to troops and outlaws; by the end of 1863 it had been destroyed. The area later returned to wilderness and is now valued for scenic recreation and diverse wildlife.