Arab is an unincorporated community in southern Bollinger County

Bollinger County, Missouri

Bollinger County is a county located in Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the county's population was 12,363; despite a 2009 estimate that showed the population to be 11,841. The county seat is Marble Hill, which is the only city in Bollinger County...

, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is located about four miles south of Zalma and 12 miles north of Puxico on at the intersection of Highway 51 with Highway C and Highway P, twenty miles northwest of Dexter

Dexter, Missouri

-Government:* Mayor: Joe Weber* City Administrator: Mark Stidham* Aldermen:* Ward 1: Jerry Corder, Terry Battles* Ward 2: Kent Essner, Rick Hux* Ward 3: Ray Pixley, John "Kirby" Taylor-Notable residents:* George K. Sisler, Medal of Honor recipient...

. The community was founded in 1908 and receives its name from the city of Arab, Alabama

Arab, Alabama

Arab is a city in both Cullman County, Alabama and Marshall County, Alabama in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, located ten miles from Guntersville Lake and Guntersville Dam, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area...

. Like that city, the name of the community is pronounced "AY-rab".

Arab is part of the Cape Girardeau

Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri...

–Jackson

Jackson, Missouri

Jackson is a city in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,758 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cape Girardeau County. Jackson is named for U.S. President Andrew Jackson. It is a principal city of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan...

, MO-IL

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The community was probably initially founded for the purposes of postal delivery with the mail gathered twice a week from Zalma

Zalma, Missouri

Zalma, once known as Bollinger's Mill, is a small river town quietly nestled on the banks of the winding Castor River at a point where the river makes a horseshoe bend in southern Bollinger County in Southeast Missouri. When the railroad moved to town, the name Bollinger's Mill was changed to...

 and delivered to Arab by horseback. Arab is located along Route 51 at the intersection of State Highway C which runs east to Advance

Advance, Missouri

Advance is a small, fourth-class city located at the intersection of State Highway 25 and State Highway 91/Route C in northern Stoddard County, Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city's population was 1,244; a July 2007 estimate, however, showed the population to be 1,221...

 and State Highway P which runs west towards Lowndes

Lowndes, Missouri

Lowndes is an unincorporated community in eastern Wayne County, Missouri, United States. It is located about twenty miles southeast of Marble Hill along State Highway E. The ZIP Code is 63951.-Notable residents:...

 and Greenville

Greenville, Missouri

Greenville is a small, fourth-class city located on U.S. Highway 67 near the intersection with Route D and E in Wayne County, Missouri in the United States along the St. Francis River. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city's population was 451; a 2003 estimate, however, showed the population to be 444...

, near Stoddard County

Stoddard County, Missouri

Stoddard County is a county located in Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population was 29,705. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 29,537. The county seat is Bloomfield while the largest city in the county is Dexter...

, and Wayne County

Wayne County, Missouri

Wayne County is a county located in the Ozark Foothills Region of Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population was 13,259. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 12,652. The county seat is Greenville...

. Arab was originally located in Wayne County

Wayne County, Missouri

Wayne County is a county located in the Ozark Foothills Region of Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population was 13,259. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 12,652. The county seat is Greenville...

; in 1943, the post office and community were moved four miles away to extreme southern Bollinger County.

In 2000 the population of Arab was 7, all members of the same family. Arab is home to the Arab Station, a convenience store that in addition to selling small selections of groceries and cigarettes and alcohol, also consists of a deli that serves pizza and a bait shop.