Hunter is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Carter County, Missouri, United States.

The land was later acquired by John Hunter, one of the stockholders of the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, who established a sawmill at the site in 1887.

This land and much of the surrounding area was then purchased by the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, who had a contract to establish an 80-acre (32 ha) town, of which the Current River Railroad was to have half ownership, laid out the town at this location, naming it after John Hunter.

Hunter was the site of the junction of the Current River and the Cape Girardeau & Southwestern Railroads.

[4][6] At the time of Hunter's founding, the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company opened a company store across the street from the railroad depot, opened a hotel, established a logging camp and offered lots for sale, thus initiating a building boom in the newborn town.

In 1897 in an effort to promote the sale of land, the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company planted about 400 acres (160 ha) of orchards alongside the railroad leading into Hunter.

In 1913, about the time the town was experiencing rapid growth due to the activities of the Munger Securities Company, the first school in Hunter was established.

A new two-story brick building built on the southwestern side of the town was ready for use in the 1916-17 school year.

Hunter is now part of the East Carter County R-II School District.

By way of comparison, Van Buren, which is currently the largest city in Carter County, had as of the 2020 U.S. Census a population of 747.