Stella is a village in southern Newton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 158 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village of Stella is located 17 miles southeast of Neosho.

The first known settlers of this Place arrived in the prematurely 1820s. The area of Stella was before a fishing community called Springs. In October 1880, the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad sold a allocation of what became Stella to Moses Eagle for $200. Moses Eagle’s family arrived in the area in 1844. Stella became an incorporated town in 1930. The village was named after Moses Eagle’s granddaughter. The water-powered grist mill was built in 1867 by Eagle. The Bank of Stella was established circa 1900. The area’s first newspaper, the Amicus Curio, was started in 1901 by a doctor from Kent, Missouri, with the Stella Enterprise and the Stella Weekly Record established after that. The Horner Institute merged later than the Stella Academy in 1911 and was located there until distressing to Purdy in 1912. The Stella Baptist Church was expected in 1886, with the actual church built circa 1911, the Stella Methodist Church circa 1896, while the Stella Church of Christ was traditional after 1950.

The Lentz-Carter Merchandise Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Despite Stella’s small size, for approximately 60 years the Cardwell Hospital, later the Cardwell Memorial Osteopathic Hospital, attracted people from the largely rural surrounding areas of Newton County, Barry County and McDonald County for their healthcare needs. Cardwell Hospital was opened in 1920 by World War I veteran Clarence C. Cardwell, who had been born only two miles outdoor of Stella in 1892. At first the hospital was unaided four rooms, but superior expanded to meet the needs of the local community. By 1930 a second doctor had allied the staff at Cardwell and it had 10 beds friendly for patients. A flare in 1942 damaged the hospital, but Cardwell speedily had the building rebuilt. Cardwell continued paperwork the hospital taking into account his wife, Ida Cardwell, and their daughter, Cleta Cardwell, until his death in November 1956. At the get older of his death the Cardwell Hospital was reported to have grown to 100 beds.