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RADIO Radio Comes to Missouri Farmers The marriage between the Missouri Board of Agriculture’s Marketing Bureau, which was created in 1919, and that new-fangled medium called radio took place in March 1922 when a radio transmitter was installed on the roof floor of the Missouri Capitol. It was only the seventh transmitter of its kind in the United States. Radio station WOS, which stood for “Watch Our State”, was meant to “promote effectual and economic methods of marketing farm products.” On December 1, Arthur T. Nelson became the first State Marketing Commissioner, and it didn’t take him long to realize WOS could do more than broadcast market information to farmers. Soon professors from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture in Columbia were giving agricultural lectures and the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) Band and Orchestra was providing music. Market information came from the US Department of Agriculture and was broadcast the first fifteen minutes of every hour from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. At the time, radios were rare. There might only be one or two in the whole community so people would gather wherever a radio happened to be such as banks, county offices, and drugstores. Those with radios were instructed by the Bureau to record the news on forms they provided and then distribute the information by word-of-mouth and through the local press. Radios did not remain scarce for long. By 1927, there were more than 70,000 radios on Missouri farms. Religious services had begun broadcasting on Sunday evenings. Musical concerts were available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights from 8 p.m. until 9:30. Most Mondays, the music was provided by inmates from the MSP Band and Orchestra. It seemed that radio was here to stay. Source: Elizabeth Davis, "Historically Yours "

BOOKS, MAPS AND RESOURCE MATERIALS Cooper and other Counties Town/Area History Books: History of Billingsville, Prairie Lick, and Ston e y Point History of Blackwater Bicentennial Boonslick History A Pictorial History of the Boonslick Area Boonville An Illustrated History Boonville An Historic River Town Bunceton 1868-1988 and 1868 – 1993 History of Clear Creek Recollections of Clifton City Clifton City 1873 – 2019 Our Town Lamine Missouri History of New Lebanon Otterville Sesquicentennial Some Might Good Years – Overton Pilot Grove Centennial 1873 – 1973 A Brief History of Prairie Home Area Books : Green Ridge MO Centennial 1870 – 1970 Jamestown 1837 – 1987 Lupus – Portrait of a River Town History of Martinsville Old Trails of Missouri Once Upon the Past – Mid Missouri Places and People Sedalia MO 100 Years in Pictures Books on History of Cooper County and Other Counties Cooper County : Discover Cooper County by Looking Back – Ann Betteridge History of Cooper County Missouri Volumes I and II – W. F. Johnson History of Cooper County Missouri – Levins and Drake History of Cooper County – Melton Memorabilia of Cooper County – The Sesquicentennial Steering Committee for 150th Birthday of Boonville Other County Histories : History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries, and Osage Counties History of Harrison and Mercer Counties Howard County History and Families History of Moniteau County History of Morgan County History of Saline County OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE AT CCHS Free Cemetery maps and brochures on historical landmarks Books, P amphlets and CD’s for sale Cooper County Plat Maps – 1877, 1897, 1915 Books : Discover Cooper County by Looking Back by Ann Betteridge The “Best” Bustle in Fayette by Mary Louise & Sylvia Forbes This Cruel Unnatural War by James Thoma “Old Pleasant Green Underground” - The Old Cemetery, at the 1825 Pleasant Green Methodist Church Cooper County MO by Florence Friedrichs Old Cooper County Churches (Cooper County Church Sketches) by Florence Friedrichs Recollections of Clifton City Lamine School Book Historically Yours by Elizabeth Davis Pilot Grove Sesquicentennial Arts and Essays by local students CD’s: The Cooper County Missouri History Series Home Town Sketches – by Emile Paillou A History of Cooper County – Levens and Drake The First Hundred Years - Melton History of Cooper County Missouri by W.F. Johnson Volume #1 or Volume #2 Old Nick Abroad Cooper County Cemeteries - James Thoma This Cruel Unnatural War – James Thoma Cooper County, Missouri History Series (Contains all of the above series)

DEDICATION This website is dedicated to Ann Betteridge. Ann was one of the original Founders of the Cooper County Historical Society in 1990. Ann loved children, teaching, and history. She wrote a book of almost 300 pages named “Discover Cooper County by Looking Back.” For 25 years, Ann personally presented this book, free of charge, to every 4th grader in Cooper County, and her book is the inspiration and backbone of this website. Florence (Winky) Friedrichs, another Founding member of the CCHS, drew all of the lovely illustrations in the book, and some of those are used on this website. We owe both these ladies a debt of gratitude for preserving so much of Cooper County history.

WHAT THEY DID FOR FUN In the early days of Cooper County, communities often shared the workload. Combining work and fun was a welcome and common activity. Barn raisings and barn dancing when the barn was finished were great social events. Another type of work/entertainment would be working together as a team to get major farm crops harvested. In the Fall, neighbors would gather for hog butchering at one farm and work together at what is a chore for one or two people, but not that difficult with many hands. The next week they would gather at another farm and repeat the work. They would do the same thing when it was time to bring in the grain crops at harvest time. Meanwhile, the women would be busy preparing food for the hungry workers. When the work was finished at one farm, the group would then move on to the next farm and repeat the activity until all the area crops were in. This was the “many hands make work light” idea. It was a very successful way of getting things done and enjoying the activity. Today we see farmers doing a similar activity when one of their neighbors is very ill, has been in a serious accident, or the widow needed help because she had no one to bring the crops in. The same process would also take place when it was hog butchering time. Not only was it enjoyable for the men to work together, it was a wonderful learning experience for young men. Women have had a similar type of “many hands make work light” activity. Preparing food together was a wonderful way to learn new techniques of cooking, new recipes, try new dishes and also make new friends "Quilting “Bees” were a similar activity for women. Whether it was creating a quilt for a new baby or for an upcoming wedding, women would work together on the project and have a great time during the discussions that went on. Like the young men, young girls would learn the art of quilt making which they could use in their future lives. Today, women still gather to do Civic projects and spend the day canning food. During WWI and WWII, women in the Cooper County area made quilts to raise money to send supplies to the soldiers. Today, Cooper County women make “Prayer Shawls for women with cancer. “Many hands make work light” is still true today. A Note About Quilt Making Making a quilt today is almost a lost art. Cooper County has been blessed with many current and former quilters. Even though there are many sources for fabric for today's quilters, this wonderful craft is almost unknown to most of today’s young women. If one has the opportunity to examine earlier quits, one is amazed at the variety of stitches used. These quits are truly a work of art! In colonial and later days, a family's only source of heat was the fireplace, and the fire was always "banked" at night for safety reasons. Quilts were invaluable to keep the family warm on cold/freezing nights. Early quilters usually did not have a source for their quilting materials other than their own household. Depending on the weight of the fabric, when a garment became stained, torn or had holes in it, it was not just thrown away, it was used for another purpose. It could be remade into a garment for a child or used for some other household use such as scrub clothes, towels or rag rugs. Small attractive pieces could be saved and used for quilts. Wool from men's trousers or jackets were often used for family winter quilts. For many families, it was the "wear it out, use it up, make do, or do without” policy. To receive a quilt as a wedding gift or a gift for a newborn, was almost a priceless gift. Source: Barbara Dahl Entertainment in Pilot Grove Gem Theater A small town just south of I-70 on M-135, Pilot Grove was once a thriving community. Schools, churches, doctors, and dozens of businesses once catered to the needs of hundreds of people in town as well as hundreds more on nearby farms. Heinrich's Country Store opened for business in October 1915. Later, the top floor of the store housed the town's main entertainment center—the Gem Theater. Admission was 15 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. Air-conditioning consisted of six paddle fans. Heating was done by a huge coal burning stove that was fired up early in the morning for evening shows. “Deep Purple,” a melodrama starring Clara Kimbell Young and John Gilbert, was the attraction on opening night. Unlike today when whole movies are on one DVD, these movies were shown on several reels of actual film. Between reels, slides were flashed on the screen advertising local merchants. And did I mention these were silent movies? The only sound was from a live pianist who was often accompanied by a violin or mandolin. Other great silent movie stars appeared at the Gem. For comedy, there were Abbot and Costello, Our Gang, and Charlie Chaplin. Westerns starring Buck Jones, Tom Mix, Gary Cooper, and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., were always a big hit. The movie house closed with the advent of “talkies.” The Gem continued for a number of years in its new life providing a place for high school plays and commencements. One such play, “The Feast of the Red Corn,” took place on March 4, 1937. On July 1, 1969, Heinrich's Country Store closed its doors for the last time. The building still stands and old-timers often look up at the second floor … but those days are now just a distant memory. Resource: Tales From the Village, by Richard L. Salmon “Deep Purple,” a melodrama starring Clara Kimbell Young and John Gilbert, was the attraction on opening night. Unlike today when whole movies are on one DVD, these movies were shown on several reels of actual film. Between reels, slides were flashed on the screen advertising local merchants. And did I mention these were silent movies? The only sound was from a live pianist who was often accompanied by a violin or mandolin. Other great silent movie stars appeared at the Gem. For comedy, there were Abbot and Costello, Our Gang, and Charlie Chaplin. Westerns starring Buck Jones, Tom Mix, Gary Cooper, and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., were always a big hit. The movie house closed with the advent of “talkies.” The Gem continued for a number of years in its new life providing a place for high school plays and commencements. One such play, “The Feast of the Red Corn,” took place on March 4, 1937. On July 1, 1969, Heinrich's Country Store closed its doors for the last time. The building still stands and old-timers often look up at the second floor...but those days are now just a distant memory. Source: Elizabeth Davis "Historically Yours" The back of the Gem Theater looking to the left across the back of the theater at the projection room which is at the top of the short stairs The back of the Gem Theater in Pilot Grove during the town's 150th anniversary in Aug. 2023. Notice the stage and doors on each side going behind the actors or the screen Lyceum There was a Lyceum in the early 1900's which hosted local and area educational talks on different subjects. At one time Pilot Grove had two movie theaters. One was in the hall above Pat Conway's store that was also used for roller skating. There was theater at the Mercantile store on the corner of Second and Roe, now the Meisenheimer Funeral Home. Mr. Conway was the first theater operator in Pilot Grove to run a weekly serial for children and parents. Two that were very popular were "Snow White" and "Perils of Pauline." Heinrich's Mercantile on the corner of First and Roe housed the second theater. His theater featured stationary folding chairs, an elevated floor which slanted towards the orchestra pit and a stage that was used for performances and movies. Admission to the theater was an expensive 15 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. Pearlie Dwyer was the first person to sell tickets and Miss Frieda Kistenmacher was the first pianist. Source: Elizabeth Davis "Historically Yours" The Princess Stock Company The Princess Stock Company presented plays featuring "Toby" and his players. In July of 1944, Toby and his players presented "The Long-Lost Perkins." "Chautauqua’s" were frequently held in Pilot Grove. They were a form of entertainment for adults by the giving of lectures, plays and concerts. They were held for several days, sometimes in tents. Outdoor movies were shown for a short time in the 1920's in a vacant lot where Twenter Lumber Company is now located. Movies were also shown in the Catholic Church Hall and there was a "CCC" or Civilian Conservation Camp located in Pilot Grove where outdoor movies were shown on Sunday evenings. Source: Elizabeth Davis "Historically Yours" The Pilot Grove Rodeo The Pilot Grove Rodeo, started in 1953, celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2023 featuring the Pilot Grove “Range Riders”. In 2023, over 2,000 people attended this event. Entertainment in Bunceton Princess Theater This was a theater, then a funeral home/furniture store in the 1930's, early 40's. Later a laundromat, then a bar, and is now apartments. Entertainment in Boonville Roller Skating Rinks Come to Boonville Boonville’s government and city council has changed over the years. In 1902 for instance, all elected officials were men. While the number of wards has changed occasionally, there have always been two councilmen per ward on the city council. Unlike today where the mayor leads the meetings, one councilman was elected President of the Council and led the meetings. When ordinances were passed by a majority, they were signed by the President, and then presented to the mayor for his approval. If ordinances were returned unsigned there would usually be more discussions and a vote to override the mayor’s objections. In 1902, the council had to decide if baseball could be played on public property on the Sabbath. Less than 40 years later the issue was roller skating rinks. In 1938, Ordinance #1281 was passed prohibiting the operation of skating rinks in Boonville. On November 9, 1938, Mr. Walter Viertel appeared before the Council and presented a petition requesting the city rescind the ordinance and asked for a license to operate a skating rink. Also present at the council meeting was Attorney John H. Windsor who was representing a group of businessmen who opposed rescinding the ordinance. The council voted to go into Executive Session to discuss the matter. After a lengthy discussion, no action was taken, and the regular session resumed. The following month, on December 5, 1938, a bill entitled “An Ordinance repealing Ordinance #1281 prohibiting the operation of roller-skating rinks in the City of Boonville, Mo.” was introduced by Councilman Cleary. The bill was read three times and passed unanimously by the council. The bill was signed by the President of the Council, and then presented to and approved by the mayor. Another bill was introduced to regulate and license the roller rinks. The first reading of the bill said license fees should be $50. A motion was made and seconded before the second reading to make the license fees $100. After a discussion, the bill was rewritten, read three times, and then passed unanimously. Signed by the President, it, too, was presented to and approved by the mayor. Sadly, roller rinks and bowling alleys aren't as popular in Boonville anymore. Missouri State Fair in Boonville The first attempt Within thirty years of statehood, citizens were calling for a state fair, a fair that would showcase the best of the best in the world of agriculture. On February 24, 1853, the Missouri Legislature authorized the incorporation of the Missouri State Agricultural Society. Paragraph 2 of their Charter begins: “In addition to the powers above enumerated, the Society shall, by its name and style aforesaid, have power to purchase and hold any quantity of land not exceeding twenty acres, and may sell and dispose of the same at pleasure. The said real estate shall be held by said Society for the sole purpose of erecting enclosures, buildings, and other improvements calculated and designed for the meeting of the Society, and for an exhibition of various breeds of horses, cattle, mules and other stock, and of agricultural, mechanical and domestic manufactures and productions, and for no other purposes…” Officers were named in Paragraph 5 and were from various counties around the state. M.M. Marmaduke was appointed president. James S. Rollins, Nathaniel Leonard, Dabney C. Garth, Roland Hughes, James C. Anderson, and Camm Seay, were named vice presidents. James L. Minor, Joseph L. Stephens, and William H. Trigg were appointed corresponding secretary, recording secretary, and treasurer, respectively. The Board of Directors held their first meeting in Boonville on June 22, 1853, and the first exhibition/fair was held in Boonville during the first week of October later that same year. As it was decided the Fair should also be educational, an annual address was included and the first speaker was Uriel Wright of St. Louis. The Missouri Legislature appropriated $1,351.50 for the event. The second fair was held the following year and the Missouri Legislature appropriated another $2,652.88. General James L. Minor, the Society’s corresponding secretary, was the speaker. While it has long been assumed that one learned farming and related agricultural skills by doing, Minor said, “The day is fast approaching when we must be educated for our great occupation.” It seems his vision of the future was on the mark. Few farmers today are without at least some college education. The third and last fair in Boonville took place in 1855, but it wasn’t for lack of interest. It was the last year the Missouri Legislature appropriated funds for the event. However, that did not permanently stop the fair. For years, people continued to come and compete just for the ribbons. It wasn’t until 1897 that the next serious attempt at a Missouri State Fair began. Source: Elizabeth Davis "Historically Yours" In this image we find 6 locals at the 1908 fair on Main Street. To the right you see a ferris wheel. The date is August 10, 1908. From the Wayne Lammers collection Before He ritage Days After the turn of the last century, Boonville’s business leaders came up with the idea to have festivals in order to bring people into downtown. The main event would be a parade of carriages and carts covered in flowers. The Missouri Drummers’ Association (traveling salesmen) held their first annual meeting in Boonville during the 1906 Street Fair and Flower Parade. During the three-day event on July 5-7, over 600 salesmen attended and participated in that year’s festival. Besides the Flower Parade, there were concerts by bands from as far away as Moberly, a shooting tournament, and other athletic events. The ladies were not excluded as they enjoyed rope skipping, potato races, and bowling. And there was a Grand Ball for everyone. No records are available to indicate when the festivals ceased, but by World War I, they were gone. Although Boonville was platted in 1817, the official “Act to Incorporate the City of Boonville” wasn’t approved until February 8, 1839. To celebrate Boonville’s 100th birthday in 1939, the city organized a Daniel Boone Days event to run from September 28 to October 1. The 4-day party must have been a success as it was repeated the following year from September 15-18. Records on display at the Old City Jail on Morgan Street indicate Daniel Boone Days became an annual celebration through most of the 1950s. There is a picture of ladies called the Sunbonnet Belles wearing long dresses that is dated “early 1950s.” These celebrations lasted until at least 1957 because “the 1957 festival also marked the centenary of Thespian Hall.” There were no records indicating additional festivals. Until 1989… As Boonville began to plan for its 150th anniversary, another festival was born—Boonville Heritage Days. Unlike Daniel Boone Days which were celebrated in early fall, Heritage Days take place is early summer. It might have started small but, with each passing year, it continues to grow. This year boasted a parade, high school reunions, a carnival, beer and wine gardens, and enough live entertainment to satisfy the whole family. Happy Birthday, Boonville. Boonville Events and Festivals - Past and Present Boonville is known for its many festivals and special events. It was the site of the first Missouri State Fair. Cooper County Fair Established in 1950’s Daniel Boone Days (1940s – 1950’s) Festival of Lights – (no longer held) Festival of Leaves – (no longer held) Heritage Days -est. 1989 Peddler’s Jamboree – est. 2000’s Big Muddy Folk Festival of the Arts – est. 1990’s Historic Homes Tour – off and on over the years Christmas in Historic Boonville

RECORDS AT RECORDER OF DEEDS OFFICE For more recent Cooper County documents please contact: Cooper County Recorder of Deeds - Georgia Esser 200 Main Street - Rm 26, Boonville, MO 65233 660-882-2161 or recorder@coopercountymo.gov General recorded information and other resources available Genealogy research is welcome at Recorder of Deeds Office under the following guidelines: Appointments are preferred, especially for lengthy research. COVID precautions limit our office customers to three in main office, and two genealogy researchers in the vault area. Staff assistance to researchers may be limited due to recording workload at the time of visit. Temperature checks may be given upon arrival. No food or drink is allowed in the vault. Masks are required to enter search areas and vault. Title searchers and marriage license applicants take priority in line. Office staff does not perform genealogy research or title searching. General recorded information and other resources available Recorded and indexed Plats and Surveys (both paper and digital copies on site) Recorded marriage licenses issued in Cooper County (1819 - present) Marriage applications are not public record, only the completed licenses. Original and reproductions of Cooper County plat books and Atlas books Historical maps of the county, towns, and some cemeteries Cooper County publications, compiled & written by local historians Recorded and indexed land transfer deeds, mortgages, assignments, modifications, subordinations, foreclosures, state and federal tax liens/releases, mechanics liens, power of attorneys, brands, etc. We do not have any bound “Abstracts” on property. Other miscellaneous documentation including but not limited to agreements, easements, leases, contracts, wills, UCCs, subdivision covenants and restrictions may also be found in the records. OLD wills and estates are in the records of the Circuit Clerk (660-882-2232) Death certificates (if recorded for land transfer purposes, 2010 - present) No birth certificates Military discharge papers (1918 - present, if recorded by service member) This documentation is not public record and can only be accessed by the member, funeral director, or immediate family member, being validated by a signed, notarized, and approved request document. Naturalization records (limited access due to age of documentation)

THE INDIAN REMOVAL ACT The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the indigenous nations to leave Missouri and resettle in Indian Territory. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the indigenous people who once inhabited land in Missouri to leave and resettle in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas). The removal process, however, began long before U.S. President Andrew Jackson signed the 1830 removal act. It was a policy introduced by President Thomas Jefferson and was largely carried out by treaties in Missouri supervised by William Clark as superintendent of Indian affairs. About 30 years before the last removal, the Indigenous Nations in the Missouri Territory at the time of the Louisiana Purchase included Sac and Fox, Ioway, Little Osage and Great Osage, Kickapoo, Shawnee, Delaware and Quapaw. Skirmishes and fighting ensued as the U.S. government expanded westward and other nations would be pushed from the East to Missouri. The military imprisoned the famous War Chief Black Hawk in St. Louis at the end of the Black Hawk War in 1832 . The Trail of Tears, as a result of the 1930 act, forced Eastern indigenous nations to relocate to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). One of the routes traversed the southern part of Missouri, where many lives were lost crossing the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau County during the harsh winters of 1838 and 1839 . An estimated 4,000 Cherokees lost their lives on the Trail of Tears from Tennessee to Oklahoma.”

POST OFFICES IN COOPER COUNTY U.S. Mail This is a picture of the small building that housed the Pleasant Green Post Office from 1869-1871 and 1873-1954 It also served as a telephone office for a few years. The presence, lack of, or loss of a post office, is a major indication of the size, success and duration of a town. Some post offices were closed during the Civil War, but later reopened. When trains stopped running through a town, populations declined, and the number of post offices did too. Some towns never had a post office, some had them for a very short time, and some still have them today. The earliest mail delivery was by horseback, from town to town, to a specific building in a town, usually the general store. Boonville had the earliest post office, in 1825. Short-lived Post Offices and Towns There were many very small settlements in Cooper County that never had a Post Office: Bluff City, Browntown, Buzzards Roost, Crossroads, Dublin, Lone Elm, Martinsville, Merna, Mt. Moriah, Petersburg, Prairie Lick, Rankins Mill, Salt Springs, Sardine, Stoney Point, Sweeny, Hostonville (under water), all of these towns are gone. Only Lone Elm is still an incorporated village and get’s it’s mail from Bunceton. Windsor Place – has always received its mail from Boonville. Adapted from: MOGENWEB, Post Offices, Jim Thoma. Many things we take for granted today used to be luxuries - telephones, automobiles, and even free mail service. While many city dwellers have been receiving free mail delivery service since the 1860s, the same can’t be said for those in rural areas. RURAL MAIL DELIVERY It wasn’t until October 1, 1890, that Congress authorized $10,000 to test the practicability of delivering mail to small towns of 300 to 5,000 people. Even so, Rural Free Delivery (RFD) became a political football as politicians began making promises for votes. And then, not everyone liked the idea. Some worried about the cost of the service. Private express carriers feared inexpensive rural mail delivery would put them out of business. Local merchants worried it would reduce farmers’ weekly trips to town for supplies and mail order houses like Sears would take all their business. The first experiment consisted of twelve communities where the postmaster hired a man for an hour or two a day to deliver the mail. Meeting with success, the Post Office Department, on October 1, 1891, began five routes covering ten miles in Jefferson County, West Virginia. With continued success, RFD became an official service in 1896. Between October 1 and December 21 of that year, 24 states began RFD. Missouri was one of them, and Cairo was the first on October 15. Soon farmers were helping the post office by putting out containers for the mail. Lard pails, syrup cans, and even old apple, soap, and cigar boxes were used. By 1901, it was obvious that service would be much improved with standardized boxes. Specifications to manufacturers were: box must be made of metal, 6x8x18 inches, and weather-proof, boxes should be constructed so they can be fastened to a post at a height convenient to the carrier without alighting, and keys for customers’ boxes should be easy to use by a carrier with “one-gloved hand in the severest weather.” By 1902, having a box was required for mail delivery. Source: : "Historically Yours" by Elizabeth Davis Otterville Post Office There was no post office in Otterville until March 24, 1848. The mail for this neighborhood was supplied from Arator post office located near Smithton. When the post office started in Otterville, W.G. Wear was the first postmaster appointed. He held the office until 1851, when Thomas Starke was appointed, holding the office for almost 10 years. The mail was carried by horseback. Then the Missouri Pacific railway came through and that allowed the mail to be brought to town by train. The post office quit dispatching the mail to the trains in about 1965. At this time the mail was sent and received from Sedalia by truck. The trucks delivered mail twice a day to the Otterville post office till about 1970. At this time it was only delivered in the early morning and went out near the end of the day. Source: Carolyn Aggeler

COOPER COUNTY IS FORMED Howard County Has Been Named “The Mother of Counties” Two years after Howard County was organized, there was so much immigration into the southern part of the county that there was a great demand for the division of Howard County and for the formation of another county south of the Missouri River. Because of this demand, the territorial Legislature, on December 17, 1816 , formed the new county of Cooper, which included all of Howard County south of the Missouri River. In 1803, the United States had more than doubled its size with the Louisiana Purchase. The following year, what would one day become the State of Missouri was divided into four districts. On October 1, 1812 , the area was reorganized into five counties and named the Missouri Territory. Although a few changes took place in the Territory between 1813 and 1815 , the biggest change occurred on January 23, 1816 , with the organization of Howard County. Named after Benjamin Howard, the first Governor of the Missouri Territory, Howard County covered more than one-third of the state. It reached all the way to what would become Kansas and Iowa. Howard County would eventually form all or parts of 39 additional counties. Boonville, which was south of the Missouri River across from Franklin, was the county seat. As the population increased south of the river, people began requesting Howard be made into two counties, one on each side of the Missouri River. Finally, after less than three years, Howard was divided. On December 17, 1818 , everything north of the river remained Howard County, and everything south of the river became Cooper County, which was named after Sarshel Cooper and his brother Benjamin, early settlers of the area. The one drawback to the division was the county seat. Boonville was Howard County’s seat of government, but it was on the wrong side of the river. Laid out in 1823 , Fayette became Howard County’s county seat. This territory included what now forms 11 counties and parts of five others. Cooper County was gradually decreased in size by the formation of new counties. By 1845 , the boundaries of Cooper County were as they are today. HISTORICALLY YOURS, by Elizabeth Davis HOW COOPER COUNTY CAME TO BE By Dr. Maryellen H. McVicker The area that is now known as Missouri, was originally divided into 5 counties in 1812 by Territorial Governor William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: St. Louis, St. Charles, New Madrid, St. Genevieve, and Cape Girardeau. These 5 counties had their origins in French settlements mostly along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. On January 13, 1816 , Howard County was created out of portions of St. Louis and St. Charles counties, and eventually encompassed enough land that 39 counties, or approximately 1/3 of the entire state of Missouri, would be formed from the original Howard County territory. Cooper County was one of those counties. It was organized as a separate county on December 17, 1818 . By 1821, Missouri had 25 counties. Eventually there would be 114 counties, and the City of St. Louis. The central Missouri region experienced rapid growth during the first 2 decades of the 19th century. By 1820 , what is now Howard and Cooper Counties, had a population of over 20,000 people, which was about 1/3 of the entire population of the Territory of Missouri. The population of the entire United States was between 9 and 10 million. Now, two hundred years later, over 300 million call the United States their home and approximately 38,000 people live in the two-county region. Cooper County will soon be 200 years old. Cooper County predates statehood. The 1876 Levens and Drake History of Cooper County tells a story about an early county employee: “Sometime during the year 1817 , William Gibson, …was appointed by the Territorial Court constable. …Soon after his appointment, there being some trouble down on the Osage, he was sent there with a warrant for the arrest of a man who had caused the trouble. …As he was on his journey back, and also having an execution against a Man who lived on the road, he stopped at the man’s house and proceeded to levy a tax on the feather beds, as nothing in those days was exempt from levy (taxation—ed.) But, as soon as he made his purpose known, four women, who were the only persons at home, threatened to give him a thrashing, so he was forced to retire as fast as he could, and return with the execution unsatisfied. To add to this, the court only allowed him, for his journey of one hundred and forty miles, which occupied four days, the magnificent sum of twenty-five cents. Mr. Gibson thinking the office not quite lucrative enough to justify him devoting his whole time to its duties, and not wishing to risk his life at the hands of angry women, quietly sent in his resignation…” Some things never change! Notice the size of Howard County compared to Cooper County COUNTIES THAT WERE FORMED FROM COOPER COUNTY Not only were 14 counties formed from Cooper County, many of these counties, in turn, were the parent county to new counties. Cooper County as originally formed comprised the present day counties of Bates (Formed 1841 from Cass County), Benton (Formed 1835 from Pettis County), Camden (Formed 1841 from Benton County), Cass (Formed 1835 from Jackson County), Cole (Formed 1820 from Cooper County), Henry (Formed 1834 from LaFayette County), Jackson (Formed 1826 from LaFayette County), Johnson (Formed 1834 from LaFayette County), LaFayette (Formed 1820 from Cooper County), Miller (Formed 1837 from Cole County), Moniteau (Formed 1845 from Cole and Morgan Counties), Morgan (Formed 1833 from Cooper County), Pettis (Formed 1833 from Cooper and Saline Counties), St. Clair (Formed 1841 from Henry County), and Saline (Formed 1820 from Cooper and Howard Counties). References : Ann Betteridge

COOPER COUNTY ROADS Immigration into the County had been halted by the War of 1812, but by 1815, there was a steady flow of people coming to the County. Settlers brought with them wagons and horses. Mules were brought in from Santa Fe after the opening of the Santa Fe trail in 1821. Settlers began to mark out roads and to cut their way through the forests. Oxen were often used for wagon transportation and continued to be used for many more years. The prairie presented few obstacles to travel, but to go through a forest was an entirely different matter. A wise selection of a route was needed or there would be lots of labor in cutting trees and fording streams. No public roads were laid out (except on paper) until 1819. But no construction work was done upon the roads, nor were they thought necessary for a many more years. The first petition for a public road in Cooper County was presented by B.W. Levens. It asked for the location of a road leading from Boonville to the mouth of the Moniteau Creek. The second petition for the location of a public road was by Anderson Reavis, presented on the same day. The road that was petitioned for a road running from the mouth of the Grand Moniteau to the Boonville and Potosi Road. When Cooper County was officially organized as a county in 1819, the stream of immigration to the south side of the river was increasing and roads were needed. Early roads were often cattle trails, and later, covered with gravel or made from planks of wood laid down. Some towns had roads called “The Old Plank” road. (1921)The Centennial Road Law was signed into law to improve road conditions in the state. (Source: Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “Improvements to road conditions became a popular topic of state politics with the rise of automobile purchases in 1917. Before 1907, highway improvements were left entirely to counties, many of which did not have trained engineers. The Centennial Road Law shifted highway building efforts in Missouri from the local level, to the state level, by granting the State Highway Commission the authority to supervise highways and bridges. In the 1920s and 30s, the commission undertook massive road building projects that improved the highway system to “Get Missouri out of the mud.” MAP OF COOPER COUNTY HIGHWAYS Source: MoDOT INTERSTATE INSPIRATION We have President Dwight D. Eisenhower to thank for the cross-country I-system that runs through the County. It’s a story that took many years of World Wars I and II experiences by then General Eisenhower, to bring into reality. President Dwight D. Eisenhower Source: HISTORYNET It was not until the Allies broke through the Western Wall and tapped into Germany’s sprawling autobahn network that General Eisenhower saw for himself what a modern army could do with an infrastructure capable of accommodating it. The enhanced mobility that the autobahn provided the Allies was something to behold, and years later was still cause for reminiscing. ‘The old convoy,’ Eisenhower wrote, referring to his experience with the FTMC, ‘had started me thinking about good, two-lane highways, but Germany had made me see the wisdom of broader ribbons across the land.’ Not surprisingly, therefore, when Eisenhower became the 34th U.S. president in 1953, he pushed for the building of an interstate highway system. Although Congress had first authorized a national highway system in 1944, it had always been woefully underfunded.Throwing the full weight of his presidency behind the project, Eisenhower declared to Congress on February 22, 1955: ‘Our unity as a nation is sustained by free communication of thought and by easy transportation of people and goods. The ceaseless flow of information throughout the Republic is matched by individual and commercial movement over a vast system of interconnected highways crisscrossing the country and joining at our national borders with friendly neighbors to the north and south. ‘Together, the uniting forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear — United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts.’ Source: HISTORYNET HIGHWAY I-70 BECOMES A REALITY Interstate 70 (I-70) is over 2,150 miles of highway from Cove Fort, Utah to Baltimore, Maryland. Two hundred miles of the highway and two hundred fifty miles of this super highway runs right through the center of Missouri. It appears that both Missouri and Kansas can each lay claim to I-70 beginnings. The first three contracts for the highway were signed in Missouri on August 2, 1956. The first section to be paved were in Kansas on September 26 the same year. But I-70 is just a small piece of the 48,000+ miles of highway system that crisscrosses the US. As farm folks look on, a worker smooths concrete on I-70 near Boonville, Mo. Source: National Archives Interstate 70 (I-70) is just over 2,150 miles of highway from Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland. Two hundred fifty miles of this super highway runs through Missouri and 30 of those miles run through the middle of Cooper County between Boone and Saline Counties. But I-70 is just a piece of the highway system that was conceived by President Dwight D. Eisenhower during the 1950s. This brain child was the result of a two-month trip between DC and San Francisco in 1919 and Eisenhower’s final months of World War II in Europe. The first Transcontinental Motor Convoy across the US took place in 1919. Eisenhower had been assigned as an observer and he remembered well the difficulties encountered as the convoy traveled from the White House to Gettysburg, and then on to San Francisco. The trip took two months. During the final months of World War II, Eisenhower was in Germany and saw the autobahn Hitler had designed. It was a far cry from the historic Lincoln Highway used in America for traveling coast to coast. Eisenhower took office in 1953, and by 1954 had announced his idea of an interstate highway system similar to the German autobahn. It took a couple of years for Congress to work through the financing, but H.R. 10660 was introduced in the House of Representatives by Maryland Democrat George Fallon on April 19, 1956. This time the bill worked its way through Congress quickly and was signed into law by President Eisenhower on June 29. The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 provided $25B for 41,000 miles of highway to be completed in 10 years and was hailed as the Greatest Public Works Project in American History. Some of the first construction began in Missouri and Kansas before the end of the year. While federal and state governments worked together to iron out the details and actually build the new highway system, cities and towns across America were dealing with the impact these new highways would have on them. Boonville, just north of I-70, would need a business loop. On August 18, 1959, the citizens of Boonville voted on a $150,000 General Obligation Bond for acquiring rights-of-way for streets and avenues for Business Loop 70. The ballots were counted and, on August 20, it was announced that the bond had passed. Creating the business loop required the tearing down and/or relocating of at least 11 houses. Most of this was accomplished during the spring of 1960. Another issue came up during that summer. The Historical Society wanted to change the names of all streets that connected with I-70. On September 6, 1960, Councilman Coley reported their suggestions to the City Council. Elm St. to Main St. would be renamed Ashley Road; Rt. 87 business loop to Main St. would become Bingham Road; and Boonslick Blvd. would be the new name for Main St. connecting to Rt. B. Motion was made and seconded to make the changes and the motion passed unanimously. However, these changes did not meet with the approval of the community. At the October 3rd City Council meeting, Mayor Bell read a letter from the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce requesting that Main Street’s name not be changed. Councilman Callis moved that the original motion be sustained and the motion was seconded by Councilman Althauser. The motion carried unanimously. Mr. Brownsberger attended the October 28th Council meeting and, representing the Chamber of Commerce, presented a petition with 245 signatures requesting that Boonslick Blvd be changed back to Main St. The Council agreed and voted to restore Main Street’s name. Thanks to I-70, Boonville has Ashley and Bingham Roads, but thanks to the citizens, we still have Main Street. Source: " Historically Yours" by Elizabeth Davis Dedication of the I-70 bridge October 8, 1960 Dedication of the I-70 bridge October 8, 1960 from on top of cliff. From the Wayne Lammers collection Looking east from the Cooper County side of the I-70 Dedication. From the Wayne Lammers collection A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR’S CRYSTAL BALL Today it seems that some Cooper County towns are slowly starting to gain in population. Could it be that some city folks are getting just a bit disenchanted with the big cities? True, Cooper County doesn’t have much big-name entertainment or many exciting things to do or see, but there is a lot of local talent, several excellent community yearly events and a variety of groups to join. And reasonably priced homes and low taxes! Could it be that they see that Cooper County has: good roads, free, accessible parking, excellent schools, adequate shopping, but not too far from Columbia; low crime and theft, no gangs, good health care, excellent sheriff and fire departments, lovely parks and friendly people?

LOUISIANA PURCHASE FROM A PROVINCE OF FRANCE TO A STATE IN AMERICA THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE After the new world was discovered, Europeans came to explore the new region. Some came for wealth and others came to satisfy their desire for adventure. In 1513 Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish explorer and comrade of Christopher Columbus, came to Florida and explored that area. On his second voyage to Florida, in 1521 , he was killed by Indians. Hernando de Soto was inspired with the same hopes and ambitions, and was not discouraged by Ponce de Leon’s failure. De Soto collected a large band of Spanish and Portuguese men to come to the new world in 1538 . In addition to his men he brought three hundred horses, a herd of swine, and some bloodhounds. On April 25, 1541 , de Soto reached the banks of the great Mississippi, a few miles below Memphis. He explored to the northwest, but no one is certain whether he reached central Missouri. He crossed the Mississippi and pursued his course north along its west bank into the region of our state now known as New Madrid. As far as historians can tell, he was the first European to set foot on Missouri soil. At the same time de Soto was exploring, Francisco Coronado, another Spanish explorer, led an expedition, of three hundred Spanish adventurers, mostly mounted, thoroughly armed, and well-provisioned. It is well authenticated that Coronado entered Missouri in the southern part, but how far north he went, we do not know. Some have claimed that he reached the Missouri River in the central part of the state. PROVINCE TO STATE TIMELINE 1682 Explorer Robert Cavalier and Sieur de La Salle took possession of the Louisiana Province for France, in which it gained control of the Louisiana Territory in the Treaty of Fontainebleau. 1762 Spanish government officials assumed direct control of the Louisiana Territory. 1800 Spain returned the Louisiana Territory to France. 1803 The Louisiana Purchase was signed. 1805 Territory of Louisiana was established; the seat of government was St. Louis. 1812 A portion of the Louisiana Territory was renamed as the Territory of Missouri 1816 Howard County was organized from the Territory of Missouri 1818 Cooper County was organized from part of Howard County 1821 (August 10) Missouri becomes the 24th State 1762 France cedes Province of Louisiana to Spain. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “France ceded the Province of Louisiana to Spain through the Treaty of Fontainebleau in return for assistance in the Seven Years War against England. News of the deal traveled very slowly in the 18th century and the French governor was unaware that his territory had been delivered to another country. The French continued their work in the region by setting up trading posts and trading fur unbeknownst they were living on land now owned by Spain.” Louisiana 1762-1800, showing boundaries of territory delivered by France to Spain under treaty of Nov. 3, 1762. State Historical Society of Missouri Map Collection. 1800 Spain returned the Louisiana Territory to France. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “Ownership of the Louisiana Territory became a burden to Spain as it faced a troubling economy. France, however, was rebuilding its empire in the Caribbean and in the Gulf of Mexico under its military leader Napoleon Bonaparte. France also wanted to keep the Louisiana Territory out of the hands of Great Britain, so it offered to trade territories in Tuscany, Northern Italy, for Louisiana in a secret treaty in 1800 . Rumors of the secret agreement brought anger and concern among Westerners who feared that the French power would control the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans. Efforts were underway by the U.S. government to quickly find a way to purchase the territory and secure its important trade port and navigation waters that led to the Gulf of Mexico. 1803 Louisiana Purchase is Complete (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “The Louisiana Purchase by the United States from France would nearly double the size of the U.S. and became one of the largest land transactions in history. Rich in gold, silver and fertile soil, as well as large tracts of forests, the land brought much wealth to the country. With American independence from Great Britain, France had concerns whether it could maintain and defend a colony on U.S. soil and Napoleon needed money to renew a war against Great Britain. President Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris to negotiate the treaty for the Louisiana Purchase that was signed April 30, 1803 . In exchange for almost 828,000 square miles, the United States would pay France $11,250,000 and assume $3,750,000 worth of American claims against France. Both France and Spain would be granted access to all ports of Louisiana. The U.S. agreed to incorporate Louisiana into the Union as soon as possible”. The United States purchased a total of 828,000 square miles of land from France for 15 Million dollars, which is approximately eighteen dollars per square mile. This purchase increased the size of the United States from the Mississippi River westward to include what are now the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, plus large portions of what are now North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, east of the Continental Divide. Also included were the portions of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River, the northeastern section of New Mexico, the northern part of Texas, New Orleans and portions of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River. It also included small portions of the present Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Click here for the The Story of the Louisiana Purchase Click here for the Map of size of LOUISIANA PURCHASE and extensive background Louisiana 1803-1819, showing boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in 1803. State Historical Society of Missouri Map Collection. 1803-1819 The land that is now known as Missouri, was a section of the area that was once part of the Louisiana Purchase. This 1804 map shows the District of Louisiana. In 1805 the Territory of Louisiana was established; the seat of government was St. Louis. In 1812 a portion of the Territory of Louisiana became the Territory of Missouri. (1805) President Jefferson appoints James Wilkinson to be the first governor of the newly-formed Louisiana Territory at the encouragement of his vice president, Aaron Burr. Once appointed, Wilkinson and Burr plot ways to set up a new country west of the Appalachian Mountains, separate from the United States. Before becoming territorial governor, Wilkinson had been hired a "Spanish Secret Agent 13" by the Spanish governor in New Orleans to promote immigration to Spanish lands in Missouri. Wilkinson was removed from office two years later in 1807 due to corruption, treason and multiple transgressions. Missouri Life “Meet Missouri's First Governors” 1808 Osage nation First Land Treaty (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) In 1812 , the Missouri Territory was created as a separate territory out of the District of Louisiana land. The entire state was called The Missouri Territory, until it was admitted into the Union, once it was sectioned off from the remaining Louisiana Purchase land. At this time, Howard County was still part of the 5 large counties that made up the Missouri Territory. The 5 Counties were St. Louis, St. Charles, New Madrid, St. Genevieve, and Cape Girardeau. References : The Territorial Papers of the United States , Territory of Louisiana-Missouri, 1806 -1814 The Territorial Papers of the United States , Territory of Louisiana Missouri, 1815-1816. Missouri Historical Maps Missouri Historical Maps District of Louisiana, 1804 Missouri Territory, in 1812 Missouri Territory, in 1816 Missouri Territory in 1819 and State of Missouri 1n 1821 In 1816 the Missouri Territory was divided into 7 counties: Lawrence, Cape Girardeau, Washington, St. Louis, St. Charles, New Madrid, and Howard.

EARLY AUTOMOBILES The coming of the automobile had a big effect on society in the County. In the summer of 1901, Fern Arn brought the first automobile to Boonville. By 1915, the automobile began to affect the lives of all County people. There was finally a real need for road building and expansion. With the popularity of the automobile, people in the county began to develop hard roads to replace the rough and muddy wagon trails. Several road surfaces were used. Gravel roads were made by either scraping off the soil to reveal the underlying gravel, or by bringing gravel in layers and laying it over the smoothed soil. The speed limit on early roads was usually 12 miles per hour. Motorists often had to stop and make repairs, especially to fix tires that punctured easily on the rough roads. The automobile had a revolutionary effect on American travel and society Beginning as a rich man’s plaything in the late 1890’s, with the development of the first gasoline engine, and steam-powered cars, automobiles began to be bought in quantity by the middle class. There were only four registered automobiles in the US in 1895, while in 1915 there were 2.5 million registered automobiles, and by 1930 the annual production had risen to 4.8 million, with six companies doing 90% of the business. The top three were Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. The first car to be owned in Cooper County belonged Ferd Arn. He was a local Boonville sporting goods owner who specialized in guns and bicycles. In June 1901 he purchased a Willis Grant Murry’s “one lungers”, or as the locals called it, a “devil buggy.” It had a top speed of 16 miles per hour, although it could be geared to run as fast as 30 miles per hour. The car sold for the modest price of $750. In 1908 Henry Ford developed the assembly line technique and introduced his Model T, which sold for $825. By 1917, the price had dropped to $350. Farmers on their way to town dreaded meeting Arm and his automobile because it made so much noise it frightened the horses. There was talk of having the city council pass an ordinance prohibiting the use of the car in town. In 1902 Arn became attracted to the Winton Touring car and began selling them in Boonville. Mr. Arn became an expert in tearing a car apart and building a new one. By 1909 Arn had sold a number of his expensive Winton Touring cars to some of the town’s wealthier citizens, including Charles A. Sombart, who was involved in looking for roads to route the New York to Seattle auto endurance race. Whether it was the introduction of the cheap and popular Model T Ford in the period between 1908 and 1910, or the generally depressed financial situation in Boonville at that time, Arn got into some serious financial trouble by the mid-teens, lost his business and left town. Arn had ditched his Murry automobile in 1910 and gave the engine to A.K. Wallace, who lived near Lamine. Wallace added a cooling system to the engine (the early engines had no cooling system and often overheated), installed it in a boat that he operated on the Lamine, and thus developed one of the first gasoline motor-powered boats in the area. Source: Bob Dyer (1921) The Centennial Road Law was signed into law to improve road conditions in the state. C ourtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline “Improvements to road conditions became a popular topic of state politics with the rise of automobile purchases in 1917. Before 1907, highway improvements were left entirely to counties, many of which did not have trained engineers. The Centennial Road Law shifted highway building efforts in Missouri from the local level to the state level by granting the State Highway Commission the authority to supervise highways and bridges. In the 1920s and 30s, the commission undertook massive road building projects that improved the highway system and “Get Missouri out of the mud.” U.S. Highway 40 was the first major highway to be built across Missouri in the 1920s. It came down the main street of Boonville and crossed the Missouri River on a bridge built in 1924. Today, there are major highways going through Cooper County. Interstate 70 is one of the main highways across the United States. U.S. 50 also comes through Cooper County. It followed the Osage Indian Trail. Both of these highways connect to St. Louis and Kansas City. Missouri’s Highway 5 is a much-used north-south route coming through the center of the county, and is also known as the old Warsaw Road. It goes from the Iowa line to the Arkansas line. It carries a lot of traffic to and from the Lake of the Ozarks. Other state roads in Cooper County are Highways 47, 87, 98, 135, and 179. Many of these highways followed old Indian trails. Source: Discover Cooper County by Ann Betteridge The Mitche l l Car Museum Boonville did not manufacture fancy wagons, cars or trucks, but the Mitchell Museum located near the Boonville train depot, has a wonderful showroom of well-preserved Mitchel wagons and automobiles. Henry Mitchell, originally from Scotland, started his business of wagon making in Kenosha, then Racine Wisconsin, in the early 1830’s. He produced a wide variety of farm wagons, and Urban wagons. By 1890 he was manufacturing 100 wagons per day. By 1900, the “horseless carriage” was replacing the horse and carriage. Eventually, they were selling vehicles all over the world. You will want to visit this museum for a once in a lifetime look back in history as you view the beautifully resorted cars of yesteryear. For more information call: 660-882-3767 Source: Historically Yours by Elizabeth Davis

COOPER COUNTY TIMELINE Grandma Day's Clock This is Grandma Day's Mars Mantel Clock, Model 194, which she purchased from Gmelick & Schmidt in 1898 for $5.63. After her death, the clock went to Geneva Day, then to my mother Edna Widel Lammers and then to me, Wayne Lammers, in November 1983. Photo by Wayne Lammers. This website is based loosely on the Timeline history of the development of Cooper County from Prehistoric times until the mid-20th century. It is quite amazing to see the tremendous progress that has been made in 200 years. Early Historical Missouri Timeline and Tidbits (Adapted from Mogenweb) 1673 – Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette traveled down the Mississippi River and were the first Europeans known to set foot on what would later become Missouri. (June 25) 1682 – Explorer Robert Cavalier - called Sieur de La Salle, claimed all the land that drained into the Mississippi River for France, naming it Louisiana Territory in honor of King Louis XIV. (April 9) 1724 – Fort Orleans was built on the north bank of the Missouri River by Etienne de Bourgmont in today’s Carroll County; the first European outpost west of the Mississippi (November 14). Abandoned in 1728. 1740–1750 – approximate date of the founding of St. Genevieve, the first permanent white settlement in what was to become Missouri. 1762 – Spain acquires the Louisiana Territory in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau (November 13). 1764 – The Treaty of Fontainebleau is made public. Saint Louis is founded as a fur trading post by Pierre Laclede Liguest and his stepson Auguste Chouteau. Saint-Ange et de Bellerive becomes the first governor of the fledgling community and recruits farmers, artisans and craftsmen from Illinois to settle at the post. 1769 – Spanish officials arrive to administer the government of Louisiana Territory. The region of Missouri becomes known as “Spanish Illinois.” 1780 – British and Indian forces attack St. Louis and nearby settlements because of Spanish support for the American Revolution. (May 26) 1789 – Colonel George Morgan, Revolutionary War veteran, establishes the town of New Madrid in the spring. 1790–1794 – The Osage Nation and Spain are at war. The Chouteau brothers negotiate peace in return for exclusive trade rights with the Osage. 1798 – Lieutenant Governor Zenon Trudeau in St. Louis offered Daniel Boone 1,000 arpents (845 acres) of land to settle in Missouri then known as “Spanish Illinois.” 1799 – Kentucky Frontiersman Daniel Boone comes to Howard County. 1800 – Spain agrees to return the Louisiana Territory to France (October 1) 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase was signed transferring possession to the United States (April 30). 1804 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition embarks from Camp Dubois east of St. Louis. (May 14) 1805 – The Territory of Louisiana was established; the seat of government was St. Louis (July 4) 1805 – First Governor of Louisiana Territory J. Wilkerson 1808 – The Osage cede most of their land in Missouri, opening the way for future white settlement. (September 14). 1809 – The Missouri Fur Company was organized in St. Louis. The abundance of animal pelts in the Missouri and Mississippi Valley region played a key role in the economic development of the Upper Louisiana Territory. 1810 – Earliest settlers arrive in Cooper County in the spring. 1811 – The first shocks of the New Madrid earthquakes , the worst in U.S. History (Dec.16) 1812 – A portion of the Territory of Louisiana becomes the Territory of Missouri (June 12). 1812 – The first general Assembly of the Territory of Missouri met (October 1); the five original counties were organized: Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, St. Charles, St. Louis, and St. Genevieve. 1812 – The War of 1812 , begins June 18. The Sac & Fox, Ioway and Kickapoo, and Pottawatomie allied with Great Britain conduct raids in the Missouri Territory. 1815 – Peace treaties signed with 14 Indian nations at Portage des Sioux end the war in Missouri. (July 18 – September 16). 1816 – Howard County established (January 23). 1816 – Mid-Missouri’s first circuit court opened at Cole's Fort (July 8). 1818 – The speaker of the US House of Representative presented the first petition to Congress for Missouri requesting statehood (January 8). 1818 – Cooper County is established out of Howard County (December 17) 1820 – Missouri statehood became a national controversy over the issue of slavery. The “Missouri Compromise” allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Territories north of the 36 parallel are designated to be slave-free territory. 1820 – Missouri’s first Constitution was adopted (July 19) The first state officials are elected in August. They elect Alexander McNair the first governor, 43 representatives and 14 state senators. The population of the Missouri Territory is around 67,000. 1820 – Daniel Boone dies at age 85. 1820 – Missouri’s first Constitution was adopted (July 19) 1820 – Saline County is established out of Cooper County (November 25) 1820 – Missouri Packet , steamboat sinks in the Missouri River, 11 miles west of Boonville on May 5, 1820 on a supply voyage to the fort at Council Bluffs. Little was salvaged from this 2 Century old vessel in December 1987, which was one of the first steamboats to ply the Missouri River. You may view these artifacts at the Boonville, River, Rails and Trails Museum at the Katy Depot District here in Boonville. 1821 – Missouri admitted as the 24th state (August 8) 1821 – The first commercially successful trade venture to Santa Fe from Franklin. (September 1). The route becomes the Santa Fe Trail , linking Missouri and New Mexico. Many Cooper County merchants become engaged in the trade and some wagon caravans are outfitted in Boonville in the 1820s. 1828 – Major flood of the Missouri River, washed away the town of Franklin, plus Cooper’s Fort and cemetery. “New” Franklin built on higher ground. 1830 – Indian Removal Act 1835 – 6 Months of Public School became a new state law 1838 – Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs issues extermination order against the Mormons in the state. 1839 – Boonville was incorporated 1839 – Mormon War 1844 – Fredrick T. Kemper built the family school, later military school 1844 – (Jun 21) 4th worst flood of Mo River – Crest at 32.70 feet 1845 – George Bingham 1846 – Mexican War 1848 – Thomas Benton argued against expanding slavery 1849 – People left Boonville via the Santa Fe Trail in their quest for gold 1851 – A plank road was built from Boonville to Warsaw 1853 – First official Missouri State Fair was held in Boonville 1857 – Thespian Hall was built in Boonville 1861–1864 – Cooper County involved in Civil War Battles 1865 – Slavery was abolished in MO making it the first slave state to emancipate its slaves before the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution. 1870 – Ground was broken for the Tebo and Neosho Railroad . (MKT) 1870 – Mules in Missouri 1875 – Missouri Constitution Ratified ## 1898 – Main street in Boonville was paved with bricks 1889 – Nation-wide law Separate Schools for Black Students in US (Segregation) 1917 – Cooper County Citizens served in World War I 1919 – Missouri ratifies the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote ## 1920 – Highway 40 built across Missouri River, went down Main Street 1920 – Prohibition to 1933 1921 – Centennial Road Law 1924 – Highway bridge opened across the Missouri River 1937 – Constitutional Amendment - Conservation 1929 – Stock Market Crash 1930–1939 – Great Depression 1937–1940 – Civilian Conservation Corps trained young men in Pilot Grove 1941 – Pearl Harbor attack 1941–1945 – Cooper County citizens served in World War II 1945 – 4th Missouri Constitution signed ## 1945 – WWII over, surrender signed on USS Missouri 1950 – Korean War 1960 – Interstate 70 was constructed through the County 1961 – Defense missiles were installed underground in the County ## 1965 – Vietnam War 1970 – Cooper County Hospital was built 1980 – Farm Crisis in the Midwest 1984 – Sales tax for Soil & Water Conversation 1987 – Missouri Packet steamboat salvaged in Cooper County, 11 miles west of Boonville in December of 1987. Some of the 2 Century old artifacts are on display at the Boonville, River, Rails and Trails Museum. 1990 – Cooper County Historical Society was formed 1990 – The first section of the KATY Trail was started at Rocheport 1991 – War in Iraq 1993 – July 29 – Worst flood of Missouri river – Crest at 37.10” 1995 – New Highway 40 Boonslick Bridge was built across the MO River near Boonville 2019 – Second worst Flood in Missouri History - Crest 33.73 feet ## Indicates topic is not covered on this website but information is available at: Missouri Bicentennial Timeline