Golden Thread Historic Boonville, Missouri

Buckeye Bill

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Boonville is a city in Cooper County, Missouri, USA. The population was 8,319 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cooper County. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the American Civil War on July 17, 1861. Union forces defeated a small and poorly equipped force of the Missouri State Guard in the first Battle of Boonville.

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History : The community derives its name from Nathan and Daniel Morgan Boone, who were the sons of Daniel Boone and established their salt business near the community in the early 1800s by delivering the salt from salt licks to St. Louis. The area has been called "Boone's Lick" and the route from the lick to St. Charles/St. Louis, Missouri is called the Boone's Lick Trail. The eastern terminus near Boonville at Franklin, Missouri is considered the original start of the Santa Fe Trail.

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The first pioneers were Hannah and Stephen Cole, who settled in 1810. During skirmishes with Native Americans in the War of 1812 they moved to a fort on the north side of the Missouri River (called on markers as "Hannah Cole Fort"). That fort subsequently became the first county seat of Howard County, Missouri.

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The Cooper County Jail was built in 1848 and remained in place until 1979 with a claim that it was the longest-serving jail in Missouri history.

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In 1855, Thespian Hall opened and now claims to be the oldest continuously running theatre west of the Allegheny Mountains.

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During the American Civil War, the community was fought over and held by both sides including in the Battle of Boonville on June 17, 1861, a month before the First Battle of Bull Run which gave the Union control of the Missouri River; and 2nd Battle of Boonville on September 13, 1861; and its capture by Sterling Price in 1864 in Price's Raid.

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Boonville Missouri cemeteries contain American Civil War soldiers.

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The city was a strategic target because of its location on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The track was subsequently taken over by the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad. In the 1980s, the track section that traversed the town was converted to parkland, as part of Katy Trail State Park. Today, the "Katy Trail" is the longest rails to trails system in the United States.

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In 2008, Anheuser-Busch InBev opened the Warm Springs Ranch west of Boonville as the primary breeding farm for the Budweiser Clydesdales.

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* Wikipedia and Photos Courtesy of William Bechmann (2011).

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And across the street from the two "First Battle of Boonville" signs is my house. I've always thought that they made a mistake in placing the Confederate Battle flag up in the corner of the sign; it should be the MO State Guard emblem, as that's who the Federals fought in he first two battles.

Thanks for posting this, Bill.
 
And across the street from the two "First Battle of Boonville" signs is my house. I've always thought that they made a mistake in placing the Confederate Battle flag up in the corner of the sign; it should be the MO State Guard emblem, as that's who the Federals fought in he first two battles.

Thanks for posting this, Bill.

Looking forward to meeting you soon at the Chickamauga National Military Park get-together next month, Dan!

Bill
 
Looking forward to meeting you soon at the Chickamauga National Military Park get-together next month, Dan!

Bill

And I look forward to meeting you too! I met your sister about a year ago, nice lady.
One of our many lunch time discussions that Patrick, Boonslick and I have had is ( in my opinion) the rather poor job that Boonville does in promoting it's history. Imo, it should be a lot easier for a tourist to make a driving tour around the town to see all the historic places.
I have to be careful in the amount of complaining I do because I don't want to serve in any political capacity. Been there-done that.
 
Maybe I could design a American Civil War Tour Brochure for the Boonville Tourist Organization.

Bill

Yes, I think you should!
The opinions of an outsider would be very valuable I think.

As an example, Boonville is 3 miles off of I-70, but do we have any billboards informing driver's to "visit historic Boonville"? No.
We have a casino and I would think they would be very interested in promoting the town.

I think I've had too much coffee this morning. Maybe i should take a nap.
 
Boonville is too close to Columbia for many. Here's a link to the city tourism website:

https://goboonville.com/attractions/

Near as I can tell, the Battle of Boonville/battlefield isn't showcased. Arrow Rock, just a few miles up River appears to have their ducks in a row in terms of tourism and promotion.

I agree with what you say about Arrow Rock.They have done a wonderful job of making it very easy for a auto tour. It is a remarkable little town and we'll well worth a visit.. Someday I should post some pictures of it. It's like a little town that time by-passed; like it's forever locked in the 1840's.
 
I agree with what you say about Arrow Rock.They have done a wonderful job of making it very easy for a auto tour. It is a remarkable little town and we'll well worth a visit.. Someday I should post some pictures of it. It's like a little town that time by-passed; like it's forever locked in the 1840's.
The reason that Arrow Rock is better publicized and developed is because it is a State Historic Site and most of the houses and buildings in this small town (pop. 58) is owned by very wealthy people who have their second homes there.

Below is the Huston Tavern (1834)- The first stop east of Boonville on the Santa Fe Trail.


When I have a chance I will post some early Boonville photographs from my collection.
 

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When I have a chance I will post some early Boonville photographs from my collection.

Well, if you didn't sleep past noon each day, maybe you'd have time to post those pictures!!!!!!

(I'm back in town, how about lunch sometime this week? I realize that would mean you'd have to get up earlier than your usual time!!!!!)
 
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