Thanks for dropping in today for my Thursday Doors contribution for the week. The photos are courtesy of my youngest daughter who recently visited some friends in St. Louis. St. Charles is a favorite destination for the day with many cool attractions in the Old Town. If you are a history buff, this is where you’ll find your chi. As a native Missourian, it’s nice to read these refreshers on our state’s firsts. I hope you’ll enjoy the photos she shared with me as well as the reading of the historical marker under the gallery.

First permanent settlement on the Missouri River, known as Les Petites Cotes (Fr. Little Hills) until after dedication of Church of St. Charles Borromeo, 1791. Though 1790 is given as date of founding, French Canadian Louis Blanchette first settled here in 1769.

The area was first settled by the French and later by largely by Americans and Germans. Prominent early settlers were Daniel Boone and his family. Some 25 miles southwest is home of Boone’s son Nathan. The Boon’s Lick and Salt Water trails began at St. Charles.

During the war of 1812, military activity in Missouri centered at Portage de Sioux, a 1799 French settlement 14 miles northeast. In Fort Zumwalt State Park, 20 miles west, stands the remains of one of many family forts of the area erected against Indian attacks.

Here were established the first School of the Sacred Heart in the U.S. by 1818 by Mother Duchesne; Baptist and Presbytarian churches, 1818; first Masonic Lodge north of Missouri River 1819; a town academy, chartered 1820; a newspaper, “The Missourian”, 1820; and The Methodist St. Charles College, chartered 1837.

Historical Marker at St. Charles Depot, St. Charles, Missouri

Please take a few minutes to visit Dan at No Facilities for more Thursday Doors entries. It’s one of the best stops on the web these days!