St. Charles County celebrates 200th anniversary

In 1812, Congress gave territorial governors the power to organize counties in those areas cleared of Indian titles, and on Oct. 1 of that year, Gov. William Clark organized St. Charles County.

Clark, of course, had been part of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition so he made no mention of northern or western boundaries of the new county.

As the county celebrates the 200^th anniversary of St. Charles County, it’s a fun bit of trivia to remember that for about a year, its boundaries extended all of the way to Canada on the north and the Pacific Ocean on the west.

“A year later, the first territorial legislature fixed those boundaries to conform with the 1804 Sac and Fox Treaty – a line on the Missouri River beginning opposite the mouth of the Gasconade River, and extending due north to the Mississippi River,” Steve Ehlmann wrote in his book, “Crossroads, A History of St. Charles County.”

Ehlmann also pointed out in his book that pronouncements and proclamations “were meaningless since neither the county nor territorial governments could ensure the safety of anyone beyond the existing settlements” in 1812.

But, for a while, St. Charles County was one big county.

Comments are closed

Sorry, but you cannot leave a comment for this post.