Welcome to Fort Belle Fontaine

Welcome to Fort Belle Fontaine. . Why is this Park Important?, .St. Louis was a center of military activity for the trans-Mississippi West for 181 years (1765-1946) , .Cantonment Belle Fontaine - First Indian factory (trading post) built west of the Mississippi (1805) , .Fort Belle Fontaine - First United States military fort built west of the Mississippi (1805-1834) , .Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery expedition (1804-1806) spent the first night of their expedition on an island opposite Cold Water Creek and their last night at Fort Belle Fontaine , .Other major expeditions left from this site (1805-1819) to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory , .The Fort was an important gathering place in the wilderness for officers and enlisted men, French, Spanish and American settlers, trappers and traders, Native Americans, and businessmen and farmers who supplied the fort with necessities , .There is a diversity of ecosystems here - Upland Prairie, Wetland, Upland Forest, Bottomland, Creek, River and Spring - making for a rich diversity of flora and fauna, (Letter from Thomas Jefferson:), To Meriwether Lewis Esquire, Captain of the First Regiment of Infantry of the United States of America:, …The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, and such principal streams of it, as by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon [sic], Colorado, or any other river, may offer the most direct and practicable water-communication across the continent, for the purposes of commerce. , …The commerce which may be carried on with the people inhabiting the line you will pursue renders a knowledge of those people important. , …The soils and face of the country; its growth and vegetable productions… , The animals of the country generally… , The remains and accounts of any which may be deemed rare or extinct; , The mineral productions of every kind;… , Volcanic appearances; , Climate…the date at which particular plants put forth or lose their flower or leaf; times of appearance of particular birds, reptiles or insects. , …Given under my hand at the City of Washington, , This twentieth day of June, 1803. , Thomas Jefferson , President of the United States, What Happened Here… (shown as a timeline, left to right), 1767- Fort Don Carlos Prince of the Asturias built near here by the Spanish , 1805- Cantonment Belle Fontaine built on the river bottom , 1809- Fort Belle Fontaine built on top of the bluff , 1826- Troops moved to Jefferson Barracks , 1834- Fort Belle Fontaine abandoned , 1913- Bellefontaine Farm for Boys established; later named Missouri Hills Home , 1936-1940- Works Progress Administration projects built , 1986- Purchased by St. Louis County ,