Old Greenville in 1840 - On The Road to the Old Southwest

Old Greenville in 1840 - On The Road to the Old Southwest. Greenville Recreation Area. , In the early 1800s, settlements began here at Old Greenville, where two ancient Indian trails converged at a point where the St. Francis River could be readily forded. By 1810, a small ferry established by the Bettis family provided an alternate means to cross the river., Cherokee and Delaware Indians traveled west to treaty lands in the Indian Territory by way of Greenville. By 1818, those ancient trails had become the main overland routes for migration to the "Old Southwest," leading the wagons of pioneer settlers to what would become the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Annual cattle drives also crossed the river here, moving Ozark livestock to markets along the Mississippi River at Ste. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau., In 1820, Moses Austin rode south from Potosi, Missouri, through Greenville to San Antonio, where he secured a grant from the Spanish governor for the first Anglo-American settlement in Texas. In 1835, Daniel Cloud and Peter Bailey followed Austin's route south to Natchitoches and San Antonio, where they joined in the struggle for the liberty of Texas and died in defense of the Alamo. By 1835, two stagecoach lines passed through Greenville. Stagecoaches carrying passengers, freight, and mail bound for St. Louis, Cape Girardeau and Little Rock, made regular stops here at the Bedwell Tavern., The roads through Greenville remained principle western thoroughfares during the Civil War. Today, U.S. Routes 67 closely follows the Old Southwest Trail and travelers on the modern four-lane highway are following in the footsteps of history.