Marker Logo
THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Oregon in Holt County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

Louisiana Purchase
⎯⎯⎯
Lewis and Clark Expedition
⎯⎯⎯
They Passed This Way
⎯⎯⎯
Old Trail Road

 
 
Louisiana Purchase 1803<br>(<i>side 1</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 14, 2021
1. Louisiana Purchase 1803
(side 1)
Inscription.
Louisiana Purchase
1803
Numerous states emerged including Missouri in 1821, doubling the size of the United States.

Acquisition of the Platte Purchase Indian Territory in 1836 extended the State boundary westward to the Missouri River.

Settlers crossed the Nodaway River inland at the rapids via Old Trail Road Gateway to Holt County, which became a feeder line for the Oregon Trail.

Holt County was established in 1841, with Oregon, named for an Indian princess, selected as the county seat.

Lewis and Clark Expedition
1804-1806


Meriwether Lewis
1774-1809

Private Presidential Secretary to Thomas Jefferson
Governor of the Louisiana Territory

William Clark
1770-1838

Soldier and Explorer
Superintendent of Indian Affairs
Governor of Missouri Territory

They Passed This Way
Acquired from France during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, The Louisiana Purchase encompassed 875,000 square miles costing 15 million dollars or about 3 cents per acre.

Virginia natives Lewis and Clark, launched their expedition departing St. Louis in May 1804 on a voyage of discovery, utilizing canoes and oar powered keelboats.

Congress appropriated 2,500 dollars for the
Paid Advertisement
Click or scan to see
this page online
8,000 mile round trip venture that took two-and-a-half years, involving over 40 men, the Indian interpreter Sacagawea and a dog.

Old Trail Road
Jesse Carroll, among the first pioneers, immediately built the first courthouse, jail and the Carroll-Lenz Stagecoach Inn in the 1840's. Assisted by his devoted black slave.

Descendents of many early families still reside in Holt County.

In the mid-1800's others travelled through Oregon, MO., down Sterrett Hill crossing the Missouri River at Iowa Point, westward to the California Gold Rush and the Pacific Northwest.
 
Erected 2002 by William White Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ExplorationRoads & VehiclesSettlements & SettlersWaterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and the Lewis & Clark Expedition series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1804.
 
Location. 39° 59.221′ N, 95° 8.648′ W. Marker is in Oregon, Missouri, in Holt County. It is on West Nodaway Street (Missouri Route 111) just east
Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804-1806<br>(<i>side 2</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 14, 2021
2. Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804-1806
(side 2)
of South Washington Street, on the right when traveling east. Marker is located near the sidewalk, directly in front of the Holt County Courthouse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 100 West Nodaway Street, Oregon MO 64473, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Missouri. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Holt County (a few steps from this marker); Landscape of the Glacial Hills (approx. 6.4 miles away in Kansas); The Barns of Doniphan County (approx. 6.4 miles away in Kansas); Glaciers (approx. 6.4 miles away in Kansas); Homeland of the Kanza Indians (approx. 8 miles away in Kansas); "the water…contains a half…Glass of ooze" (approx. 8 miles away in Kansas);
They Passed This Way<br>(<i>side 3</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 14, 2021
3. They Passed This Way
(side 3)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition (approx. 8 miles away in Kansas); Glacial Hills Scenic Byway (approx. 8 miles away in Kansas).
 
Another marker is no longer nearby. "abounds with Beaver" (was approx. 7.6 miles away in Kansas but has been confirmed missing).
 
More about this marker. This is a four-sided monument with a different historical inscription on each side, organized chronologically.
 
Old Trail Road<br>(<i>side 4</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 14, 2021
4. Old Trail Road
(side 4)
Louisiana Purchase / Lewis and Clark Expedition / They Passed This Way / Old Trail Road Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 14, 2021
5. Louisiana Purchase / Lewis and Clark Expedition / They Passed This Way / Old Trail Road Marker
(looking southeast from West Nodaway Street • Holt County Courthouse in background)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on November 22, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 14, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 706 times since then and 75 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 14, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
m=179439

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisement
Jul. 25, 2026