Belle Fontaine - Beautiful Fountain

Belle Fontaine - Beautiful Fountain. . , The Works Progress Administration at Fort Belle Fontaine, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression of the 1930's. WPA workers built all the limestone projects from 1936-1940 to enhance the Missouri Hills Home estate and to attract visitors to the picturesque landscape. During the 1940's this was a well-used and popular site for picnicking and swimming during the hot St. Louis summers. , These improvements to the site involved the construction of retaining walls, trails, stone bridges and culverts, as well as comfort stations, barbecue pits, landscape gardens, a gazebo and a massive grand staircase and lily ponds. , Trees Found at Fort Belle Fontaine, American Basswood (Linden) Tillia americana , The fruit is eaten by a number of species of birds and rodents. Cottontail rabbits and white-tailed deer browse the leaves and foliage. The flower nectar is known for making high quality bee honey. Native Americans utilized the fibrous inner bark for making strong, tangle-free rope; also thongs, baskets and mats. , Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa , Its acorns are eaten by woodpeckers, mice, squirrels, raccoon and white-tailed deer. The thick, fire-resistant bark made this tree a common sight in prairies that once covered much of the north-central states. , Chinkapin Oak Quercus muehlenbergli , Acorns are eaten by blue jay, woodpeckers, wood duck, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail, mice, squirrels, raccoon and white-tailed deer. Native Americans used inner-bark tea to treat diarrhea, mouth sores, chapped skin, asthma and coughs. The acorns are sweet and edible when roasted. , Native Americans in the area at the time of Lewis and Clark, Archaeological evidence recovered within the Coldwater Creek watershed suggests that the region has been occupied by man for at least 10,000 years., There are 13 prehistoric Indian sites within the Coldwater Creek watershed registered with the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office. , At the time of European contact, the area was frequently occupied by Native American Indians. Throughout the 18th century, there were conflicts between them and the early European settlers. , The Shawnee maintained a village called Village a Robert as late as 1804 and were probably the last group of Native Americans to settle within the area. , These structures were built from limestone quarried on the site., (aside:), On August 10, 1805, General Wilkinson reported he had encamped the troops at Cold Water…, On a high, dry, narrow bottom of the Missouri, near a fountain of pure water, competent to supply one thousand men daily…where they are now actively engaged on the work of the cantonment, and in collecting materials for the building of the factory.