The Boone's Lick Road

The Boone's Lick Road. . , Beyond the Mississippi , The Boone's Lick Road was the first to bring settlers deep into the heart of the great Louisiana Purchase from early settlements west of the Mississippi River. It bore the nation's constant westward push, extending by 1816 to the Boonslick Country and the frontier boom town of Franklin, near where you are standing now. , The Boone's Lick Road preceded its more famous extension, the Santa Fe Trail. It evolved in segments between St. Charles and Franklin and the area around the famed lick. Though it was well established as far as Howard County by 1816, it had many early variations on the east and at least three major variations on the west. In later decades it guided the way for U.S. Highway 40 and U.S. Interstate 70., Alive Yesterday , Immense numbers of wagons, carriages, carts, etc. with families, have for some time past been daily arriving. During the month of October It is stated that no less than 271 wagons, four-wheeled carriages and 55 two-wheeled carriages and carts passed near St. Charles, bound principally for Boon's Lick. , -Franklin Missouri Intelligencer, Nov. 19, 1819, Boon's Lick was the common centre of hopes, and the common point of union for the people. Ask one of them whither he was moving, and the answer was, "To Boon's Lick, to be sure." , -Timothy Flint, 1826, And Alive Today , To explore the Boone's Lick Road, visit sites highlighted at right. Or visit the locations below to get more information about the historic route:, . St. Charles Co. Historical Soc., St. Charles , . Warren County Historical Society, Warrenton , . Daniel Boone Home and Heritage Ctr., Defiance , . Crane's Museum and Country Store, Williamsburg , . Kingdom of Callaway Historical Soc., Fulton , . State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia , . Boone County Historical Society, Columbia , . South Howard County Historical Museum, New Franklin , . Arrow Rock State Historic Site and Visitor Center, Arrow Rock , . Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City , (list of sites along Boone's Lick Road:), 1) Western House , The original part of this circa 1840 St. Charles house was built by William Carter and is still here. Within a block were Blanchette's original mill and the start of the road. Even today St. Charles retains its nineteenth century charm., 2) Nathan Boone Home , This beautiful circa 1819 home where Daniel Boone died was built by his son Nathan and Nathan's wife, Olive Van Bibber. It was the ranger Nathan Boone who helped define the western part of the road. His home is a "must see.", 3) Schowengerdt Home , German-American Ernst Schowengerdt's house was first built in 1866 and then modified by 1890s Queen Anne additions. It is now on the National Register. Stroll the Boone's Lick Road through Warrenton, founded in 1835., 4) Danville Female Academy Chapel , Danville, established in 1834, served as seat of Montgomery County until 1925. "Bloody Bill" Anderson burned most of the town in October, 1864. The 1854 Danville Female Academy Chapel survived as witness., 5) Loutre Lick , Isaac Van Bibber, Nathan Boone's nephew by marriage, purchased Boone's concession. Van Bibber's salt lick and tavern were the center of early settlement in the area and known to all travelers on the road. The tavern is gone, but the lick still attracts., 6) Williamsburg , Alexander and Enoch Fruit settled on the edge of Nine Mile Prairie just east of later (1836) Williamsburg. Three different routes evolved west of here. Get a sense of those earlier times and stop at Crane's Store and Museum for more road history., 7) Rocheport , This 1835 house is one of many historic structures in Rocheport. Laid out in 1825, the port town became a major economic force in the area. Central Street, with its limestone gutters, connected to the main road. The entire town is on the National Register of Historic Places., 8) Thomas Hickman House , Thomas and Sarah Prewitt Hickman built this Georgian cottage in 1819 two miles from Franklin and a stone's throw from old Fort Hempstead. The fine restoration shows the wealth of some early Boonslick families.