Centennial Greenway - Heritage Crossing

Centennial Greenway - Heritage Crossing. . , Cribbin's Home , . This park, historically known as the Cribbin's Home, Kuhlmann's Grove, and even Cedar Grove in 1875, features a well-known home built in the mid-1800s., . The home was built by Lawrence Cribbin (sometimes spelled Cribben), a native of Ireland and a farmer by trade. Mr. Cribbin and his family came to St. Charles County from Louisiana in 1844. He succeeded at farming and began to acquire a large land holding in the area. In 1851 he purchased approximately 264 acres from William and Nancy M. Douglass for the sum of $4,500., . Mr. Cribbin benefited from the location of his home and farm. Records show he had his own boat landing on the Missouri River that he used for shipping his grain and livestock to markets in St. Charles. In addition to shipping goods on the river, his farm intersected Boone's Lick Road, which provided an overland route to the western cities and markets of the state. Lawrence Cribbin understood the importance of this "trade route," and he and a group of citizens helped created a plank roadway on the Boone's Lick Road., . In 1877, thirty-three years after arriving in St. Charles County and establishing his successful farm, Lawrence Cribbin's passed away. Probate records at the time of his death indicate he had amassed a substantial income while farming his land, which was valued at $18,000 dollars. He had accrued no debt, and his personal property was valued at $2,000. These records also provide a glimpse into his farming operations. At the time of his death, Mr. Cribbin had a large holding of livestock, including hogs, cows and sheep, along with 500 bushels of corn and the materials associated with harvesting wheat and corn. Following his father's death, son William Cribbon continued to live on and farm the property until 1897, when he sold the house to Fritz and Anna Kuhlmann., Kuhlmann's Grove, William Cribbin sold the house to Fritz and Anna Kuhlmann. The Kuhlmann's continued to live on and farm the land and provided their name to one of St. Charles County's more popular spots for recreation, known as Kuhlmann's Grove. In front of the old house built by Lawrence Cribbin stood a lush grove of trees and grassland that was used by many St. Charles residents for family picnics, church gatherings and group socials. Groups would come from all over the county and enjoy the Grove. Baseball games were played in the fields and people picnicked under the trees on picnic tables placed there by the Kuhlmann's., Today, Kuhlmann's Grove is nothing more than a memory. The home and Kuhlmann's Grove were bought by Kansas City-based developers Hardesty and Johnson in 1975. The developers selected a Civil War theme around which they constructed single family residences, condos, apartments and a small commercial tract. Over the years, the home built a Lawrence Cribbin has served many purposes, housing offices and even a popular restaurant known as Mr. Cribbin's Restaurant. With the purchase of this land by the St. Charles County Parks and Recreation Department, the home and the land that surrounds it will once again become a popular place for visitors to enjoy., Boone's Lick Road, . For many years, Boone's Lick Road was the beginning of the main trail leading west for most settlers seeking a new and prosperous life in the American West. This historic route ran next to this site, where Highway-94 is today. Boone's Lick Road was Missouri's first east-west highway providing a route to Fort Osage (located in present day Jackson County) and linking St. Charles with important western settlements and territories. Wagons began rolling along the Santa Fe Trail in 1820 and Boone's Lick Trail became the connector to that route in 1827., . The trail was probably first created by animals trampling vegetation as they scavenged for the food and minerals required in their diets (i.e. salt). This pat was then used by Native Americans for hunting, trading, and occasionally as a war party route when conflicting erupted with neighboring tribes. When the first European and later American settlers arrived in the area, they used the trail to access the resources and exceptional farmland in the most remote areas of the new territory. Initially, travelers marked their route by removing bark from trees along the path, creating what was called a "trace tree.", . The name originates from the salt works in Howard County where Daniel Morgan Boone Jr. and Nathan Boone (sons of pioneer Daniel Boone) processed the saline springs., . This trail evolved into one of the most important routes for early St. Charles County citizens and pioneers journeying west. Boone's Lick Trail expanded over time and later became Boone's Lick Road as wagon and stagecoach traffic increased., . Rain and snow-melt turned roadways into impassable mud. In May 1851, a group of citizens incorporated to create the St. Charles Western Plank Road Company to build a plank road from St. Charles to Warrenton., . Though planking roads began as an earnest attempt to improve road surface conditions, this solution was expensive and impractical. Boards soon warped and rotted, making road conditions to better than if they'd remained dirt. Some accounts claim that road boards may have even been stolen and burned as firewood during winter., . People forgot the road's significance in Western Expansion until 1913, when the Daughters of the American Revolution began to erect granite markers on historic sites along the route.