Old Jamestown Association

This is a work in progress. The Old Jamestown Association History Project Committee has uncovered an amazing amount of material.  We have many leads and continue to search for more.  Please send suggestions for research sources or topics and any comments or questions to prautes@aol.com.

Highlights from the History Project Committee presentation at the Old Jamestown Association general meeting, November 3, 2011

Introduction:

Our focus for the November 3, 2011, meeting was the Old Jamestown area (bound by the Missouri River, Cold Water Creek, New Halls Ferry, and Hwy 367).  The time focus is from 1770 through the 1800’s.  These are just a few of the stories we found especially interesting within that focus  You can read through this page and get a feel for some of the area's history -- you can also click on the links and learn a great deal more.  There are links to other local history pages and general historical resources in the menu on the right side of the page.

Topics include:

• Physical location of Old Jamestown area attractive to early travelers and inhabitants
• Native Americans & Explorers
• Early Settlers
• “James Town”
• Guy Seeley property & log cabin – later owned by Elizabeth Mullanphy & Jsames Clemens, Jr.
• Cold Water Cemetery – Patterson Family – Rev. John Clark – Church/s & School
• Original Brown School on Old Jamestown
• Steamboats and the Car of Commerce Chute
• Musick’s Ferry and Inn
• Halls Ferry Road

Physical location of Old Jamestown area was attractive to early travelers and inhabitants

Native Americans and then settlers long used the unique characteristics of the Old Jamestown area as preferred travel routes.

Just north of Old Jamestown, in St. Charles County, is Portage des Sioux, which is located at a point where the distance between the Missouri and Mississippi is only two miles. The name of the town derives from the fact that Native Americans would carry their canoes across this narrow neck of land saving themselves twenty-five miles of paddling.  (Excerpted from the Portage des Sioux web site site)  For more information about activity at Portage des Sioux, see http://www.greatriverroad.com/stcharles/pdessioux.htm and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaties_of_Portage_des_Sioux

Native American routes to St. Louis are thought to be trails from Portage des Sioux to the Musick’s Ferry or Portage Road areas over to Bellefontaine Road and then to the City of St. Louis. 

Kingshighway in St. Louis City is thought to have been a “continuation of King’s Trace in Jefferson County, running north….  Along this there had been an Indian trail, skirting the forest west of the prairie land, in the direction of a portage on the Missouri River, a way many miles shorter than by the Mississippi River.”   (Encyclopedia of the history of St. Louis, Vol 4, page 2157, Street Names)

Bluff areas on river are some of highest Missouri River bluffs in St. Louis County.  The Old Jamestown area avoids flooding because of the bluffs and because flood waters go to the flood plain between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

Native Americans and Explorers

Many nomadic Native American tribes at least passed through OJ area over thousands of years.   Artifacts have been found at Musick’s Landing and in Sioux Passage Park and along Cold Water Creek.

At least twenty Native American tribes received gifts at the Spanish post in St. Louis in 1777.  Those from along the Missouri River in Central Missouri were the Little Osages, Big Osages, and Missouris.  The Ottawas and Sauteurs lived as far away as 325 leagues (about 850 miles) in Canada.   Closest were the Peorias and Kaskaskias located In Kaskaskia, 22 leagues (about 60 miles) away.  (Spanish Regime in Missouri, Louis Houck, 1909, pages 141-148)

The confluence of the Missouri River and Mill Creek was a favored campsite for Indians of the late woodland and Mississippian periods. The area featured good hunting and fishing. A source of flint for the manufacture of tools and weapons was readily available. An easily accessible spring provided all-important drinking water. The area provided the needs of the early inhabitants. It is possible that Indians of the Middle Woodland period inhabited the area as early as 100 A.D. The Sioux Passage Park Archaeological Site is located in the park.   (Sioux Passage Park Web Site ) http://ww5.stlouisco.com/parks/parkhistory/SiouxPassageHistory.pdf

“It was at Portage des Sioux that Indians of the ‘Upper Missouri’ district made their headquarters for dealing in furs in pioneer days of Missouri.  It was the custom, according to stories that have been told by the old residents of Florissant, that the Indians would cross the Missouri River from Portages des Sioux at a point near Musick Ferry and carry their wares to Florissant, where they bartered with the early white settlers.”  (quoted from Post-Dispatch article, June 22, 1919, which was quoting Leonard Albers)

Explorers [most notably Lewis & Clark] passed the present Sioux Passage Park site on their treks up the Missouri River to the unknown West.   Reference is [also] made in the Journal of Zebulon Pike [of Pike’s Peak fame] to camping in an area in close proximity to present day Sioux Passage Park [on his journey to explore the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase].  (Sioux Passage Park web site)

For more stories of Native American activity in the Old Jamestown area, see the Introduction to the History of the Hazelwood School District by Gregory Franzwa, 1977, at http://oldjamestownassn.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/History_of_Hazelwood_School_District_-_Intro_only.319122052.pdf 

Early Settlers

The “Louisiana” area west of the Mississippi came under Spanish control in 1763.  Between 1770 and 1803, Spanish lieutenant governors (sometimes called commandants) sent to St. Louis encouraged immigration and were quite generous in conceding large tracts of lands to the newcomers.  By 1800, most, if not all, of the land in north St. Louis County had been granted to the first settlers.   (Eventually most of these grants were verified by the U.S. Government.)  

Note:  Napoleon Bonaparte returned Louisiana to France from Spain in 1800, under the Treaty of San Ildefonso….However, the treaty was kept secret, and Louisiana remained under Spanish control until a transfer of power to France on November 30, 1803, just three weeks before the cession to the United States.  (Wikipedia article on the Louisiana Purchase http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase)

A few of the early land owners and their holdings in the Old Jamestown area were:  James Family Members (Benjamin, Cumberland, Morris, and Sarah) were granted a total of 1,863 acres; David Brown, 310.28 acres; Ebenezer Hodges, 425.35 acres; William Patterson, 510.42 acres; John Seeley, 340.28 acres; and Guy Seeley 574.22 acres.  (Atlas of the City and County of St. Louis, published in 1838) 

“James Town” -- Phinehas James

The first historical reference to the area known as Jamestown is documented in June 1819.  Phineas James, one of the earliest settlers to this area, advertised the sale of lots in what he called "James' Town." According to his plans, a sizeable community would be started on the limestone plateaus that border much of the Missouri River in this area. It has been speculated by historians that Phineas James had visions of this settlement someday rivaling the City of St. Louis.  (Old Jamestown Area Study, page 5 -- http://www.stlouisco.com/Portals/8/docs/Document Library/planning/community planning and revitalization/north county/Old Jamestown Community Area Study.pdf)

From the front page ad for “James Town” in the Missouri Gazette, the St. Louis area’s first newspaper, June 16, 1819 (reprinted in the September 1975 Hazelwood School District Newsletter):

Notice

The subscriber informs the public that he has just completed laying off James’ Town, and will offer the LOTS at public sale to the highest bidder on the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth day of July next.  The terms of …. date of sale, at which a correct plat of the town can be seen.

JAMES’ TOWN

Is situated on a beautiful bluff, on the southern bank of the Missouri River, six miles above its confluence with the Mississippi.   Being situated on a bluff, it has the advantage of a firm rock shore, along which there are a number of the safest harbors for boats that I presume any other town on these waters can boast of; also, several seats for mills that so large a water course can form.   Near the public square, there is a cave through which passes a large body of cold, sweet lucid water which I think could, without much expense be raised and conveyed to every part of the town.   The earth after removing the virgin soil is admirably calculated for brick, and the rock along the river, which can be easily procured, is of the best quality, either for building or manufacturing into lime; sand for making brick and mortar can be procured without much trouble or expense.   Behind this desirable situation lays the rich and flourishing country of Florissant or St. Ferdinand and in front (beyond that majestic river that sweep[s]  along its base) is to be seen that fertile bottom that intercepts the communication of those two splendid rivers (Mississippi and Missouri) which not only offers to the fancy a rich harvest of charms, but also to the town an abundant harvest of advantages.   The situation of this town is so lofty and noble as never to offend by noxious fumes of putrid sickly air; and the eye has always presented to it, a beautiful and grand variety [In fine?]    To give a more powerful and impressive idea of the value of the place, is but to observe that there are now about three hundred lots laid off, of which better than one sixth of that number are already disposed of, and most of the purchasers have promised to build on them immediately, which I consider as one strong, convincing proof of Jamestown having merit as an advantageous and desirable situation.

Phinehas James

June 14…

The dream Mr. James held never materialized. In the ensuing years after his first advertisement, little is heard from the community of "James' Town” – however, it did appear on several maps.  One early map showed a community of 3-1/2 blocks, approximately 8 to 16 homes.   The name was also used in the application to build a Jamestown Road from Parker Road to the River via Portage Road.    [From Portage to Douglas Roads, the current Old Jamestown was called Accommodation until well into the 1900’s.]    (Old Jamestown Area Study, page 5)

Guy Seely property and log cabin – Eliza Mullanphy and James Clemens

Guy Seely was one of the first landowners in north St.  Louis County.  A contemporary of such pioneers as Little, Rogers,  James, Brown,  Carrico, Jamison and  Patterson, his children married into  those  families.  His  son,  Cornelius, married Elizabeth Little on May 12, 1789….

The Seely land-grant was from the King of Spain, and was confirmed as Seely property under U.S. Survey no. 934.  Lying directly across the Missouri River from Little’s Island in St.  Charles County, the Seely tract [between the current Jamestown Farms and Portage Road area]  was on the high ground of St.  Louis County, and comprised much of the area along Old Jamestown Long.   The road  was just an Indian trail at that time….Indians portaged across the Missouri River here and followed the trail which  connected with what was known as "The  Great Trail…" (Bellefontaine Road) which ended at St. Louis.

The  log  cabin   which  Seely  built   was  the   most  remote outpost of civilization on  the frontier,  and   was   the   site   of  many   conferences  with   the   natives.   When   General Wilkinson came  to the  area at  the  turn of the  century to select  a site  for a military fort and  trading post  for the  Native Americans, he was  a guest  for nearly two weeks in  the  Seely  log­ cabin  home.   General Wilkinson selected his site  and  built  Fort  Bellefontaine which  was just  east  of the  Seely  property at the  mouth of Cold Water Creek.

In later years John Mullanphy, Missouri's first millionaire, bought the property and deeded it to his youngest daughter, Eliza, who married James Clemens, Jr., on January 10, 1833….

(Above quoted from Missouri Historical Research Record, April 1968, written by Robert Swanson and published by Heritage Research Service)

James W. Clemens was a successful businessman in St. Louis.  He was born in 1791 in Danville, Kentucky and came to St. Louis in 1816.  He was also second cousin to Mark Twain’s father (who lived in Hannibal) and helped him out with a loan and other financial assistance.   (James Clemens of Washington County, Pennsylvania, 1734-1795, and his family, by Raymond Martin Bell and Harriet Lane Cates Hardaway, 1907)

City of St. Louis:   Six years after the death of his wife, work began on his mansion at 1849 Cass Avenue in the City.   It was completed in 1963.   Clemens built the house with Eliza in mind.  Her face is carved into a marble fireplace in the front room and also appears in an ornamental plaster ceiling molding in the first floor hall.  Eliza's death mask, duplicated in cast iron, decorates the outside of window lintels.   Mark Twain stayed at the house on visits to St. Louis.  (St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, “Mansion Is Haven For Homeless, by Donald Berns,” exact date unknown but it’s after 1987)

Cold Water Cemetery – Patterson Family – Rev. John Clark – Church/s and School

Historic Cold Water Cemetery is located off Old Halls Ferry between Pallottine Renewal Center and Hammer’s Farm.

The paragraphs below are excerpted from the ‘History’ page of the Cold Water Cemetery web site http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~modarcwc/    We suggest visiting the site for much more information.

Hidden away, back a long lane off of Old Halls Ferry Road in Florissant is the beautifully restored Cold Water Cemetery.  You will find it located atop a hill, surrounded by deep woods, shaded by ancient oaks and walnuts, and also surrounded by deep depressions in the land, locally called “The Sinks”. 

Two known Revolutionary War Soldiers are buried there, John Patterson, Sr. in 1839, and Eusebius Hubbard in 1818… [as well as] soldiers who fought in the War of 1812, the Seminole War, the War Between the States, the Mexican War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

 ....This small cemetery is on land given for this purpose by John Patterson, Sr., a Revolutionary War Soldier.  Legend is that an eight-cornered Methodist church in the shape of a cross was established about 1808 and the cemetery, which was to become Cold Water, was established on the circumference of the church grounds.

This historic cemetery is considered to be the oldest Protestant cemetery, still in use, west of the Mississippi River.

John Patterson, Sr. gathered his family together and, with many of his friends and relatives, journeyed from the Carolinas, eventually arriving in the Cold Water Creek area around 1797.  They began to acquire land, much of which was from Spanish land grants, as the area was under Spanish Rule at the time.

The Spanish were Catholics and this new breed of settlers being Protestant, was difficult for the Spanish to understand.  The Pattersons retained their Protestant faith through the services of a Methodist Minister known as “Father Clark.”

Rev John Clark, born in the British Isles, was by every measure a gentleman, one with genteel manners and speech, neat in appearance and dress.  Perhaps it was this bearing which made him a welcome guest across the continent and particularly at Cold Water settlement.

The American Revolution was only two years old when Clark, who was twenty, became a crewman on a British transport.  ….   [He had many adventures as a crew member of various ships during the Revolutionary War.  See the cemetery web site for many stories.]

According to an often-told story, Clark began preaching to a group of American settlers in the Louisiana Territory who had gathered at Bates’ Rock [near Herculaneum] in 1798.

It is said that Zenon Trudeau, the Spanish Commandant in St. Louis, had a friendship for Clark but publicly warned him of the stern penalties for disobedience to the law [against Protestant preaching].  The story goes that Trudeau never sent officers to arrest Clark until he was certain that the Methodist preacher was safely back in Illinois.  He would give him three days to get out of Spanish Territory which would allow him enough time to finish preaching and return to Illinois.

At the turn of the century, Clark was making regular visits to the settlements along Cold Water Creek.….Cold Water work became a part of the so-called “Illinois Circuit,” renamed a year later the “Missouri Circuit,” and by 1809, the “Cold Water Circuit.”

About 1810, Clark became closely associated with a Baptist group called the “Friends of Humanity”.  He was probably attracted to them because of their abolitionist stance and because he favored Baptist polity over the Methodist appointive system.  In 1811, Clark affiliated with the Baptists and continued in that denominational ministry until his death twenty-two years later….

On November 15, 1833, he died in the home of Elisha and Lucy Hubbard Patterson, whom he had married more than twenty-seven years earlier.  ,,,,   His grave is probably unusual in that both the Baptists and the Methodists have marked it.

The cemetery is currently the property of the Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution who maintain it and have a traditional Memorial Day ceremony that includes the VFW Color Guard, the American Legion, Cub Scouts, a 21 gun salute, a guest speaker, and special memorial services for the deceased DAR members and for the many veterans buried there.

Also at the cemetery site were the first buildings of Salem Baptist Church (now on Old Jamestown Road) and Cold Water School (now on New Halls Ferry in front of Hazelwood Central High School).

See the official Cold Water Cemetery web site: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~modarcwc/  With Links to a ‘History’ page with much more detail and a ‘Names’ page with names of those buried there over the years.

Original Brown School on Old Jamestown

Following are excerpts from Chapter 1 of History of the Hazelwood School District, written by Gregory Franzwa, 1977:

Up in the northernmost reaches of the current Hazelwood School District was the Brown school.  Product of a homespun American society of frontiersmen, anxious to prepare their children for their future, begrudging their loss to the classroom during the spring plowing season, proud when an occasional eighth grader returned from Clayton exams aglow over his new diploma.

In the 1840s the settlers were anything but crowded, but the little  log, school  near  the  Cold  Water cemetery -- the   only  one  for  miles  a­ round .-- was bursting at the  seams.  The children on the Shackelford, New Halls Ferry and Old Jamestown roads had a long way to walk to school in the biting winters of the mid-century.

Uncle Billy James did something about it. On December 9, 1859, he deeded 3/4-acre of ground to the three directors on the board of education - Peter Temple, Benjamin Douglas and Lewis Patterson.  The tract was on the north side of Old Jamestown road east of Douglas and almost on the corner of the Carrico road. It adjoined land owned by the Browns - David, Clement and William.

The one-room school was built of brick and was originally called James School, then changed names several times to Douglas and James and finally to Brown School.

After Brown School was taken over by the new School District of Hazelwood in 1950, the building became a residence, first as a parsonage for Salem Baptist Church, which sits across the street.  It still stands, with additions on either side, and is still in use.

For more history and photos and fun flavor of Brown School in the late 19^th century, see http://oldjamestownassn.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/History_of_Hazelwood_School_District_-_Brown_School.32061220.pdf

Still on the subject of Brown School, we jump briefly into the 20^th century.  Ralph Wehmer was a student at Brown School in the 1920's and told the story below to OJA history committee member Olga Smith (a BJC Hospice Lumina Project Volunteer) on 16 July 2007.   For more of Ralph’s great remembrances of life in our area, go to http://oldjamestownassn.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Ralph_Wehmer_Memories_-_Adapted_for_web_site.32080253.pdf

One foggy morning, around 8:30, while outside at school, we heard a noise that caught our attention.….   We saw a plane coming down low in front of our school. The plane was really low, probably 50 feet in the air.  The plane would come down low and go back up again. As the plane came down low, he cut the engine and hollered, "Where's the nearest airport?" We pointed in the direction of the airport, which was then Anglum, Missouri (now Robertson].  We kids made a 'human arrow'.  The oldest kid, Bill Brinker, organized us.  He circled back around and yelled down, "Thank you!" The person in the plane happened to be Charles Lindbergh! [At the time, there were spotlights every 10 miles from Alton, over Vaile to Florissant and on to the airport for pilots to find their way. It was so foggy that morning, that he couldn't see them.]

Steamboats and the Car of Commerce Chute

Steamboat schedules published in old newspapers show stops at Musick’s Ferry
at the end of New Halls Ferry and Douglas.

Following are excerpts from “Missouri River Steamboats” by Phil E. Chappell, which contains a list of 700 steamboats.   This was a companion to Chappell’s paper on “Missouri River History,” about Native Americans and explorers and steamboats, which he read before the Kansas State Historical Society on December 6, 1904.  For a link to the full Kansas meeting document, see http://oldjamestownassn.org/history_of_oj_area/online_research_sources (2/3 down the page)

The first steamboat to ascend the Missouri river was a boat called the Independence. She came up as high as the mouth of the Chariton river in the spring of 1819, and thus demonstrated that the river was navigable by steamboats. There were few steamboats, however, on the river previous to 1840, owing to the sparsely settled condition of the country and the limited demands of commerce. Those that were built for the trade during this early period were small, lubberly craft, exceedingly slow and of heavy draft. They were single-engine, one-boiler side-wheelers, without the modern cabin, and had no conveniences for the comfort and safety of the passengers. With the rapid increase of population along the lower river, in the decade from 1830 to 1840 came an increased demand for additional transportation facilities; larger boats were built; the modern cabin was adopted; and additional improvements were made, both in the hull, so as to lessen the draft, and in the machinery, to increase the speed. These improvements kept pace with the trade as it increased until the '50 's, when the boats built for the lower river during the decade from 1850 to 1860 were veritable floating palaces, and were unsurpassed in speed, splendor and luxurious furnishings by any inland water craft in the world.

It was during this period (1859), when the Missouri river steamboat had reached its perfection, and the business its highest degree of prosperity (there being not less than 100 boats on the river), that the railroads invaded the country tributary to the lower Missouri, and sounded the death-knell of steam boating. The contest which ensued between the two rival methods of transportation was short and decisive, and it soon became apparent to the steamboat-owner that he could not compete successfully with this modern competitor for the commerce of the West.

Given fires and explosions, many steamboats did not last long – they had average lives of 5 to 10 years.   In 1832, the steamboat named Car of Commerce sank in the chute south of Pelican Island…..and afterward the chute was named Car of Commerce, which still appears on maps of the Old Jamestown area.

Musick’s Ferry and Inn 

Also still appearing on some maps, including MapQuest is Musick’s Ferry, at the end of New Halls Ferry and Douglas, just to the west of Pelican Island.

About 1800 Sarah James owned the land now identified as Musick’s Ferry.   Her ferry was operated as James Ferry or Spring Ferry.   Sarah then leased the ferry operation to Captain Edward Hall in 1815 and later sold land and the ferry to Reuben Musick and his wife, Lydia Carrico Musick in 1848.

The next two paragraphs are from Musick Family Association of America published by Don Musick of Mt Vernon, IL

"Before a bridge was built across the Missouri River from St. Louis CO. to St. Charles, Mo, crossings were made by "Hall's Ferries."   The St. Louis CO. docks were called "Musick's Landing."  This property was owned by Reuben Musick and his wife, Lydia Carrico.   Reuben also owned an inn called Musick's Tavern, which offered travellers food and overnight accommodations while awaiting the stage taking them into St. Louis.  …."  The Helmholz Papers via Musick Family Association of America

"In the summer months, besides ferries and river traffic, a variety of showboats anchored at Musick's Landing.   It became fashionable for residents of towns in west St. Louis CO. to drive out to Hall's Ferry Road, dine at Musick's Tavern, and see a showboat performance.   Many rented a room and remained for additional shows, which were changed every night.  Matinees were given Saturday and Sunday afternoons.   Business prospered, and the tavern was enlarged several times."...The Helmholz Papers via Musick Family Association of America.

A February 20,1931, newspaper article in the St. Louis County Watchman Advocate provided fuller information about the ferry operation and the inn.   Some of the information was provided to the newspaper by Patterson Hume who was about 75 at the time the article was written.  The paragraphs below are excerpted from that article, a copy of which was provided to us by the St. Louis County Library. 

“The old ferry, a roofless, flat boat arrangement, was propelled by horses walking on a treadmill and later in a circle around a pole, which turned a shaft which kept the wheel in motion to push the boat across the river….

“Of course the old Missouri in those days was not as wide as it is today, and the crossing was accomplished, as I have been told in pretty good time.  Although the country to the north was pretty well developed and populated, travel was not so heavy, and then too, there was another ferry at St. Charles, and this cared for a good bit of business."

About 1850, the problem of overnight accommodations for farmers and furriers who hauled their products from the St. Charles and northern Missouri district, via Musick Ferry, to St. Louis was taken up by the few business men of Musick’s Ferry….

Work on the old building, which stands on the East bank of the Missouri River, was started in the early [1850’s] and its nineteen rooms are encased in a stone hulk, the walls of which measure nearly two feet in thickness.   The stones, huge blocks with their outer surface smoothly finished, were quarried and dressed right in the neighborhood by native artisans, who were evidently experts and used to good advantage the few tools available to stone mason workers in this early period, as is evidenced by the finish on some of the blocks.

Vincent Grey was the builder and he erected the building for his mother-in–law, Mrs. Blackburn, known in the neighborhood as “Aunt Betsy,” a daughter of James James.

The tavern was named Musick’s Ferry Inn and presided over by “Aunt Betsy,” it thrived for many years as a great center of commerce as well as entertainment, as not only farmers, halting here on their long and arduous trips to enjoy a good night’s rest and partake of Aunt Betsy’s wholesome meals took advantage of its accommodations, but gay parties of those pioneer folk from both sides of the old Missouri journeyed over the rough roads in wagons, buggies and on horseback to participate in the gaieties at the tavern.

The old Inn did a thriving business for a while, some nights accommodating as high as 15 and 20 farmers, who after crossing the stream would stop there for the night before continuing their journey the next morning to St. Louis, and likewise, those returning from St. Louis, arriving at the river too late to be ferried across would put up there for the night.”

The building was later used as quarters for workers at the quarry and then the lower floor used by as the owner’s residence.  Unfortunately, it was destroyed sometime after 1936.  In the 1931 Watchman Advocate article, the then current owner said he planned to tear it down that year but there is a 1936 photo of the building.

Halls Ferry Road

Hall’s Ferry Road was surveyed in 1815 from St. Louis to the Missouri River, where it was connected with a road in St. Louis County running to Portage des Sioux.   Connection was made by a ferry operated by Edward Hall.  This first route is now Old Halls Ferry Road.  A petition for its construction was filed with the County Court in 1917.

Old records at Clayton Court House include the original petition for the construction of the road….   In the petition it was set  out, “that the only road which leads from the Ferry to St. Louis, was laid out by the United States soldiers more for the purpose of the express from Portage [des Sioux] to headquarters and that, it was difficult to use it even on horse back.”  (February 20,1931 Watchman Advocate article.)

Like most roads, Halls Ferry Road was first paved with wooden planks.

Yellowed with age, [the] papers in the files of the Halls Ferry road, designated among files of other roads in the county as “Halls Ferry road – No. 1,” give an interesting history of the pioneer methods of road-building in St. Louis County.   One court order recording the contract for a section of the road sets out that, “the boards now at Bremen…are to be laid as far as they will go at $15 a mile and the agreed price per lineal foot.”   The latter price being evidently set in a previous order which is not among the records?   All measurements are specified in poles.  (February 20,1931 Watchman Advocate article.)

This is a work in progress.   The Old Jamestown Association History Project Committee has uncovered an amazing amount of material.  We have many leads and continue to search for more.  Please send suggestions for research sources or topics and any comments or questions to prautes@aol.com.