Arrow Rock Historic District is a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

encompassing the village of

Arrow Rock, Missouri Arrow Rock is a village in Saline County, Missouri, United States, located near the Missouri River. The entire village is part of the National Historic Landmark Arrow Rock Historic District, designated by the Department of the Interior, Nationa ...

and the adjacent

Arrow Rock State Historic Site Arrow Rock State Historic Site is an open-air museum encompassing a geographic formation and a portion of the village of Arrow Rock, Missouri. The park is part of the Arrow Rock Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and commemorates t ...

. The Arrow Rock area was where the historic

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...

crossed the Missouri River, and was thus a key stopping point during the settlement of the American West. The

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1963. and

Description and history

Arrow Rock is named for a stone formation that has been a recognized landmark on the Missouri River since the 18th century, supposedly prized by local Native Americans as a source of stone for tools and weapons. A ferry was established in the area in 1815, providing westward access to settlers passing through

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

on the eastern bank. In the 1820s this route became known as the

, and became a major route by which settlers traveled west. The town of Arrow Rock provided services to these travelers, with a tavern (the still -standing 1834

J. Huston Tavern J. Huston Tavern, also known as the Arrow Rock Tavern and The Old Tavern, is a historic tavern building located at Arrow Rock, Saline County, Missouri. It was built in 1834 by Judge Joseph Huston, and is a 2 1/2-story, Federal style brick buildi ...

) and a fresh-water spring among the amenities. By the mid-19th century the town had a population of 1,000. As the trail declined in importance, so did the town's population. Since 1912, Arrow Rock has transformed from a small river town into a major heritage-tourism center thanks to an active historic preservation movement. In 1963 it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark site, in 2006 the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed it as one of its "Dozen Distinctive Destination" sites, and in 2008 it was recognized as a "Preserve America Community." For most of the 20th century, preservation and interpretation activities focused almost exclusively on the upscale white, male components, ignoring the role of the majority population. Beginning in 1996, Arrow Rock redefined has utilized public history and archaeology to emphasize new interpretive programs that Pay much more attention to the African American heritage. Preservationists and historians are eager to involve this previously marginalized descendant community.Timothy E. Baumann, "An Historical Perspective of Civic Engagement and Interpreting Cultural Diversity in Arrow Rock, Missouri." ''Historical Archaeology'' (2011): 114-134. The historic district includes both the incorporated village of Arrow Rock, and the grounds of the adjacent state historic site, which partly overlap each other. The village includes a significant number of surviving pre-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

buildings, including the tavern, a courthouse, jail, and several churches. Within the bounds of the state park is the George Caleb Bingham House, a modest brick structure (now restored) that was the home of frontier artist

George Caleb Bingham George Caleb Bingham (March 20, 1811 – July 7, 1879) was an American artist, soldier and politician known in his lifetime as "the Missouri Artist". Initially a Whig Party (United States), Whig, he was elected as a delegate to the Missouri legisl ...

References

External links

All of the following

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS) documentation is filed under Arrow Rock, Saline County, MO: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri National Historic Landmarks in Missouri Historic American Buildings Survey in Missouri Geography of Saline County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Saline County, Missouri Santa Fe Trail

Description and history

See also

References

Further reading

External links