The Boone's Lick Road or Boonslick Trail was an early 1800s transportation route from eastern to central

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Running east-west on the North side and roughly parallel to the Missouri River the trail began in the river port of St. Charles. The trail played a major role in the westward expansion of the United States and the development of Missouri's statehood. The trail's eventual terminus at

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 ...

was the start of the better-known

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 ...

. First traced by the sons of

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

, the path originally ended at a

salt lick A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that farm ...

in Howard County used by the pair to manufacture salt. Today the lick is maintained as

Boone's Lick State Historic Site Boone's Lick State Historic Site is located in Missouri, United States, four miles east of Arrow Rock. The park was established in 1960 around one of the saltwater springs that was used in the early 19th century. It was named after Nathan and Da ...

History

A large area in central Missouri became known as the

Boonslick The Boonslick, or Boone's Lick Country, is a cultural region of Missouri along the Missouri River that played an important role in the westward expansion of the United States and the development of Missouri's statehood in the early 19th century. Th ...

, or "Boonslick country." It was the core of a larger area eventually known as Little Dixie, because it was settled primarily by migrants from the Upper South, who developed hemp and tobacco plantations dependent on enslaved African-American workers. Parts of the trail eventually were improved or developed as paved roads. Its route is the forerunner to today's U.S. Highway 40 and

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

. Towns founded along the trail include Franklin, Smithton, Columbia,

Fulton Fulton may refer to: People * Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship * Fulton (surname) Given name * Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer * Fult ...

, Williamsburg, and Warrenton among others.

Route

The Boone’s Lick Road and Santa Fe Trail in Missouri The trail began at the Missouri River port of

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

, a late colonial town, and struck a westward path through present-day St. Charles,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

, Montgomery, Callaway, Boone and

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

counties. Different shortcuts were made on the trail as towns and county seats were founded, especially in Boone and Callaway counties. Major streams crossed include Cedar, Roche Perche, and Moniteau creeks. The route was followed by

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

and his followers, members of the new Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1830s and 40 on their way to establish the settlement of

Far West, Missouri Far West was a settlement of the Latter Day Saint movement in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, during the late 1830s. It is recognized as a historic site by the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, added to the register in 1970. It ...

. "Two More Mormon Trails: The Boonslick Trail; The Mississippi Saints’ Trail"

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, August 1979, p. 49.

References

External links

Boone's Lick Road AssociationBoonslick Historical Society
{{Authority control Historic trails and roads in Missouri Pre-statehood history of Missouri History of Columbia, Missouri African-American history in Columbia, Missouri 19th century in Columbia, Missouri

History

Route

See also

References

External links