Native Americans were Warren County’s first settlers
Posted 2/8/17
When white settlers came to Warren County, they joined the Native Americans who had arrived well before they did. The relationship was friendly at first, but then it became a battle for land …
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Native Americans were Warren County’s first settlers
Posted
When white settlers came to Warren County, they joined the Native Americans who had arrived well before they did. The relationship was friendly at first, but then it became a battle for land ownership.The story has been told in history books, but it’s important to know those battles occurred here in Warren County, not just other places.Native Americans of various heritages were part of the Osage tribes. They included the Grand Osage, Little Osage, Osage of the Ozarks, the Sac, Fox and Pottawatomis. They came to La Charrette to trade pelts for goods and trinkets.No single native tribe has been identified with Warren County, nor did the immediate area serve as a tribal headquarters, but numerous Native American artifacts have been found scattered across the area in many farm fields.As incentives like land grants were created to bring settlers west, white populations grew. They forced Native Americans to abandon their land so they could have it. In Warren County, that meant the Osage and the Missouri tribes who first settled north of the Missouri River, were reduced to a weakened state by the 1770s.Native Americans who were left, felt anger. They fought back. Settlers built forts for protection against those battles, or uprisings. They could send smoke signals from the forts to far away neighbors to let them know trouble was brewing and to gather at the fort. Fort Kennedy was near Wright City, Fort Callaway was near Marthasville and Fort Clemson was located at Loutre Island.They each served as shelter for settlers for Native American uprisings. Fort Clemson was built in February 1812 by a company of United States soldiers. Fort Clemson was in the form of a parallelogram and covered 2 acres. The rest of the forts were merely fortified houses.During the War of 1812, families who lived in the sparsely settled countryside along the Missouri River were in constant fear of Native Americans, who were accused of causing serious losses in livestock and property. Settlers feared for their lives.Fort Callaway, named in honor of Daniel Boone’s grandson Capt. James Callaway, was under attack by Native Americans at least once during the War of 1812. Details of the event did not survive. Chief Quashquana of the Sac tribe opposed the war against the settlers and would not take part in it. He is said to have friends among the settlers and visited them on several occasions.The year 1815 was a dreadful one for the Charrette families. Parents were not sending their children to the La Charrette School. In the spring, a band of Sac and Fox Native Americans stole horses from settlers near Loutre Island. Capt. Callaway, with 15 rangers, picked up their trail and followed it to the head of Loutre Creek to the Native Americans camp.As only squaws had been left to guard the encampment, the rangers retook the horses and fled. The rangers entered a narrow area that forced them to ride single file near the confluence of the Prairie Fork of Loutre Creek, where they were ambushed. Rangers McDermott, Hutchins, McMullen, Gilmore and Capt. Callaway lost their lives.Charrette Bottom families were hurt too. Alex and Nancy Bryan McKinney decided to stop plowing as their dog was barking fiercely. They engaged Ranger Housley to stay in their home that night. The next morning, within a few miles of their house, six Native Americans victimized the Ramsey family in a surprise attack.Mrs. Ramsey, who was pregnant, was milking the cows when Robert Ramsey heard a commotion, By the time he got to his wife, she was already dead. Three scalped children lay sprawled about the yard. Nathan Boone soon arrived at the Ramsey homestead to dress the wounds. Though varied accounts differ, at least four died including a 16-year-old girl. A distress call resulted in the sounding of trumpets. Daniel Boone, now 80 years old, immediately kept a vigil at Callaway’s fort.The Native American raids gradually subsided in late 1815. Seventy-five tribes, including local tribes, met at Portage des Sioux in St. Charles County to establish peace treaties between the United States and Native Americans.This story was provided for by the Warren County Historical Society, which is funded by donations and run by volunteers.The museum is located at 102 W. Walton in Warrenton, and is open from 10 to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.For more information, to attend an event or to make a donation call 636-456-3820 or email museum@warrencountymohistory.com.
Flanders Callaway home on Highway 47 was made of logs and later covered with clapboard. It was surrounded by lob cabins. Callaway and his father-in-law, Daniel Boone, established the estate as Callaway Post. Fort Kennedy in Wright City and Fort Kennedy in Wright City and Fort Zumwalt in O'Fallon also were well built log homes that settlers rushed to for safety. The home was removed in 1971. Submitted photo.
