St. Charles County Historical Society
(c) 2002

St. Charles County Timeline

	B.C.
12,000	Paleo-Indian Period - Early Hunter (ref. Jon L. Hawker "Missouri Landscapes: A Tour Through Time, 1992)
8000	Dalton Period - Hunter-Forager (ref. Jon L. Hawker)
7000	Early Archaic Period - Forager (ref. Jon L. Hawker)
5000	Middle Archaic Period - Forager (ref. Jon L. Hawker)
3000	Late Archaic Period - Forager (ref. Jon L. Hawker)
1000	Early Woodland Period - Prairie Forest Potter (ref. Jon L. Hawker)
500	Middle Woodland period - Prairie Forest Potter (ref. Jon L. Hawker)

 

	Up to 1699
400	Late Woodland Period - Prairie Forest Potter
900	Mississippi Period - Village Farmer
1450	Proto-Historic Period - Oneota and Village Farmer
1541	Hernando de Soto leads a Spanish expedition into the lower Mississippi River area. (ref. World Book Encyclopedia)
1673	Historic Period - Known Indian Tribes
1682	April 9 - Robert Cavalier de la Salle claims the Mississippi Valley for France

 

	1700s
1762	Dec. 3 - France, by secret Treaty of Fontainebleau cedes territory west of Mississippi river to Spain. (ref. William E. Foley, Genesis of Missouri: From Wilderness Outpost to Statehood, 1989)
1769	Louis Blanchette settles in an area called "Les Petites Cotes" (ref. History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren Counties, Missouri, 1885)
1770	May 20 - France formally surrenders possession of Upper Louisiana to Spain
1783	September - The United States and Great Britain signed the final peace treaty in Paris ending the American Revolution. The American boundaries extended from the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River in the west, and from the Great Lakes and the 49th Parallel in the north to the 31st parallel in the south. On November 25, the last British troops leave New York City.
1787	Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided for the government of the (Old) Northwest Territory. It became the model for all territories that later entered the Union as states. (ref. World Book)
1791	The settlement of "Les Petites Cotes" officially changes name to San Carlos, to honor Charles IV of Spain with the name of his patron saint, Italian Bishop Carlos Borromeo. (ref. St. Charles Through Time)
1794-1795	Census - San Carlos del Misuri--White Males: 198; White-Female: 75; Negro slaves-Male: 5; Negro slaves-Female: 5
Late 1790s	Anglo - Americans start crossing the Mississippi River into Spanish Illinois Country
1799	Portage des Sioux was laid out by Francois Saucier

 

	1800s
1800	Daniel Boone is appointed syndic of the Femme Osage District by the Spanish Government. October 1 - Retrocession of Louisiana by Spain to France is done in the Treaty of San Ildefonso. Formal surrender did not take place for nearly four years.
1803	May 2 - Formal signing in Paris of the Treaty of Cession, by representatives of the United States and France, cedes the Louisiana Territory to the United States for a net purchase price of $15,000,000. November 30 - Spain belately retrocedes Louisiana to French representatives. December - Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are assembling men and equipment at a camp near the Riviere a Dubois (Wood River). Thomas Jefferson had been considering exploratory missions west of the Mississippi as early as 1783. (ref. Foley) December 20 - The Louisiana Territory officially comes under American control
1804	March 9 - Formal transfer of Upper Louisiana Territory from France to the United States was made at St. Louis. March 26 - Louisiana is divided. The area south of the 33rd parallel becomes the Territory of Orleans, and the region north becomes the District of Louisiana. Congress plalces the District of Louisiana in the Indiana Territory with subdistricts in Upper Louisiana to be assigned by the president. (William Henry Harrison is Indiana's territorial governor) (ref. Foley) May 14- - While Meriwether Lewis completes business in St. Louis, William Clark and the Corps of Discovery break camp near Riviere a Dubois. They proceed up the Missouri River to St. Charles, a settlement along the river, to await Lewis from St. Louis. (ref. Foley) May 21 - Corps of Discovery leaves St. Charles October 1 - District of Louisiana's new government is inaugurated. Of the six existing districts five were kept: St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, and New Madrid. New Bourbon was eliminated. Each of the districts had a court of common pleas, a court of quarter sessions of peace, a probate court, and individual justices of peace. October 12 - William Henry Harrison arrived in St. Louis
1805	March 3 - The District of Louisiana becomes the Territory of Louisiana, created independent of the Territory of Indiana. St. Louis was made the capitol.
1808	William Clark, Nathan Boone, and the St. Charles Dragoons leave St. Charles. They go by land to make a treaty with the Osage Indians and set up Fort Osage on the Missouri River.
1809	Village of St. Charles is incorporated
1810	Census - white male population of district--1,096 (ref. Houck, "History of Missouri" Vol. iii)
1812-1815	War of 1812 April 30 - Louisiana becomes the 18th state in the Union. Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, St. Charles, Ste. Genevieve, and St. Louis Districts are organized into counties. October 1 - Territory of Louisiana becomes Territory of Missouri with a governor, legislative council, and a house of representatives. (Ranked 2nd class). December 7 - First Territorial General Assembly meets in St. Louis.
1815	A treaty between nineteen Indian tribes and the U.S. Government was signed at Portage des Sioux.
1816	Howard County was organized out of St. Charles County Territory of Missouri becomes a third class territory.
1817	First steps to statehood were taken.
1818	Lincoln, Montgomery, and Pike Counties are organized out of St. Charles County. The founder of Chicago, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, dies and is buried in St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery.
1819	Arkansas Territory is formed from Missouri Territory.
1820	More counties organized. On May 12, the Constitutional Convention meets at the Madison Hotel in St. Louis. David Barton elected president. The first state election is held. Alexander McNair is elected governor in August. On September 18th, the first General Assembly convenes in St. Louis. Daniel Boone dies at age 86 at the home of his son Nathan in St. Charles County, near Defiance.
1821	August 10 - Missouri is admitted to the Union as the twenty-fourth state under the terms of the Missouri Compromise.
1821-1826	St. Charles, Missouri serves as the temporary Capitol of Missouri
1823	Salt River Road is laid out from St. Charles to DesMoines River. Sauk and Fox Indians cede land north of the Missouri River and east of line running north from mouth of the Kansas River.
1824	Gottfried Duden settles in the Femme Osage Valley.
1830s	The first wave of German immigrants to St. Charles County.
1833	Cholera epidemic
1836	The town of Foristell is laid out by J.A. Davis The town of Mount Pleasant, later to be named Augusta, is laid out.
1839	Cottleville is laid out by Lorenzo Cottle.
1840	U.S. Federal Census Population for St. Charles County - 7,911
1846-1848	Mexican War
1849	City of St. Charles is incorporated
1850	U.S. Federal Census population for St. Charles County - 11,454 Emigrants from Melle in Germany give the town of New Melle it's name. The building of the North Missouri Railroad. Later called St. Louis, Kansas City, and Northern Railway, still later the Wabash, now Burlington Northern.
1851	St. Charles and Western Plank Road is established. A toll road made of wood planks was completed only as far as Cottleville.
1855	The town of Wentzville is laid out.
1856	Photographer Rudolf Goebel sets up studio on Main Street in St. Charles. The town of Howell, formerly known as Mechanicsville, is layed out by Fortunatus Castlio. The Hannibal and St. Louis Rail Line along the Mississippi flood plain was begun. Nicholas Krekel names the town of O'Fallon.
1860	U.S. Federal Census population for St. Charles County - 16,523
1861-1865	Civil War (The War Between the States)
1870	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 21,304
1871	The second railroad bridge to cross the Missouri River opens at St. Charles. The first was in Kansas City, Missouri.
1876	Cyclone causes much destruction to the City of St. Charles.
1880	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 23,065
1885	St. Joseph Hospital was opened by the Sisters of St. Mary.
1894	Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad completed through St. Charles County.
1898	Spanish-American War

	1900s
1900	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 24,474
1901	St. Charles County Court House is started.
1904	The Highway 40 bridge at St. Charles opens in time for the Worlds Fair in St. Louis
1910	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 24,695
1917-1918	World War I (The Great War)
1920	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 22,828
1921	August - The Centennial Road Act was signed into law. The law provided for the construction of a modern highway system in Missouri.
1924	The construction of U.S. highway 40 began in St. Charles County. The first concrete road from St. Charles to Foristell.
1930	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 24,354
1930s	Depression hits St. Charles County, many small banks close.
1937	A bridge to span the Missouri River opens in southwestern St. Charles County to be known as the Daniel Boone Bridge.
1940	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 25,562 October 24 - U.S. Government purchases 17,239 acres in St. Charles County with construction to start in 45 days. The plant was for the production of TNT.
1941-1945	World War II
1950	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 29,834
1950-1954	Korean War
1954	School District of St. Charles ends separate schools for black students and for white students.
1958	The first span of Interstate Highway 70 bridge opens.
1960	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 52,970
1969	Missouri First State Capitol in St. Charles becomes a State Historic Site.
1970	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 92,954
1980	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 144,107
1990	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County - 212,907
1992	The Discovery Bridge on the northside of the City of St.Charles connects highway 370 to St. Louis County.
1993	The Great Flood
1994	The new Clark Bridge opens between St. Charles County and Alton, Illinois.
2000	U.S. Federal Census population of St. Charles County -- 283, 883