Two Forts in Missouri

 The two forts which I am writing about in this posting were easily within a days drive from us, one of them them in the next municipality from us.

Well, that certainly looks like a fort, right?   It is Fort Belle Fontaine, located on the banks of the Missouri River and also at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.  It was built in 1805 and is where Lewis and Clark spent the first and last nights of their western expedition.  Their first night was on an island opposite Coldwater Creek and the last night was at the fort.  In 1915 it became Belle Fontaine Farms, a home for boys.  The remnants of the sweeping staircase seen above are what is left of a 1930s WPA project ordered by President Roosevelt to make the home more attractive. 

 So that does not look like a fort either, right?  This picture was taken at Fort Zumwalt state park in O'Fallon.  In 1799 Daniel Boone's family, as well as the Jacob Zumwalt family, bought land in this area through the Spanish land grants.  Indian uprisings were common at this time and the War of 1812 spilled over into the Ohio and Mississippi valleys.  The Boone and Zumwalt familys proceeded  to build shelter forts.  The above house was enlarged, portholes and a stockade fence added.  As many as  ten frontier familys took refuge within the Zumwalt fort.  An aside here, the park is replete with interpretive signs all over its grounds- enough to make my eyes glaze over.  A  lot of American history can be found here.  Jacob Zumwalt and four of his brothers were heroes in the Revolutionary war.  The next owner of the Zumwalt building was Major Nathan Heald, he acquired the property in 1817.  Nathan and his wife were survivors of the battle of Fort Dearborn.  That battle occurred during the War of 1812 in an area near Chicago.  Darius Heald, only son of Nathan, grew up in the original house until 1886 when he built another home ( which is also located in the park).  We toured both homes while visiting there.

Before I talk about the second house, however, there is so much more history to write about on the original building.  About 1825 it became a slave plantation with 27 slaves.  A school house, kitchen, barn, and loom room were added to the property.  Slaves were sold off in 1857 when Rebekah Heald died, she was Nathan's wife.  Another interesting piece of information here was that this fort was raided by the Union Army during the Civil War.

Above is the house which Darius Heald built in 1886.  The original log cabin/fort was gone, only the chimney was left standing.  Edmonia Heald (daughter of Darius), according to the 1910 census, was owner of the home at that time. By 1917 the Heald family did not own the property.   In 1937 the grounds became a state park, and by 2001 the buildings were fully restored.  A couple other interesting notes here- the Daughters of the War of 1812 met in the buildings until 1918, and Darius Held allowed Methodists services for the area to be conducted in his home.  More on this interesting park in my next posting.