University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1912-09-24
GAVE OLD ROADS HISTORY
Dean Williams Tells Of Early Trails
at Assembly.

T. - 3
Dean Williams Tells Of Early Trails
ut Assembly.
The Story of the Two Roads" was
the subject of 2 talk on the historical
development of Missouri and the West
by Dean Walter Williams at Assem-
bly, this morning. President A Ross
Hill, who introduced Dean Williams
called attention to the similarity OF
the subject to the one used by him.
self in a lecture to the new students
at the Y. NJ. C. A. Building last Sun
day afternoon.
Il am interested in this subject
aside from its history and romance, u
said Dean Williams In his introduc-
ton, because the right solution OF
the transportation problem is, in my
opinion, vital to the progress of our
civilization. No economic question
more deeply concerns the welfare of
all the people than the road question.
Town and country, producer and con-
sumer are alike interested in it."
The two roads which Dean Will
liams talked about were Boon's Lick
Road and the Santa Fe Trail. The
first, he said, was established by Ma
than and Daniel Morgan Boone in
1915. The two sons of the pioneer
Daniel Boone, for whom Boone Coun-
ty was named, began making salt at
a spring in what is now Howard
County in 1907, and later marked the
trail of the Boon's Lick Road to pro-
vide overland transportation for their
salt which they had been floating to
St. Louis in hollow logs. The marked
trail attracted settlers, who estab-
lished their homes there. This trail
was later extended to Old Franklin.
making it a regular pioneer road
from ST. Louis to Old Franklin.
In 1920" said Dean Williams,
Captain William Becknell made a
journey from Old Franklin westward
selling calico and domestic to the set
tiers at four or five dollars a yard.
and when he returned he displayed
SO much coin that others were at
tracted to the trading business. A
trail was marked out for the protec-
tion of trade. In 1925 a survey was
made by a party of federal surveyors,
Reeves, Sibley, and Mather. This was
made the Santa Fa Trail, which then
extended from Old Franklin to town
in New Mexico, from which other
trails were surveyed to other points
further west. ora extending to Ore
gon. 21OO miles away.
THAT a traveller could 60 by stage
coach from the Atlantic seaboard to
Boon's Lick was the proud boast of
the editor of the Old Franklin INTEL
ligencer of that time. The enterpris-
ing editor was trying to encourage
the establishment of a new stage
coach line on the new trail"
In speaking of the manners of the
people who lived along these trails,
the speaker praised their courageous.
law abiding. school promoting. and
freedom loving spirits.
THE stage-coach taverns were one
of the greatest conveniences and in
terests of the time." said Dean Will
liams. "In one of these taverns, the
one at St. Charles, the capital of the
whole surrounding country at that
time, was very odd and interesting
Rodney Kenner. He was
an honest, jovial, fiddler. who served
dinner with plain fixin's at two bits
or dinner with chicken fixin's at three
bits, and if any traveller could eat
more than he. no fare was charged
for the meal He was a strong be-
lever that everything came around
as it is now every 5000 years. Three
young Kentuckians. who stopped at
his tavern accepted his doctrine and
when it came time to pay their lodg-
ing bills they told him that they
would pay when they came again 6OOO
years later, but he Immediately re-
piled: You cannot do that again. You
are the same three rascals that said
that 5000 years ago."