County of Marker: Warren County
Location of Marker: MO-94, 1.2 miles SE of present Dutzow
Marker Erected by: Boone-Duden Historical Society
Marker Text:
(ORIGINAL) DUTZOWFounded by Johann Wilhelm Bock. He named this village after his estate in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany.
1832 - A landholding company, Frederick Rathje & Co., purchased 252.79 acres of land in the original Stephen Jackson Survey #1769. One hundred sixty-eight lots were platted. This land purchase was made for the members of what was known as the Berlin Society. After settling his affairs in Germany, Bock arrived in Dutzow at a later date.
1834 - He built a brick house on a site containing several springs, a stone house, a mill and a distillery. Fond of entertaining, Bock invited the most elite of the immigrants to his home.
1835 - Bock began to have financial problems resulting in the sale of his property to pay off debts.
1869 - A post office was established with Peter Quickert as postmaster.
1893 - Railroad services became available. Businesses and residences were constructed nearer to the railroad.
Bock's dream of creating a 'pure German Village' never materialized, but German culture and heritage flourished.
"Dutzow is an unincorporated community in southeastern Warren County, Missouri, United States. It is located on Route 94 about three miles north of Washington. Located near the Missouri River, it is one of the oldest German communities in the state.
"The area aound Dutzow was originally referred to as Lake Creek by author Gottfried Duden, whose farm adjoined the early village. When Duden returned to Germany in 1827, to publish his Report on a Journey to the Western States of North America (1829), his companion Ludwig Eversmann remained in Missouri to manage Duden's properties. In 1832, the Berlin Society, a small emigration society purchased land communally. In 1833, the land was transferred to Johann Wilhelm Bock, often referred to as the Baron Von Bock, who platted the Village and announced the sale of lots in March 1834. Bock named the village for his estate on the Baltic Sea in Germany. Early streets were named for German poets.
"By the summer of 1834, many members of the Giessen Emigration Society, led by Friedrich Münch and Paul Follenius, had settled along Lake Creek as well, as the town became the social center for wealthy immigrants. Both Duden and Münch attracted Germans wanting to settle in Missouri. Thousands emigrated in just a few years, and by the Civil War, the population of Warren County was one of the most predominately German in the State. For many years, the Duden farm was considered a mecca to German immigrants, wanting to see what Duden described as a Garden of Eden firsthand in his book." Wikipedia