County of mark: Chariton County
Location of this waymark: Cherry St., courthouse lawn, Keytesville
The Person:
"European settlers trickled in slowly until about 1820, when James Keyte, a Brunswick, England, native and Methodist minister, built a cabin in Keytesville and in 1836 founded Brunswick. Here he spent the rest of his life, serving variously as postmaster, merchant, builder, and steamboat line manager. He lured boatmen to Brunswick by giving them free land." ` History of Brunswick
"The town is named for Englishman James Keyte, the town founder. Keyte, a Methodist preacher, purchased a large parcel of land in 1830 and, two years later, donated fifty acres of it to Chariton County for the purpose of establishing a centralized seat of county government. Prior to that time, the county business had been conducted from "Old Chariton," a small village near the confluence of the Chariton and Missouri Rivers. However, incessant disease-spreading mosquitoes and repeated river flooding necessitated a new location." ~ Wikipedia
"James Keyte was born February 1799 in Manchester, England and arrived in Missouri in 1818, first settling in St. Louis and then in the town of Old Chariton. He was a Methodist preacher appointed to the Boonslick Circuit which included Chariton County. He married Eliza Hix, the daughter of Archibald and Nancy Woodson Hix, and they were the parents of John, who died in infancy, Sarah Keyte Spencer, James O'Fallon Keyte (also buried in Masonic-Douglas Cemetery) , Edward Bent Keyte, Joseph T. Keyte, and Virginia Keyte.
"In 1830 he purchased land where Keytesville now stands and donated 50 acres of land upon which the courthouse and other public buildings were built in 1833. He opened a store and post office which his sister, Sarah, attended to and built a watermill on the Musselfork River in Keytesville.
"About 1836, Rev. Keyte started another town at the mouth of the Grand River which he called Brunswick after his Brunswick home in Manchester, England. This town was located about 400 yards south of the present town. he erected the first house on the present day location of the Florence Hotel and held the position of postmaster until his death.
"Rev. Keyte and Col. John O'Fallon also owned a steamboat line upon which Rev. Keyte traveled to and from St. Louis. He was returning to Brunswick in 1844 when he was stricken with cholera and died. His body was embalmed with brandy and returned to Brunswick for burial in the Masonic-Douglas Cemetery. He was buried next to his wife, Eliza. ~ Chariton County Historical Society
The City:
Marker located on courthouse lawn: Jackson St. (US 24) & Cherry St. Keytesville ~ N 39° 25.987 W 092° 56.486
Marker erected in 1957
Marker erected by: State Historical Society of Missouri and State Highway Commission
Marker Text:
Keytesville
Founded, 1832, by Englishman James Keyte, Keytesville is the judicial seat of Chariton County. First seat of the county, organized in 1820, was "Old" Chariton laid out, 1817, near the mouth of the Chariton River by Duff Green, editor, politician. Before floods led to town abandonment, it grew so rapidly that one settler exchanged lots in St. Louis for an equal number in "Old" Chariton, 1819.
The county name probably derived from Joseph Charette,1 a fur trader who drowned in what is now Chariton River, 1795. When the 1804 Lewis and Clark Expedition noted the river, it had two outlets. Since 1904 the 300 miles of curving channel through the county has been straightened to 33 miles.
Keytesville became county seat, 1833, James Keyte donating 50 acres for the site. Union troops stationed here surrendered to Confederates under John Thrailkell,2 Sept. 20, 1864, who burned the courthouse.
Sterling Price (1809-67), Missouri governor, 1853-57, and Confederate general, lived near Keytesville. The state statue to him by A.G. Newman is here in Price Park.
Keytesville serves as seat of justice for a rich grain farming county of the Boon's Lick Region. Southern pioneers who settled following the War of 1812 introduced tobacco and the county was a leader in production into the 1900's. The county lies in territory ceded by Iowa, Sac, and Fox Indians in 1824. Brief hostilities broke out between settlers and a band of Iowas led by Big Neck, 1827. The Indian Trail, later called Field's Trace, followed the Missouri through the county.
Brunswick, the second town to be founded by James Keyte in the county, was laid out, 1836, on the Missouri which since has altered its course. It grew into a prominent river port serving a wide range of settlements before the coming of the railroad. To the east is Salibury laid out, 1867, by Lucius Salisbury.
In Keytesville lived Lisbon Applegate, a member 1845 Mo. Const. Conv.; W.W. Rucker, a congressman, 1899-1923; and Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, appointed Chief of Staff, 1955, was born here. In Salisbury lived John C. Collet, Mo. Supreme Court, later Federal Judge; and Roy McKittrick, Mo. Att. Gen., 1933-45. Actor Sol. S. Russell was born in Brunswick.
Corrections:
1. Correct name is John Chariton.
2. Correct spelling is John Thrailkill.