First - Preaching in Marion County - Palmyra, MO - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

County of Marker: Marion County
Location of Marker: US-61, roadside park, SE of Palmyra
Marker Erected by: Mt. Zion Ladies
Date Marker Erected: 1934

Marker Text:

"The first white man that ever stood on the soil now included with the boundaries of Marion County, Missouri, of which there is certain knowledge, was Louis Hennepin, a French monk of the order of St. Francis, who had accompanied the Chevalier Robert La Salle to America in 1678-79. By the instruction of LaSalle Father Hennepin left Fort Creve Coeur ("Broken Heart") near the present site of Peoria, Illinois, on the Illinois River, on the 28th of February, 1680, for a voyage to the headwaters of the Mississippi.

"About the first of April, 1680, Father Hennepin and his party reached the mouth of what they at first took to be a stream of considerable magnitude, but which, after a brief examination they found to be a bay or inlet. A crucifix was erected ("raised") and Mass celebrated. The bay was named Bay de Charles.

"In the spring of the year 1792, one Maturin Bouvet left St. Louis in company with two voyageurs and a guide, for a voyage of exploration up the Mississippi. Maturin Bouvet was a Frenchman, and his name appears among those of Laclede's Colony as an "artisan" or "mechanique."'

"This year, too, the first stores were established-­Vaughn's at Palmyra and Bates' at Hannibal. Both were in log cabins, and the stock of trade comprised lead and powder, a few groceries, and pepper and salt, coarse muslin and woolens, some cutlery and a small assortment of "notions".

In 1825 the United States Land Office was established at Palmyra, with Henry C. Lane as the first Receiver, and a great accommodation to our own people. Hitherto Land Offices had been located at St. Louis and St. Charles, and the work of entering land was considerable. The first sermon preached in the county was by John Riddle, a Baptist, in about the year 1820. During the War of 1812 he had been taken prisoner by the Shawnee Indians, who had cut his ears so that they hung in strips, resembling wattles, giving him a singular appearance.

"The first post-office was at Palmyra, and Obadiah Dickinson was the first postmaster. He frequently carried the post-office around with him in his hat." ~ A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets Past and Present of Marion County, Missouri

As a suggestion for your visit log, please make every effort to supply a brief-to-detailed note about your experience at the Waymark. If possible also include an image that was taken when you visited the Waymark. Images can be of yourself, a personal Waymarking signature item or just one of general interest that would be of value to others. Sharing your experience helps promote Waymarking and provides a dynamic history of your adventures.