County of city: Pike County
Location of marker: US 54 & MO NN, Louisiana
Population of city: 3,364 (2010)
Population of state: 4.66 million (2018)Marker Erected by: State Historical Society of Missouri & State Highway Commission
Date Erected: 1953
Louisiana
Louisiana, early Mississippi river port, known for the
Delicious apple developed here and grown through the world, was settled, in
1817, when John Bryson pre-empted land near the confluence of the river and Noix
Creek. A year later Samuel Caldwell and Joel Shaw from Kentucky founded
the town on land bought from Bryson.
The Pioneer Stark cabin was moved here from the nearby hill,
restored and opened as a museum, 1952, to honor Horticulturist James Hart Stark
who built the cabin.1 The orchard he planted, 1816, with grafted scions brought
from the family's Kentucky orchard considered the first of grafted apple trees
west of the Alleghenies, has become known under his descendants as one of the
oldest and largest commercial nurseries in the world. Here are carried on
many of Luther Burbank's experiments. The Stark Nursery obtained first
patent granted a fruit, 1934.
Settlers were in the general vicinity of Louisiana as early
as 1810 and some 2 miles southeast a D.A.R. monument marks the site of Buffalo
Fort here 15 families took refuge during the War of 1812.
Prominent supply stop for pioneers to the Salt River Country,
the city flourished as a river port until the coming of the railroads, Louisiana
early became a trade and industrial center.
Laid out the year Pike Co. was organized the town served as
country seat until 1824.2 Centrally located Bowling Green succeeded as
county seat. The slang term "Pike" or "Piker" derives from this county and
came into use to identify natives of the region who joined the '49 Gold Rush.
The county is named for Explorer Zebulon M. Pike.
Here lived Lloyd C. Stark, Governor of Missouri, 1937-1941.
John B. Henderson (1826-1913), U.S. Senator, promoter of the 13th and 15th
Constitutional Amendments, had law offices here. Champ Clark (1850-1921),
Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives, had law offices and taught here before
making his home in nearby Bowling Green. Scientist R.R. Rowley (1854-1934)
taught here.
The third Missouri railroad bridge across the Mississippi
opened, 1873. Champ Clark Highway Bridge was dedicated, 1928
Correction and additions since original erected:
1. Although the James Hart Stark cabin still stands, it is no longer used as a museum.
2. Bowling Green became county seat in 1823.
The State:
Louisiana is a state in the Deep South region of the South Central United States. It is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Louisiana is bordered by the state of Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. A large part of its eastern boundary is demarcated by the Mississippi River. Louisiana is the only U.S. state with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are equivalent to counties. The state's capital is Baton Rouge, and its largest city is New Orleans.
"Much of the state's lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. These contain a rich southern biota; typical examples include birds such as ibis and egrets. There are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a natural process in the landscape, and has produced extensive areas of longleaf pine forest and wet savannas. These support an exceptionally large number of plant species, including many species of terrestrial orchids and carnivorous plants. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other southern state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized, and four that have not received recognition.
"Some Louisiana urban environments have a multicultural, multilingual heritage, being so strongly influenced by a mixture of 18th-century French, Haitian, Spanish, Native American, and African cultures that they are considered to be exceptional in the US. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the present-day State of Louisiana had been both a French colony and for a brief period a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century. Many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. In the post-Civil War environment, Anglo-Americans increased the pressure for Anglicization, and in 1921, English was for a time made the sole language of instruction in Louisiana schools before a policy of multilingualism was revived in 1974. There has never been an official language in Louisiana, and the state constitution enumerates "the right of the people to preserve, foster, and promote their respective historic, linguistic, and cultural origins."
"Like other states in the Deep South region, Louisiana frequently ranks low in terms of health, education, and development, and high in measures of poverty. In 2018, Louisiana was ranked as the least healthy state in the country, with high levels of drug-related deaths and excessive alcohol consumption, while it has had the highest homicide rate in the United States since at least the 1990s" ~ Wikipedia