County of town: Franklin County
Location of post office: Market St. & 2nd St., Berger
Location of town: Far NW corner of county; crossroads of MO-B & CR-304
Created/Founded: 1818
Named After: Casper Berger
Elevation: 554 ft (169 m)
Population: 220 (2018)
The Person:
Casper Berger:
Born: 2 June 1844 in Germany
Died: 17 February 1903 in Gasconade Coounty, Missouri
Buried:
Saint James UCC Cemetery, Drake, Gasconade County, Missouri
"Casper was the son of Johann Heinrich Berger and Anna Catherine Ilsabein Tilker.
"Casper's first marriage was to Marie Elisabeth Buhrmeister.
"Children born to Casper and Marie were; August Heinrich, Mathilda Wilhemine, Wilhelmine Louise, Karl Heinrich, Anna Fredericke, Emma, Emelia Marie, Martha Alvinia, Caroline A., Fredrich Heinrich and Maria Elisabeth.
"Maria died sometime between 1880 and 1895.
"Casper married Auguste A. Gawer about 1895." ~ Find-A-Grave
The Place:
"Berger was established as a settlement on April 15, 1856, about a year after the Pacific Railroad, forerunner of the present Missouri Pacific Lines had been constructed through this section of Franklin County. It probably got its name from a stream, and the stream, in turn, probably was named for Casper Berger, an early-day explorer." ~ The Empire that Missouri Pacific Serves, Mo-Pac, p. 192
"Berger is situated on the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It was laid out June 7, 1870, by Charles Helmendach, into sixteen irregular blocks. Front, First and Second Streets run parallel with the railroad, and Elm, Market and Walnut the other way." ~ History of Franklin County, Goodspeed, 1888, p. 341
"It is in the northwest corner of the county near Gasconade Co. line." ~ The State of Missouri, in 1904, Walter Williams, p. 387
"It is 75 miles from St. Louis and had 2 stores (1874)." ~ Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri, 1874, p. 203
"Boeuf township and Berger was one of the first settled sections of Franklin County, along with New Haven (Millers Landing). Leonard Heatherly arrived in 1808 and there were already settlers here. John Phillips was probably the first in the county around 1805. The Shawnee Indians then occupied the area and our pioneer fathers lived on terms of good feelings and friendship with them. It was after the war of 1812, however that the area of Etlah and Berger were settled by James Hatton, John Obanyan, Angus Langham, Daniel Schowe, Samuel and Robert Schowe, James, Howard, Nicholas and Abraham Fischer, and Silas Hall in 1818 ... The census record for 1820 Franklin County was lost, but the 1830 census record shows the population of Beouf to be 832 whites and 40 slaves. Since then, St. John's township and New Haven township were broken out of the Boeuf township." ~ Clem Wilding and Mary and Berger