Vieux Cemetery Historical Marker - Kansas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

I traveled The Oregon Trail with an Elderhostel group from June 13-28, 2007. On June 15, we stopped at the Red Vermillion Crossing/Vieux Cemetery/Cholera Cemetery near Belvue, Kansas. This was the site on the Red Vermillion where Louis Vieux, of Potawatomi Indian and French ancestry, established a toll bridge in 1847. We stopped at the Vieux Cemetery where members of the Vieux family and other early settlers were buried, crossed the bridge over the Red Vermillion, and walked a short distance to the cholera cemetery. In the spring of 1849, a large wagon train camped on the east side of the creek was struck by cholera, which left 45-50 emigrants dead within a week. The emigrants would heat the contaminated water to make coffee but did not understand that to kill bacteria they needed to boil the water.

Instructions for logging waymark: A photograph is required of you (or your GPS receiver, if you are waymarking solo) and the historical marker.

Marker Name: Vieux Cemetery Marker Type: Other (Please identify in marker text) Marker text: Of Pottawatomie Indian and French ancestry, Louie Vieux was an early resident of this area. Probably born near Lake Michigan, Vieux, with a portion of the Pottawatomies, moved to Iowa and later Indianola, Kansas near Topeka. In 1847 or 1848, Vieux moved to this area of what became Pottawatomie County located on the Oregon Trail near the Vermillion river crossing. The Vieux family, with its seven children, lived in a log cabin and Vieux built and operated a toll bridge over the river. He charged Oregon Trail travelers one dollar per outfit and it was estimated that he earned as much as $300 per day during the peak season of wagon travel. In 1861, Vieux was one of the signers of a treaty allowing the Pottawatomie to hold lands in common or established individual claims of 80 acres per person or more, depending on their position in the tribe. Vieux served as a business agent and interpreter and occasionally represented the tribe in Washington, D.C. Near here is the Vieux cemetery where members of the Vieux family and other early settlers were buried. Kansas Historical Marker erected by the Pottawatomie County Highway Department. Marker Location: Pottawatomie Name of agency setting marker: Other (Please identify in marker text) Year Marker Placed: Not listed Official Marker Number: Not listed Marker Web Address: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Must log an original UNPHOTOSHOPPED picture of you or your GPSr at the marker. Please tell some background of what you learned or how you found the marker.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   03/14/2013 Benchmark Blasterz visited it 08/07/2011 Marine Biologist visited it 10/28/2008 iconions visited it

View all visits/logs