Boone's Lick Road - Kountz Fort (1800) - St. Peter's, MO
Posted by: 
gparkes
N 38° 44.660 W 090° 38.286
15S E 705267 N 4291054
Kountz Fort marker along the historic Boone's Lick Road.
Waymark Code: WM5T8B
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 02/09/2009
Views: 17
The marker states:
BOONE'S LICK ROAD
Kountz Fort (1800)
Marked by the
Daughters of the
American Revolution
and the
State of Missouri
1913
As the trail and county developed, a chain of private forts were established to protect investments. Nicholas Countz, who owned a landing on the Missouri River and established Kountz Fort as one of the forts, in the chain of forts on the lower Missouri River. He and his two brothers were leaders in the companies that were organized to control the rampaging Indians, in the area of Cottleville. The Countz and the Cottles were pioneer families who developed the area seven miles west of St. Charles.
Noting the Cottles, the current town, Cottleville, is named after them and the community which they established.
The trail originated as an old Indian trace. In the 1764, the first part of the trail was expanded by trappers through St. Louis County, Missouri. This part of the trail is known as St. Charles Rock Road. The trail was expanded by brothers Daniel Morgan and Nathanal Boone, sons of famous frontiersman Daniel Boone, as part of gaining access to salt springs near present day New Franklin, Missouri. The complete trail from St. Louis to Franklin, Missouri takes its name from the Boone brothers. In 1821, William Becknell established a trail from Franklin to Santa Fe, Mexico, there by establishing the Santa Fe Trail. The Santa Fe Trail at Kansas City splits off into other major trail such as the California and Oregon Trails. The Boone's Lick trail is the land route to the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail and carried many of those who would settle the west.