County of Town: Chariton County.
Town used to be on the banks of the Missouri River (when Lewis & Clark stayed here) but river is now more than a half mile away, and the Grand River took over the old channel.
Some Early History:
The romantic and exciting story of Fort Orleans and Etienne Veniard de Bourgmond, who established it, is especially interesting to the people of the Brunswick, since he was the first white man to set foot on the land near the great bend of the Missouri River at the mouth of the Grand River. When Indians attacked Detroit in 1712, a party of Missouri Indians came to the relief of the commandant, Dubuisson. Gilbert J. Garraghan, in "Fort Orleans of the Missoury", Missouri Historical Review, tells that de Bourgmond fell in love with a maiden of the tribe and, when the Indians retraced their steps westward, he went along with them. He is thought to have lived some six years with the Missouri's, whose home was near the mouth of the nearby Grand River, having married into the tribe.
For five years, 1713-1718, de Bourgmond led the life of a courer de bois up and down the Missouri River. His description of the Missouri River country is the first detailed account of this area in what may almost be called the prehistoric stage. The French Colonial Council, wishing to strengthen France's claim to this area and the Company of the Indies ordered Governor Bienville of New Orleans to furnish provisions, arms merchandise and other necessities. He and some forty Frenchmen, aided by the Missouri Indians made their voyage up the Missouri River, arriving at the village of the Missouri's opposite the entrance of the Grand River on November 9, 1723.
They met many difficulties, but finally the fort was built according to the plan. The fort was a stockade with embrasures for cannon in the four corners. It enclosed quarters for the drummer, blacksmith, and storekeeper, and there were a guardhouse, powder magazine, store, laundry, and forge. There were also a chapel and a chaplain's house. This was the first house of worship in the Missouri Valley, and the priest, Father Jean Baptiste Mercier, was the first resident priest in the region. De Bourgmond's house of upright logs was thatched with grass and had no chimney. An interesting feature, recalling that windows were once and object of taxation in France, and theration in France, and therefore, a mark of affluence, is that the commandants' house had three front windows, the Lieutenant's, two and the Ensign's one. Round about, but unfenced, were a soldier's drill field and an icehouse.
Much interesting information can be found on the Chamber of Commerce site: Come Visit