Osage County, Missouri

Osage County, Missouri
Towns

Town	Township	History
• Bonnots Mill	Linn	History here
• Chamois	Benton	• Settled early 1818 by families from Virginia • It was named by Morgan Harbor The land was entered by the Shobes in 1818, before the river had encroached so much on the bottoms • The railway caused the erection of Andrew Fitzpatrick's building in 1855 • The town was laid out in 1856, by James Shobe • There had been a log house years before on the Pryor's Mill road when Chamois was a corn-field. • In 1873 the freight division was located here with roundhouse, repair shop, tanks, stock-yards, coal shutes (sic) and later the ballast crusher. Business houses included Savings and Loan, general merchants, clothing and hardware. Others were hotels, livery stables, harness and shoe shops, attorneys, etc. (--Hist. of Osage Co., pp. 672, 673, 674; Gaz. of Mo., p. 412.) (Compiled by Arthur Paul Moser *) The city is named after Chamoix in France, due to its Alpine scenery. The city is correctly pronounced 'Shamoy.' (Wikipedia Encyclopedia )
• Crook	Crawford	• Located at the junction of Highways 89 & HH • Mail through Linn
• Folk	Jackson	• Named for former governor Joseph W. Folk. Its post office has closed and mail now comes from nearby Westphalia. *
• Frankenstein	Linn	• The community is believed named not for the monster, but for Gottfried Franken, who donated land to build a church here in 1890. *
• Freeburg	Washington	• Originally called "Engelbert" • A post office located on Highway 63, north of the Maries County Line. History here
• Koeltztown	Jackson	• Named after the first merchant and post-master August Koeltz. It is an entirely German settlement -- more of a settlement than a town (1867). (--History of Osage Co., p. 683; Our Storehouse of Missouri Place Names, Ramsay, p. 67. • It is 16 miles southwest of Linn, and had 1 store and mill. (--Gazetteer of Mo., p. 412.) **
• Linn	Linn	• Established as county seat in 1843. • Called the "Mile Long City" • W. M. Lamkins had the first store on the convent site ... other businesses included general produce, meat markets, hardware, etc. ... (--Hist. of Osage Co., p. 677.) **
• Loose Creek	Linn	• Originally called "Russellville" • This place took its name from the stream L'Ourse, or Bear Creek, since corrupted into Loose Creek. The land was first owned by August Pickineaud, a Frenchman, in 1843 • The town was laid out in 1873 • Business houses included general merchandise, wagon and plow factories, and a saloon. It is 3 miles northwest of Linn. (--Hist. of Osage Co., pp. 681, 682; Gaz. of Mo., p. 412.) **
• Meta	Jackson	• Meta is located in the southwest corner of the county, near the Miller-Maries Co. Line
• Rich Fountain	Washington	• The site was entered by John Burns during the 1830's, but he sold to a John Stumph, who built a water mill about 1839. This was superceded by an ox (tread) mill which in 1856 gave way to a steam mill. Father Helias had named the point Rich Fountain. The business section included a tailor shop and store buildings, besides which there was a blacksmith, shoemaker, steam saw mill, etc • The village was never laid out. (--Hist. of Osage Co., p. 682.) **
• Westphalia	Washington	• Founded in 1835 - Oldest German/Catholic Community west of the Mississippi • Late in 1835, a colony of Westphalian Catholics came up the Osage River and located along the Big Maries. Dr. Bruns and his brother located on the bend of the Maries, the site of Westphalia • During 1836 Dr. Bruns and Herr Bartman opened the first store • The business was in the hands of the Germans almost entirely. There was a post-office, general store, dry goods, shoe shop, furniture, lumber yards, etc. (--Hist. of Osage Co., pp. 679, 680.) **