Editing St. Charles, Missouri (section)

==History==
[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] peoples inhabited the area at least as early as 11,000 B.C. When European colonists arrived, the area was inhabited by the historic Ilini, Osage and Missouri tribes.

According to Hopewell's ''Legends of the Missouri and Mississippi'', Blanchette met another French Canadian (Bernard Guillet) at this site in 1765. Blanchette, determined to settle there, asked if Guillet, who had become an honorary chief of a [[Lakota people|Dakota]] band, had chosen a name for it.

:"I called the place 'Les Petites Côtes' " replied Bernard, "from the sides of the hills that you see."

:"By that name shall it be called", said Blanchette Chasseur, "for it is the echo of nature—beautiful from its simplicity."

Blanchette settled there ''circa'' 1769 under the authority of the Spanish governor of [[Upper Louisiana]] (the area had been ceded by France [[Spanish Louisiana|to Spain]] under an agreement with Great Britain following French defeat in the [[French and Indian Wars]]). He was appointed as the territory's civil and military leader, serving until his death in 1793. Although the settlement was under Spanish jurisdiction, the settlers were primarily Native American and French Canadians who had migrated from northern territories. Most settlers spoke French.

Considered to begin in St. Charles, the [[Boone's Lick Road]] along the Missouri River was the major overland route for European-American settlement of central and western Missouri. This area became known as the [[Boonslick]] or "Boonslick Country." At [[Franklin, Missouri|Franklin]], the trail ended. Westward progress continued on the [[Santa Fe Trail]].

===San Carlos Borromeo===
[[File:Sacred Heart Convent and Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Saint Charles.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Sacred Heart Convent and Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 1908]]
The first church, built in 1791, was Catholic and dedicated to the Italian saint [[Charles Borromeo]], under the Spanish version of his name, San Carlos Borromeo. The town became known as San Carlos del Misuri (St. Charles of the Missouri). The original location of the church is not known but a replica has been built just off Main Street. The fourth St. Charles Borromeo Church now stands on Fifth Street.

The Spanish Lieutenant-Governor [[Carlos de Hault de Lassus]] appointed [[Daniel Boone]] as commandant of the [[Femme Osage]] District. He served in this role until the United States government acquired control in 1804 following the [[Louisiana Purchase]] from France.

The name of the town, San Carlos, was anglicized to St. Charles. [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] arrived in St. Charles on May 16, 1804. With him were 40 men and three boats; they made final preparations for their major cross-country expedition, as they waited for [[Meriwether Lewis]] to arrive from St. Louis. They attended dances, dinners, and a church service during this time. Excited to be part of the national expedition, the townspeople were very hospitable to the explorers. Lewis arrived via [[St. Charles Rock Road]] on May 20. The expedition launched the next day in a [[keel]] boat at 3:30 pm. St. Charles was the last established European-American town that the expedition visited for more than two and a half years.

===State capital and growth===
[[File:1st Capitol St Charles MO.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|[[First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site]]]]
When Missouri was granted statehood in 1821, the legislature decided to build a "City of [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]]" to serve as the state capital, in the center of the state, overlooking the Missouri River. Since this land was undeveloped at the time, a temporary capital was needed. St. Charles was chosen over eight other cities in a competition to house the temporary capital. It offered free meeting space for the legislature in rooms located above a hardware store. This building is preserved as the [[First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site]] and may be toured. The Missouri government continued to meet there until buildings were completed in [[Jefferson City, Missouri|Jefferson City]] in 1826.

[[Gottfried Duden]] was a German who visited in the area in 1824. Travelling under the guidance of Daniel M. Boone, he wrote extensive accounts of life in [[St. Charles County, Missouri|St. Charles County]] during his year there. He published these after returning to Germany in 1829, and his favorable impressions of the area led to the immigration of a number of Germans in 1833. The first permanent German settler in the region was probably Louis Eversman, who had arrived with Duden but decided to stay.

In the post-World War II era, the federal government undertook a major program of interstate highway construction. St. Charles is where the first claimed interstate project was started in 1956. A state highway marker is displayed with a logo and information regarding this claim, off Interstate 70 going westbound, to the right of the First Capitol Drive exit.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} Kansas and Pennsylvania also claim to have had the first interstate project.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/summer-1996/three-states-claim-first-interstate-highway |title=Three States Claim First Interstate Highway |date=Summer 1996 |magazine=Public Roads |volume=60 |number=1 |first=Richard F. |last=Weingroff |access-date=April 26, 2023 |via=Federal Highway Administration}}</ref>