VILLAGE OF CALEDONIA CELEBRATE STATE’S BICENTENNIAL & HONORS THE CROSSING OF THE TRAIL OF TEARS SATURDAY

[CALEDONIA] – This Saturday, July 10th, 2021 the Village of Caledonia along with the Missouri 2021 Alliance will endorse the celebration of the State’s 200th birthday. The day will also be sponsored by the Highways of History Planning Committee, recognizing the Trail of Tears.

The one-day event is being lead by the Bellevue Valley Historical Social Club and will be held in the Village Park near the pavilion. The day will start at 10 A.M. with a welcome by the Village, the flag and Pledge of Alliance lead by the VFW Post 6947.

Around 10:30 A.M./10:45A.M. Mr. Christopher Sutton, Actor for Tales with a Twist, will perform his first of two sets on the narratives of the Trail of Tears/ Civil War in Missouri & the History of Taps. He will create a living history narrative account of history. This event is sponsored by the Caledonia Community Foundation.

At 12 noon, the Bellevue Valley Historical Social Club is offering to all attendees’ free cake & ice cream as they celebrate the 200th birthday. The ice cream is being furnished by the Old Village Mercantile and the birthday sheet cake will be made by Cindy Merx (Sweet Memories of Potosi, MO). This will be at the Caledonia Community Center (in the Village Park).

As part of the Highways of History Committee, there will be a table selling the bicentennial passports for $1.00 each and will be able to be “stamped” for visiting Caledonia.

EXCERPTS FROM BOOK: The Trail of Tears across Missouri (by Joan Gilbert, published 1996)

WINTER 1837: B.B. Cannon Route

B.B. Cannon’s record is brief, but he gives a day-to-day account of the route he traveled across Missouri in 1837. After leaving Bainbridge, he camped and rested a day at the Williams farm, near Old McKendree Creek. The detachment then passed through Jackson and traveled northward. On the Farmington Road they camped at the home of the “Widow Roberts” on Byrd Creek, as well as at the White Water Creek and Wolf Creek. On November 20, 1837 they passed through Farmington and camped at the St. Francis River. The group passed through Caledonia and the lead mines (the Courtois diggings) in Washington County. He wrote of his account to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. {Page 61}

WINTER 1838-1839 Richard Taylor Detachment

By February 1838 the Richard Taylor detachment passed through the “handsome little village of Caledonia.” The Reverend & Mrs. Buttrick noted that they were pleased by what he saw: “The Village is neat and the country around delightful. The people also appear to be intelligent and well bred. Thus far we are more and more pleased with Missouri, and the very name conveys delight to our minds. We camped in a clean and pleasant place by the side of a small creek.” {Page 64}

The routes of the Trail of Tears across Missouri have not been completely traced by the National Park Service. It is recorded that two detachments came through Greenville, Farmington, Fredericktown, Caledonia, Poplar Bluff, Cabool, Steelville, and St. James along with others. The Village of Caledonia was formally recognized by the National Trail of Tears Association and the Missouri Chapter of the Trail of Tears during its 200th anniversary in 2019. Part of the trail of located on what is now Webster Road beside the Village Park.

The Kick-off Highways of History Bicentennial Celebration was held in Long Park, Farmington, on June 9, 2021 under the sponsorship of the Highways of History Planning Committee and the City of Farmington. The Planning Committee recognized the State’s birthday and the 200th anniversary of St. Francois County.

The program was lead by Planning Committee Officers Nancy Cozean, John Robinson, III and Mary Lee Visnovske. State Representative Dale Wright extended a resolution to the City of Farmington, they were recognized by the Missouri Chapter of the Trail of Tears and Ms. Donna Hickman represented U.S. Congressman Jason Smith.

Cherokee Cyclist on the Trail of Tears also passed through and were on the program.