Have you ever wondered what inspired the first roads to be built? The oldest roadway in Missouri came into being thanks to a mine and it's named based on a landmark travelers needed to find their way over 280 years ago.
Have you ever wondered what inspired the first roads to be built? The oldest roadway in Missouri came into being thanks to a mine and it's named based on a landmark travelers needed to find their way over 280 years ago.
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Welcome to the Missouri Bicentennial Minute from the State Historical Society of Missouri.
Deposits of lead and other minerals were a primary stimulus for settlement in early Missouri. The French discovered lead in the St. Francis Mountains around 1700, and Sieur Renault opened several mines, including Mine la Motte, in the 1720s. These were surface mines, and large diggings began and deforestation provided wood for smelting ore. Individuals and small groups also dug in locations likely to provide ore.
Moses Austin introduced bedrock mining near Mine a Breton, renamed Potosi, and also built the first reverberatory furnace for efficient smelting. A successful ironwork began in 1815, giving rise to a future booming industry.