What鈥檚 in a town name? 鈥 Any 鈥淪impsons鈥 cartoon fan knows their town of Springfield is named after Jebediah Springfield.听
The 最新杏吧原创 area has its own Jebediahs: folks like Ralph Clayton, Theodore Kimm and John O鈥橣allon, who was such a big deal that city founders named two local towns after him.
John Ball moved to west 最新杏吧原创 County in the late 1700s. A road, later known as Manchester Road, was built on his property to get mail from 最新杏吧原创 to Jefferson City. He laid out a town from his homestead and originally recorded it as Ballshow. The homestead is now the site of a Regions Bank, 14915 Manchester Road. Photo by Valerie Schremp Hahn.
Valerie Schremp Hahn 鈥
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John Ball鈥檚 father, James, came to America from Dublin and served in the Revolutionary War and was reportedly a friend of Daniel Boone. John Ball moved to the west 最新杏吧原创 County area in the late 1700s, and he acquired 400 acres along Grand Glaize Creek.
John Ball moved to west 最新杏吧原创 County in the late 1700s. A road, later known as Manchester Road, was built on his property to get mail from 最新杏吧原创 to Jefferson City. He laid out a town from his homestead and originally recorded it as Ballshow. The homestead is now the site of a Regions Bank, 14915 Manchester Road. Photo by Valerie Schremp Hahn.
Clayton and Hanley Hills: Ralph Clayton and Martin Hanley
Ralph Clayton
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During the great 1876 divorce of 最新杏吧原创 and 最新杏吧原创 County, county officials needed a place to put their courthouse. Two farmers from Virginia, Ralph Clayton and Martin Hanley, stepped up and donated their land.
A cardboard cutout of Ralph Clayton in front of Captain Elementary School. The photo was taken and posted by the Clayton Century Foundation and posted to social media to promote the history of the city's schools. Clayton donated 100 acres of land for the 最新杏吧原创 County Courthouse, and the town is named after him.
A sign memorializing James Pugh Kirkwood, the town鈥檚 namesake, sits next to the historic Kirkwood train station, built in 1893. He was a railroad superintendent and was in charge of locating and building the railroad. Kirkwood, established in 1853, was the first planned suburb west of the Mississippi River. This sign was dedicated in 2012 by the 最新杏吧原创 Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Photo by Valerie Schremp Hahn.
Valerie Schremp Hahn 鈥
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Scottish civil engineer James Pugh Kirkwood lived in 最新杏吧原创 for part of his adult life, and he managed to get a town here named after him. He was the superintendent of the Missouri Pacific Railroad in the 1850s and was in charge of locating and building the railroad. Established in 1853, Kirkwood was the first planned suburb west of the Mississippi River.
A sign memorializing James Pugh Kirkwood, the town鈥檚 namesake, sits next to the historic Kirkwood train station, built in 1893. He was a railroad superintendent and was in charge of locating and building the railroad. Kirkwood, established in 1853, was the first planned suburb west of the Mississippi River. This sign was dedicated in 2012 by the 最新杏吧原创 Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Photo by Valerie Schremp Hahn.
Theodore Kimm, the founder of Kimmswick, in a photo provided by the Kimmswick Historical Society.
Kimmswick Historical Society
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The mastodons found Kimmswick before Theodore Kimm did 鈥 the area gained notoriety in 1839 when a skeleton of the creature was found there. Kimm was a German immigrant and dry goods merchant from 最新杏吧原创 who left the city after the great 最新杏吧原创 fire of 1849 wiped out the riverfront鈥檚 warehouse district, which included his own warehouse. The cholera epidemic also prompted him to go south.
William Lindsay Long, the founder of Fenton, Mo. is buried in Sappington Cemetery. He named the town for his Welsh grandmother, Elizabeth Fenton Bennett. Long married Elizabeth Sappington, sister of Thomas Sappington, the original owner of Sappington House in Crestwood. Photo by Valerie Schremp Hahn.
Valerie Schremp Hahn 鈥
The Meramec River brought the earliest people to the area, including mound-building American Indians who arrived as early as 2,000 years ago. According to the Fenton Historical Society, the next major wave of settlers came in the 1770s, and William Lindsay Long founded the town in 1818. He named it for his Welsh grandmother, Elizabeth Fenton Bennett.
Dorothy Hodge, of Moscow Mills, looks at historic photos on the walls at Whistle Stop cafe in Ferguson on Sept. 23, 2016.
Post-Dispatch photo
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Like Kirkwood, the railroad shaped this 最新杏吧原创 suburb. William B. Ferguson, who came here from Ohio, bought some land and deeded part of it in 1855 as a right-of-way for the railroad. The caveat? That they name the station after him.
John O'Fallon, a nephew of William Clark of Lewis and Clark expedition fame. O'Fallon was one of the city's early leading bankers, businessmen and landowners. He is the namesake of the cities of O'Fallon in Missouri and Illinois, and of O'Fallon Park in north 最新杏吧原创, his former estate. O'Fallon served as the founding president of the Pacific Railroad in 1849. (Missouri History Museum)
Missouri History Museum
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John O鈥橣allon was such an influential guy he got two metro area towns named after him. He was an Army-captain-turned-whiskey-maker-turned-Missouri-state-representative-turned-bank-president-turned-railroad-president. An overall generous man, he donated land for 最新杏吧原创 University and Washington University in 最新杏吧原创. His country estate became O鈥橣allon Park in 最新杏吧原创.
