Participants are invited to step back to 1820 with First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site and The Historic Daniel Boone Home and Heritage Center on June 6. Sponsored by Missouri State Parks, the event will allow travelers to experience what it was like to travel on one of America’s early "highways," the Boone’s Lick Trail.
The journey begins at the First Missouri State Capitol where participants will learn about the role of the trail in westward migration, about the original travelers and see a 1820s dry goods and hardware store. This introduction will take place in the buildings where Missouri’s first legislators met to undertake the task of reorganizing Missouri’s territorial government into a progressive state system.
Instead of covered wagons, present day travelers will be transported through time via modern transportation and travel the first 20 miles of the original route. Location of significant sites, such as forts, taverns (inns), bridges and stagecoach stops will be discussed along the way. In locations where remnants of the original sites exist, the bus will stop and allow for a more in depth experience.
The tour will then leave the original route and travel to the historic Daniel Boone Home. Travelers will experience frontier life through period demonstrations, hands on activities and an early 1800s meal served in a "dog trot" cabin. There will also be a tour of the original Boone home.
The tour will take place from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Cost for the trip is $75 and includes transportation, a "frontier meal", a snack and program materials. Participants must register in advance by calling 636-940-3322 or
e-mailing FirstStateCapitolStateHistoricSite@dnr.mo.gov.
Co-sponsors of the event include Historic Daniel Boone Home and Heritage Center, the City of Cottleville and Boone’s Lick Road Association.
First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site is located at 200 South Main Street, St. Charles. For more information about state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.