St. Francois County, Missouri

St. Francois County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for the St. Francois River. A large river, whose headwaters are formed by First, Second, and Dry creeks of Iron and St. Francois counties, flowing through Wayne and Madison counties, forming the western boundaries for Stoddard and Dunklin counties, and finally emptying into the Mississippi River near Helena, Arkansas. It was known to the Indians as Cholohollay meaning "smoky-water." Eaton says it was named by early settlers or explorers for the patron saint of their order. This would be St. Francis of Assisi. However, none of the prominent early explorers were of the Franciscan order, or at least none who descended to the mouth of the St. Francois River. Hennepin was the only Franciscan among the prominent explorers, and he named the St. Francois River in Michigan, now known as the Rum River, so it is not likely that he also named this river; nor did he descend south as far as the St. Francois. De Soto mentions a river answering the description of St. Francois River, but he did not mention its name. Marquette reached a point near where the river empties into the Mississippi River in 1673, and possibly he named it, as he had spent some time at the mission of St. Francois Xavier before starting on this trip. St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was a Jesuit missionary, like Marquette, and a friend of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Society. The river was first used in business proceedings in the grant of New Madrid to Colonel Morgan in 1787. The spelling St. Francis is sometimes seen on recent maps. (Buel, 240-241; Houck (1908) I, 16- 17, quoting from Silliman's JOURNAL OF SCIENCE III: 25; MHR, XIII, 60; Miss Hamlett's thesis)

Source: Zimmer, Gertrude M. "Place Names Of Five Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1944.

Demographics:

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History of Saint Francois County

This county was formed out of parts of earlier Ste. Genevieve, Jefferson, and Washington counties. It was established by act of the legislature on December 17, 1821. Irregular in form, it is bounded on the north by Ste. Genevieve and Jefferson counties, on the south by Perry, Madison, and Iron counties, and on the west by Iron and Washington counties. So named from the river of the same name which runs almost entirely through it. (Conard (1901) V, 430; Miles, HIST. ST. FRANCOIS (1935) 3)

Source: Zimmer, Gertrude M. "Place Names Of Five Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1944.

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