Southeast Missouri / Bootheel
New Madrid's historical marker starts with Missouri's first American town
The City of New Madrid's historical marker page gives the county a compact source trail for the town's 1789 founding, earthquakes, Civil War river story, and farm economy.
New Madrid’s city marker page is a compact little primer for the whole county. It starts with a bold line: New Madrid was the first American town in Missouri.
The marker ties the town’s founding to 1789 and George Morgan, on the site of Francois and Joseph LeSieur’s trading settlement, L’Anse a la Graise. From there, the same marker trail points to the 1811-1812 earthquakes, Civil War river control, and the farming community that grew around the county seat.
That is a lot for one marker, but it helps because New Madrid can otherwise be flattened into only earthquake risk or riverfront scenery. The marker shows a longer civic arc: trading place, early American town, Spanish district seat, earthquake center, Civil War river town, and agricultural county seat.
For readers, this is a good first source before going deeper. It gives the names and themes to look for on the riverfront, at the museum, and across the county’s practical notes.
Where to see it
- Missouri State Historical Society marker
Use the city marker page for the official local source trail.
References
Where this fits: this note belongs to New Madrid County. See every local note for the county on its page.