Fort Orleans

(Did you mean a different Fort Orleans)

More information at Wikidata,Wikipedia

Fort Orleans (1723-1728) - A French colonial period fort established in 1723 on the Missouri River, near present-day De Witt, Carroll County, Missouri. It was the first French settlement in the Missouri Valley. Named Fort Orleans after the Duke of Orleans. Abandoned in 1728.

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  Fort Orleans 1727 Plan, Original by Bourgmond.

History

Established on 15 Nov 1723 by Frenchman Etienne Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmond with a garrison of 40 men.

Bourgmond became Commandant on the Missouri River and was charged with making peace with the Comanche Indians. He traveled to Kansas via the Kansas River to the southwest, where he made peace with the Comanche, Osage, Iowa, Pawnee, Oto, and Makah tribes.

In 1725, Bourgmond returned to France with several Indian chiefs and a young Indian girl. The French were taken with the Indians and called the girl "Princess of the Missouri." The girl married a young French (officer or sergeant or soldier depending on which account you read) named Du Bois and returned to Missouri with him. Their return is commemorated by a lunette mural in the Missouri State Capitol building. Bourgmond was made a noble and did not return to Missouri.

Indian Bride Returning to Fort Orleans from Paris Visit in 1725. From a mural in the Missouri State Capitol building. Note the Fort in the Upper Right.

The post was abandoned in 1728 as unprofitable and because too many French soldiers were being killed. One story indicated that the garrison at the fort was reduced to eight soldiers who were then attacked and killed by hostile Indians.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition looked for the fort on 16 Jun 1804 but found no trace of it.

Current Status

Exact site unknown, at least three locations have been identified as possible locations. A double-sided state marker and a 1924 DAR Stone Marker are located in a De Witt community park at the corner of Seventh and Jefferson.

De Witt Community Park with the State Marker on the Left and the Stone DAR Marker toward the Center.

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  Fort Orleans Marker Front
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  Fort Orleans Marker Reverse
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  Fort Orleans Stone DAR Marker

Context

Location: The exact location is unknown but thought to be on the north bank of the Missouri River
near De Witt, Carroll County, Missouri.
Lat: 39.332° Long: -93.223° Bing, Google, OldMapsOnline, USGS, OHM

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See Also:

• Lewis and Clark Expedition

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 461.
• Smithsonian Index- Return of the French Officer and His Indian Bride to Fort Orleans

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Orleans
• Wikipedia - Fort Orleans
• Lewis & Clark Trail - 16 Jun 1804
• Ledgends of America - Fort Orleans
• Waymarking - Fort Orleans
• Waymarking - Fort Orleans

Related:
Fort Orleans, Lewis and Clark Expedition,