Upcoming Events

The Moreau River and its tributaries are a central feature of Mid-Missouri, flowing through communities including Jefferson City, Russellville, Lohman, Enon, Honey Creek, Brazito, Hickory Hill and California. The waters pass tall bluffs, flow under highways and nourish the area’s rich farmland, and, from them, fascinating stories emerge. That of a former slave who lived to the impressive age of 113, a Lutheran congregation that hosted a Mohican Christian missionary and of a young Hickory Hill man who served as a Wild West lawman. Jeremy Amick, author of Moments on the Moreau and its companion compilation, Hidden History of Cole County, shares these and more historical stories linking the Moreau River to the people that have made their homes along its banks.

In the pre-Civil War-era, slavery and Underground Railroad activity both existed along the border between Missouri and Illinois. Abolitionists founded Missouri’s Marion College – the first institute of higher education in the state to receive a charter from the Missouri State Legislature – in the pro-slavery northeastern county of the same name, as well as the Mission Institute across the Mississippi River in Quincy, Illinois. C. Patrick Hotle’s presentation explores the impact abolitionism had on both sides of the border, especially between 1831 and 1844 when the two colleges were most active. Thus, it serves as a case study demonstrating how the dynamic between slavery and abolitionism shaped the area’s history.