City History

History of Foristell

City of Foristell Sign

Historic Background & Stages of Occupancy


Pioneering Stage- First European Settlers (1541- 1877): In 1541, Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to settle the Foristell area. The area was subsequently claimed for Spain by DeSoto and claimed for France by LaSalle. After King Louis XIV of France directed that a large area, including the area surrounding Foristell, be explored in 1658, French explorers from Quebec began searching for potential locations for trading posts in the Mississippi Valley. In 1682, the French formally took possession of a large portion of the United States, which they named Louisiana. By 1760, French traders, trappers and missionaries had explored the Mississippi Valley and established settlements as far north as the Missouri River in St. Charles County.  Louis Blanchette, a French-Canadian fur trader, established an active riverfront trading post on the Missouri River and named the area “Les Petites Cotes” or Little Hills. Except for a brief period when the area was deeded to Spain, the territory remained under French control until acquired by the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.


On May 16, 1856, the Foristell area was originally platted as “Millville” and planned out on property owned by J.A. Davis who located there in 1836. The city would retain this name for 20 years. According to the book “History of St. Charles, Montgomery and Warren Counties Missouri” written in 1885, the first post office was actually located just south of town in 1858 and called “Snow Hill”. The first postmaster was J.P. Simpson. Mr. Raleigh built the first house in Millville in 1856. The railroad was also developed and tracks laid in 1856 through the middle of the town. 

 

Milleville developed rather rapidly after the Civil War. The proprietor of the drug store and of the Commercial Hotel, was Henry W. Williams. He opened the drug store July 1, 1879 and opened the hotel March 1, 1881. His “Commercial House” was considered to be one of the best small hotels along the Wabash Railroad. Lewis Martin was operating the Millville Mills. Henry Gray and Thomas Mason had built a tobacco factory, and a man by the name of Pierre Foristell was beginning to be recognized as a highly regarded citizen. Mr. Foristell was a wealthy farmer and cattle dealer. In 1877, Mr. Foristell was honored when the town of “Millville” and the post office “Snow Hill” were both changed to “Foristell”.

 

Growth and Prosperity Stage (1900’s): The town continued to grow throughout the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  A brief account of the very early churches and grammar schools in and near Foristell begins with the Hickory Grove Christian Church. It was organized in October 1847 by the Rev. Robert Mills and was located two miles southeast of present-day Foristell on the D.T. Coleman property, in Warren County. The Meridian School at Paudingville was located 2.5 miles south of Foristell; the Blattner School was 1.5 miles southwest of town, the Hickory Grove grammar school was located 2 miles south of town; and the ”Wide Awake School” was located near the Warren County line. Gradually, as highways became available and railroad traffic declined, the town’s merchants moved on as has happened to so many small communities along the railroad. There once was a “Foristell Bank” and few older buildings remain today, as a quiet reminder of the town’s rich and important historical past.  


Transportation (1900-Future):

Foristell started as a railroad town, but it has always been a main corridor for East/West travelers. From 1812 to 1920, N Main was the main route from St. Louis to Kansas City. The following is a list of key transportation corridors and the date they were created or improved:


  • 1812   Whosau Trace Trail was created from Fort Kennedy. Archer Road follows the original alignment of the Whosau Trace Trail.
  • 1857   North Main Street, created with the Railroad 
  • 1912   National Old Trail created
  • 1920   MO HWY 2 opens
  • 1935   US 40 opens
  • 2026:  Foristell Interchanges installs at Hwy T & W and I-70 improved to 6 lanes.
  • Future: Overpass at Shaper & Cotton

 

The main thoroughfare to Wentzville was the National Old Trails Road. It follows the alignment of the Whosau Trace Trail created 100 years earlier by Fort Kennedy, well before the interstate and the railroad. The Whosau Trace Trail was a ridge running trail that intersected many indian/deer trails along the ridgeline. The Whosau Trace Trail merged into the Boonesiick Trail west of Warrenton, and was used by thousands of migrants headed to the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. The Booneslick Trail paved the way for St. Charles County, and the Whosau Trace Trail was its backbone. It connects St. Charles to Fort Zumwalt, and Fort Kennedy, west of Foristell. Pitman Road, Mexico Road and West Clay generally follow the alignment of the Whosau Trace Trail.

 

It is believed North Main Street in Foristell was part of the Whosau Trace Trail. It started on South Stringtown and was originally called Marthasville Wagon Road, and later Archer Road. The Whosau Trace Trail connected Foristell to the outlying communities and markets years before North Main was ever planned or paved.  Eugenia Harrison, in her 1943 MU thesis, claimed sections of the Whosau Trace Trail were still being used in 1885. The Warren County 1877 plat depicts Archer Road (formally Whosau Trace Trail) as the only road from Wright City to Foristell.  This historic corridor has been in use continuously for over 200 years and lined with beautiful oak trees that have shaded the first travelers and settlers to the area. The Whosau Trace Trail and the gravel roads it birthed were all tied together by Harry S Truman, creating The National Old Trails Road Association in the early 1900’s. This went from D.C. to California, with stops in St. Louis and Kansas City.

 

The National Old Trails Road was the main artery across the state until the 20’s when Missouri State Highway 2 was built to satisfy the need for a paved surface. It was the road of choice across Missouri for 100 years. It was there for the World’s Fair. We can assume at one time Clark, Boone, James, Grant, Twain, Disney and many others took this path, and maybe only Disney could imagine that one day it would become 6 lanes.

 

Missouri State Highway 2 was replaced by US 40, which was replaced by I-70, which is in the process of becoming 6 lanes. All thanks to the Whosau Trace Trail. 

 

Skyline & Dawn of Truck Stops (1940s-Present)

Before TA (Union 76), Fuel City, and Foristell Truck Stop (Phillips 66), there was Skyline all by itself. Skyline was between East and West-bound Highway 40. The existing Skyline Towing was a bunkhouse for Truckers. The bunkhouse was a dozen single beds in a large room with showers. The service station was small with restrooms and a soda machine and a few snacks for sale. They had a 24-hour restaurant in a metal Quonset hut east of the station; the slab and foundation still exist today. In the mid-1960s it was owned and operated by the Boleys. During that time, Lyndon Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964 was slow to be embraced. Black truck drivers would come to the kitchen door and order food to go.  They did a great business on Friday and Saturday night after the bars closed.

 

Foristell was incorporated as a village in 1979 and became a Fourth-Class City on January 1, 1989. Much of this info came from Roger Cox and the following sources:

 

  • History of Missouri State Highway Department
  • 1875 Warren County Plat
  • Wikipedia
  • sites.rootsweb.com
  • Missouri Digital Heritage
  • State Historical Society of Missouri