Brazeau Creek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brazeau Creek |
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Bridge over Brazeau Creek
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| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | Perry County, MO |
| River mouth | Mississippi River Mississippi River, MO 322 ft (98 m) 37°39′07″N 89°31′15″W / 37.65194°N 89.52083°W |
| Length | 10.8 mi (17.4 km) |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 30 sq mi (78 km2) |
Brazeau Creek is a stream located in Perry County, Missouri. It flows into the mighty Mississippi River. This creek is an important part of the local geography and history.
Contents
What's in a Name?
Brazeau Creek got its name from a French family. It was likely named after Joseph (Jean) Brazeau. He was a merchant from St. Louis, Missouri, who lived there in the late 1700s. His family settled in the Brazeau Bottoms, which are flat lands near the Mississippi River.
Where is Brazeau Creek?
Brazeau Creek flows through the northern part of Brazeau Township. It eventually joins the Mississippi River close to a town called Wittenberg, Missouri.
The stream is about 10.3 miles (16.6 kilometers) long. The area of land that drains into Brazeau Creek, called its watershed, covers about 30 square miles (78 square kilometers). Many smaller streams, called tributaries, also flow into Brazeau Creek.
Brazeau Creek in the Community
Over the years, several bridges have been built to cross Brazeau Creek. These include the Brazeau Creek CR 446 Bridge near Altenburg. There's also the Brazeau Creek Route C Bridge and the CR 438 Bridge at Wittenberg. A railroad bridge for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway also crosses the creek.
The town of Brazeau and Brazeau Township were both named after this important creek.
A Look Back in Time
The first European settlers to arrive near Brazeau Creek were American Catholics. They came from Kentucky in the late 1700s. These families had Irish roots and had lived in Maryland before moving west. They were sometimes called "Maryland Catholics" to tell them apart from the French-speaking Catholics already in the area. They left Maryland after the American Revolution, looking for new land and a better life.
Fenwick Settlement
A leader of this group, Joseph Fenwick, first thought about settling near Apple Creek. However, there were many Native American villages there at the time. This likely made Fenwick change his plans.
Instead, he decided to start a settlement at the mouth of Brazeau Creek. This new place was named Fenwick Settlement after him. About 20 Catholic families from Kentucky joined the settlement. However, the land wasn't great for farming, so the settlement didn't do very well. By 1807-1808, many families started to leave.
New Settlers Arrive
The area around the creek continued to grow. In 1821, the township of Brazeau was officially formed. It was named after Brazeau Creek. Soon after, Protestant settlers from North Carolina, who were English and Scots-Irish, moved to the area.
Later, in 1839, a large group of German Lutheran immigrants arrived. They came from a place called the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. These immigrants set up several new communities, or "colonies," close to Brazeau Creek. The town of Brazeau, Missouri was also named after the creek, honoring its importance to the region's history.
