Saint Michel, Missouri facts for kids

St. Michel was once a small village in Missouri, USA. It's now part of the town called Fredericktown. This means it's like a ghost town, but its history lives on within Fredericktown.

What's in a Name?

The name "St. Michel" probably came from one of the village's founders, Nicholas Caillot. He was a "Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michel" in France. This important title likely inspired the village's name. Also, there was another person named Michael Caillot in the group, and Nicholas Caillot had a son named Michel. Both were named after Saint Michael.

Village History

St. Michel was started between 1790 and 1800. It was built because people wanted to mine for lead. The first settlers were a group of thirteen families. They were French Creoles from the Illinois Country, with family roots in Canada, and a few French people who had lived in the area for a while.

Many of these families came from New Bourbon. Some of the first settlers included Antoine, Gabriel, Nicholas, Joseph, Francois, and Michel Caillot det La Chance. Others were Peter Chevalier, Gabriel Nicollet, Pierre Variat, Paul, Andrew, and Baptiste De Guire, and Jerome Matis. These French-Canadians came from Ste. Genevieve and New Bourbon.

The Spanish leaders of Upper Louisiana gave these families large pieces of land. Each family received about 400 arpents (a measurement of land). This land stretched from the Little St. Francis River to Saline Creek.

Moving the Village

In 1814, big floods from the Saline and Castor Creeks forced the people of St. Michel to move to higher ground. Some families decided not to return to the old spot. Instead, they started a "new village" about one and a half miles north of St. Michel. The old village site is now just known as "The Village," with only Calvary Cemetery remaining.

By 1823, the new village had about 50 people. Soon, German settlers arrived on the Saline River, across from the village. Other groups from North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia also moved in. These new settlers quickly outnumbered the French families.

In 1819, a new county seat was needed. Commissioners bought land from one of the settlers from North Carolina. They then planned out a new town and called it Fredericktown. Over time, Fredericktown grew and slowly took over St. Michel. Today, the name St. Michel is mostly found in the local Catholic Church and the name of the township.

Village Life

The French Creoles in St. Michel built their homes in a style similar to American log cabins. They used horizontal logs, which the French called pièces sur pièces. This was different from the traditional French style, which used vertical logs set into the ground or on a sill. The use of the American style might mean that the people of St. Michel had less money, or that American neighbors helped them build their homes and they simply adopted the American way.

The Church

The Catholic church in St. Michel was built in 1802. It was named after the Archangel Michel. Early Christians believed Archangel Michael helped care for the sick. It's not known if the church was blessed on St. Michael's day or if it was named after the patron saint of one of the villagers. The first church building was made of logs.

How Many People Lived There?

• In 1804, St. Michel had 65 people.
• Around 1815-1816, it was thought to have about 100 people.
• From 1818-1820, the population grew to about 300 people.
• By 1830, about 250 people were counted.

Mining for Lead

The main reason St. Michel was settled was to dig for lead. This lead was important for the Upper Louisiana colony.

Old Mining Methods

The French miners used a very simple way to get lead from the ore (rock with lead in it). They would pile the lead ore on top of logs in pits. Then, they would set the logs on fire. The heat would melt the lead, which would then gather at the bottom of the pit. There were about twenty of these simple log furnaces.

New Mining Methods

In 1797, an American miner named Moses Austin arrived. He built a better furnace called a Scotch hearth, also known as a reverberatory furnace. This new furnace was much more efficient than the old log pits. Miners started bringing their lead to Austin's furnace to be melted. The new furnace was so good that the old log smelting method was completely stopped.

However, cutting down so many trees to fuel the furnaces quickly used up the forests in the area. The wealth from lead mining also attracted gamblers and adventurers to St. Michel.

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