Founded in 1859 by German Theodore Kimm, we thought that Kimmswick was worth a second look recently since we were in the area after having looked at it back in August of 2020. I had forgotten how many log cabins there were in the town. And judging from the National Register nomination, which does not…
Tag: Small Towns
Kaskaskia, West Side of the Mississippi
We visited Illinois recently without having to cross the Mississippi River. Yes, it’s possible, in what of the stranger parts of the greater St. Louis region south down Interstate 55. Back in November of 2010, we saw the remnants of the colonial town of Kaskaskia, that once sat along the banks of the Kaskaskia River,…
Family Farm and Environs, Early November 2025
I visited the family farm east of Peoria for the last time this year, but will be back up in the spring, as usual. The harvest has been over for weeks, so the landscape has been transformed to the fallow fields with its stark beauty. I photographed this corn crib to the northwest of the…
Nauvoo, Illinois
We visited the historic Mormon settlement of Nauvoo on our journey north up the Mississippi River looking at Iowa cities back in May. Of course, Nauvoo is in Illinois, and it is in an isolated corner of the state. There are numerous houses and other buildings from the historic period that have been restored, and…
Iowa River Towns
Starting at the end of June, at the end of each month the rest of the summer, I will be featuring an Iowa river town north of St. Louis along the Mississippi. These cities, such as Keokuk, have a more direct link to St. Louis, as Union Electric built a hydroelectric dam here just over…
St. Paul, St. Charles County
The small town of St. Paul takes its name from the Catholic church at the crossroads of Hackman and St. Paul roads, just to the west of Route 79, which follows the bluff line up along the Mississippi River in northern St. Charles County. There is no street grid but rather houses and businesses lining…
Farmington, Iowa
The last town heading downstream on the Des Moines River is Farmington, named after the one in Connecticut. Founded in 1839, around the same town as the other settlements in this area, there are some interesting buildings in town. The most notable is the L. Burg Block, constructed in rough stone in 1878 in the…
Bonaparte, Iowa
The next town is Bonaparte, which is named after Napoleon, of course. Many people don’t realize that many Americans admired the supposedly Enlightenment-inspired French emperor due to his conflict with ancient monarchies in Europe. The beginning of the town centered around William Meek’s founding of mills (he named the town) in 1837. The building above…
Bentonsport, Iowa
We hit several towns along the lower Des Moines River in Iowa last weekend to examine the economic ties that riverboats once served with the area and St. Louis. The first town, Bentonsport, was laid out in 1839 and was named after Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton. It actually reached a population of 1,000 and…
House Springs, Jefferson County
Update: National Register property added in March of 2026. I stumbled onto the original small community of House Springs, which is built right on Gravois Road in Jefferson County. Route 30, which is frequently associated with Gravois, has been reoriented to the north and is four lane, divided highway in this area. Apparently some of…