Cole, Cooper, & Moniteau County Profiles
Cole County — Emily Low
The History of Cole County
Cole County Missouri is located in the center of Missouri with a population of 77,279 as of 2020. The county was named on November 16, 1820, after William Temple Cole, a pioneer who built Cole’s Fort in Boonville. As of 2020, 40.1% of the population were of German heritage. German immigrants originally migrated from Saxony, Germany. The group disembarked from New York City before heading to their final destination, Jefferson City, Missouri.
St. Peter Catholic Church
St. Peter Catholic Church first started building in 1881 and was finished in 1883. The church was designed by Adolph Druiding and has a German gothic style, which involved the church being built with 800,000 red bricks, which was a commonly used German construction material. The city newspaper, The Jefferson Inquirer named the building, “The handsomest building in the city.” Members of the St. Peter Catholic Church were German immigrants, Irish immigrants, and other miscellaneous immigrants in Cole County. With the church having a heavy German immigrant membership, it was a great meeting place for new immigrants to get to know the community.
Cooper County — Zach Bott
History of Cooper County
- Rau was a founding member of three successive Cooper County churches: in Boonville, Clarks Fork, and Lone Elm.
- Many were attracted to Missouri not only because of its rich farmland but because many of their countrymen were already there. Once established, the new German communities soon founded churches and other civic institutions in their mother tongue
- Duden’s persuasion reared its head yet again, as it was stated that many of the relatives of Rau had been convinced to head toward Cooper because of Duden and could be a reason as to why he chose to go there.
- When he first arrived in Cooper, Rau saw the split religious views of Boonville with one half being Evangelical and the other being Catholic and it wasn’t until 1950 when German Methodist was first introduced.
German-Americans’ Impact on Cooper County
Spanning 569 square miles, Cooper County is known in German circles for its churches and farmlands. The admiration for the county can be attributed to Gottfried Duden. Like many other counties in Missouri, Duden’s persuasion reached a lot of Germans looking to immigrate to America and gave them the confidence to do so.
In the countryside, Germans quickly realized that the land in Cooper, and Missouri overall, was spacious and prosperous. Industries like construction, pottery, wine, beer, etc., all thrived in their time in Boonville specifically.
“German immigrant farmers in Cooper County generally employed a diversified, efficient mixture of animals and crops which aimed at self-sufficiency.”
With the success of these businesses, the Germans portioned out their funds to the churches and other businesses in neighboring towns.
Johann Rau was one of the Germans who read Duden’s work, immigrating around the 1850s along with over 200,000 other Germans who came over during the time. Rau was a founding member of three successive Cooper County churches: in Boonville, Clarks Fork, and Lone Elm. However, at the start of these church communities, rough patches showed up. To combat this, the Germans bonded themselves together through their common language and culture.
Moniteau County — Grace Whitmer
History of Moniteau County
The county of Moniteau, Missouri was originally a part of Morgan and Cole Counties but was established as its own county in 1845. It was named after the main stream that ran through the county and also the name “Moniteau” translates to “God’s Country.” It is located in the central region of Missouri. According to a census conducted in 2000, approximately 35.8% of Moniteau County’s population was German (which was the largest ancestry population at the time).
Salem United Church of Christ — California, MO (Moniteau County)
One of the pillars of the German community in Moniteau, Missouri was the Salem United Church of Christ. The first church, constructed of log, was built in 1851, while the current building was erected in 1858. The church also consists of a well-kept cemetery. The first building later served as a German school while the second building was used for German Lutheran church services. In the last 150 years, the Salem United Church of Christ has only had nineteen pastors.
Germans in Moniteau County Today
The history of Germans is of great importance to Montieau County residents today. This is because the county is part of an organization called the German Heritage Corridor that “promote[s] German Missouri’s German Heritage.” The Missouri Humanities Council’s approach is to bring awareness through tourism and the preservation of German-Missouri history. Also, the Missouri House Bill 1851 was passed in 2017 to help this movement. This is all being done in appreciation of German Missouri immigrants and how they positively shaped Moniteau and the surrounding counties.
