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Washington County, Missouri
With just 762 square miles and 24,000 residents,
Washington County is among Missouri’s
smaller regions. It was organized in August 1813 from Ste. Genevieve and
named for George Washington. The county seat is Potosi. The town was named
after Potosi, Bolivia, a silver mining town. “Potosi” is a South American
Indian word for “place of much noise", other towns in the county are
Caledonia, Irondale, Mineral Point.
Despite its size, the county is big on recreation. The Berrryman Camp &
Trail National Forest is a 24-mile loop through the Mark Twain National
Forest. A variety of Ozark flora and fauna is featured throughout the
trail. The trail starts at Berryman Campground, the site of a Civilian
Conservation Corps Camp of the same name from 1937 until the start of
World War II.
Local legend has it that the Jesse James gang frequently camped in a cave
near the trail. Other challenging trails that pass through the county are
the Ozarks Trail, Trace Creek Trail and Moses Austin Trail. The historic
"Trail of Tears", the route which carried the forced march of the Cherokee
Indians from the Southeastern United States to a reservation in Oklahoma,
passed through the county.
Other places of interest in the region:
Big River
Courtois Creek
Hughes Mountain
Indian Creek
Little Indian Creek |
Lost Creek
Mark Twain National Forest
Meramec State Park
Mineral Fork |
Washington State Park
Washington State Park Hardwoods Natural Area |
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