Cole County kicked off its bicentennial celebration Friday at the first home of the county government.
A crowd of dignitaries and county residents gathered at the Missouri River Access in Marion, off Missouri 179. Cole County was founded Nov. 16, 1820, and Marion was the first county seat until 1829, when county government moved to Jefferson City.
Historian Bob Priddy, who has been researching Cole County's history, told the crowd he has found more information regarding Stephen Cole, a pioneer settler and Indian fighter for whom historians have said the county is named.
"What has come to light as we have dug around old records, frankly, is going to change some of the early history of Cole County," Priddy said.
Priddy spent several months researching Stephen Cole and found information about his older brother, Temple Cole, and his wife, Hannah. Hannah was a widow with nine children when she and Stephen and his wife and their five children crossed the Missouri River from Howard County to what is now Cooper County, sometime around 1810 and settled in what became Boonville. Boonville was the first county seat of the area that became Cole County, as Cole County was carved out of Cooper County.
After the War of 1812 was settled and the area was safer thanks to Indian treaties, some people from Tennessee decided they would cross the Mississippi River and chose this area as where they would build the rest of their lives, Priddy said.
"Oral history, while it is valuable, can be flawed," Priddy said. "The truth can be found in two articles in the Missouri Intelligencer, published in Franklin and the first newspaper published west of St. Louis. In the April 29, 1823, edition, there was a series of articles published about Missouri counties."
One of the articles identified Temple Cole as the person whom Cole County was named after. According to the article, in 1810, Indians stole and carried away Cole's horses, and he and friends and neighbors pursued the Indians. But they were eventually killed by the Indians, Priddy said.
In 1825, Priddy told the crowd, Missouri had 28 counties, and only five were named for living people. Other counties were being named for people killed by Indians - and Temple Cole was killed by Indians.
"The clincher to the argument is another Intelligencer article about Cole County from January 1823, and it concludes by saying that Cole County was named for Temple Cole, who was killed by Indians," Priddy said. "We know more about Stephen Cole than Temple Cole largely because Stephen outlived his brother by 12 years. Stephen Cole did not give his name to this county, but he is remembered in other places in Missouri - one of those being Cole Camp in Beton County, which is named in his honor."
Some descendants of Stephen, Temple and Hannah Cole were at Friday's bicentennial kickoff. They all live in Central Missouri.
Bob Painter is president of the Cole Family Association, and he and three other great-great-great-grandchildren, along with a great-great-great-great-grandchild were on hand.
Painter said they were excited to hear what Priddy had learned about their relatives.
"I grew up knowing the history saying Stephen was the founder and the historical markers showing it," Painter said. "We were excited to hear what he had to say."
The Cole County Bicentennial Committee will hold an event at 3 p.m. today at Prison Brews in Jefferson City to showcase commemorative items being sold to mark the bicentennial.
Prison Brews microbrewery is creating a special beer made with centennial hops to honor the bicentennial, and the committee commissioned a special numbered small batch of "Cole County 200 Missouri Bourbon Whiskey" from Blacksmith Artisanal Spirits of Lohman.
Tom and Sharon Naught have given the committee bottles of a wine made in Cole County called "Captain Cole Crimson." A limited number of commemorative coins made of brass and silver are also being sold.
"With the funds we raise from the sale of these items, the committee plans to use those to put permanent markers in each of the county's communities so there will be a commemoration of the bicentennial all across the county," committee chairman Marc Ellinger said.
To learn more about these items, call Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman at his commission office, 573-634-9113, or his business, Samuel's Tuxedos, 573-634-7267; or call Ellinger at his office, 573-750-4100.
Central Bank has agreed to underwrite the costs for two memorials to mark the bicentennial, Ellinger said.
One will be placed on the Cole County Courthouse grounds on High Street in Jefferson City.
The other memorial will honor Cole, Boone and Callaway counties, which were formed within a few days of each other. The monument will be unveiled at a ceremony in November and will be placed in an area near the Katy Trail in North Jefferson City, Ellinger said.
To learn more about the county's bicentennial, go to colecountybicentennial.com.