Cole County turns 200 on Nov. 16.
County officials dedicated a new marker early Saturday afternoon outside the Cole County Courthouse to commemorate the milestone.
Cosmically, 200 years is less than the blink of an eye, keynote speaker Bob Priddy said.
"Our past provides a context to our present, and it gives us a perspective on what we could do and what we can be in the future" Priddy said. "As we remember these diverse populations that settled in Cole County and contributed to its development, let us remember that we - even more diverse in our time than in theirs - are living prologues to those who will gather here 100 years from now for the county's tricentennial."
Events such as Saturday's are wasted if people only look backward, he said. What people do every day starts what they will leave for the tricentennial.
"We must remember that we are already the past for the people who will be here in 2120," Priddy continued. "Let that legacy we create be something good for us today and for all who created something worthy of honor by those who will be here, to gather at this monument, 100 years from now."
Cole County is close and intimate and part of its residents' lives, he said.
Priddy began his remarks by discussing the life and death of William Temple Cole, for whom the county is named.
His greatest claim to fame was he was "killed in an Indian attack in 1810," possibly somewhere in present-day Audrain County, Priddy said.
The area was named for a man "who was foolish enough to pitch camp for the night while chasing Indian horse thieves with Indians knowing where he was," he said. "And became, to paraphrase the oft-used description of his brother, a pioneer and Indian fighter."
Many believe the county was named for Stephen Cole, his younger brother, Priddy said, "who went to New Mexico to get killed by Indians in 1822, two years after the county was already named."
German immigrants came to the county in the early 1800s.
Some early settlers were likely to have brought their slaves with them, he said.
"But that's not mentioned in the histories, perhaps because those were property, not people at the time," Priddy said.
About 100 people gathered for the dedication in the midst of Monroe and High streets.
One hundred years ago, Presiding Cole County Commissioner Sam Bushman told listeners, residents of Cole County had a lot to celebrate. The Spanish flu pandemic had just ended. World War I had just ended.
County residents still have a lot to celebrate today, he said.
"Even with the current pandemic, Cole County is a great place to live. It's a great place to work," Bushman said. "And we have this beautiful courthouse behind us, which is actually older than the Capitol."
Much like the state has done for the Capitol during the state's bicentennial, the county has spruced-up its courthouse, Bushman said. It has received new windows and landscape beautification, he continued.
State Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, attended the dedication. Veit, who was not involved in the ceremony, said he was pleased to see the stone for the monument matched the courthouse.
Veit said he has deep roots in the county. His great-grandfather moved to Taos more than 100 years ago.
"It's been a long time. And a lot of us have stayed around," he said. "Cole County has been a part of our life since my grandparents moved to America."
The monument helps people to reflect on the struggles it took to make the United States, Missouri and Cole County great, he said.
William Shakespeare said what's past is prologue, Priddy said during his comments.
That means a person's past provides context to their present. It gives them perspective on what people can do or be in the future.
"It is only on reflecting after 200 years that we understand just how far we've come," Priddy said. "And in knowing how far we have come, we acknowledge this celebration is not the end of anything at all. It is in fact a marker point on a continuing journey."