La Grange City

La Grange City Hall is located at 118 South Main street, La Grange, MO 63448; phone: 573-655-4301.

Beginnings [1]

Located at the confluence of the Wyaconda and Mississippi Rivers, La Grange was platted in 1830 and incorporated in 1838. Godfrey Le Sieur, the first settler, established a trading post at the mouth of the Wyaconda when the region was under Spanish control. Archives reveal that he was a licensed trader "at the Weaucandah, on the upper river" in 1795. The ruins of his 4 cabins were here in 1819 when John Bozarth came from Kentucky and erected a cabin 2 miles south of the town. Many settlers came to La Grange from Kentucky and Tennessee, and the village grew rapidly. Pork packing plants, cooper shops, distilleries, a flour mill, tobacco factories and other industries were developed, furnishing outlets for the products of the back country and the basis of a heavy river trade. Houses designed in the Greek Revival style were built about the village green and on the hills above the river.

1. Federal Writers Project, Works Progress Administration, Missouri: A Guide to the "Show Me" State, American Guide Series, 1941, Missouri State Highway Department