Talk:North River (Missouri)

Origin of name

The treaty with the United tribes of Sac and Fox Indians in 1804 declares general boundary lines, stating:

"Beginning at a point on the Missouri river opposite to the mouth of the Gasconade river; thence in a direct course so as to strike the river Jeffreon at the distance of thirty miles from its mouth, and down the said Jeffreon to the Mississippi..."

If the North River is assumed to be the Jeffreon, this would angle the line to the west a good deal to strike what was an unremarkable, short river of almost no importance at the time. However, if the Salt River were the Jeffreon as most local historian believe, then the line would be nearly due north, intersecting that river very near the salt works that were the primary industry in the northern half of the state at the time. This salt works shipped it's product to St Louis via this same river.

I am currently researching early settlement documents and other sources to provide references for the version of the history of the North River name as I presented it based on what I recalled reading some time ago in old documents. If I can produce these references I will change the "History of Name" section back to the way I had it unless better support can be found for the changes Americasroof made. Brem1964 06:52, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

I appreciate the attention as the River Jeffron remains ambiguous. Take a look at the Lewis and Clark 1814 map on the Lewis and Clark page. It clearly shows the Indian boundary which goes north of the Salt River (which is also mentioned as the possible River Jeffron by some accounts). Americasroof 13:54, 25 July 2007 (UTC)