ST. CHARLES COUNTY HISTORY

By Dorris Keeven-Franke

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History happens. All stories, especially the difficult ones, need to be heard. Award winning author, a public historian, professional genealogist, and International speaker. Member of the Missouri Speakers Bureau and the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

Author: Dorris Keeven-Franke

  • Sage Chapel Cemetery to receive plaque

    Sage Chapel Cemetery to receive plaque

    In the early 1800s, Samuel Keithly (1789-1870) came from Kentucky, and settled in St. Charles County, bringing his slaves. The father of a large family with seven children, several step-children, and many grandchildren, the family had other members who owned slaves as well. By the 1840s, the family owned hundreds of acres of land, and…

  • LOOKING BACK

    LOOKING BACK

    This land that we call St. Charles County now, has been home to many people and many cultures in the past 250 years. “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”

  • BURIED HISTORY, UNCOVERED STORIES PREMIERE

    BURIED HISTORY, UNCOVERED STORIES PREMIERE

    In 2023, a small one-acre plot of land called Smith Chapel Cemetery was recognized by the National Park Service’s Program, the NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD NETWORK TO FREEDOM, due to the resilience and courage of three enslaved men who were seeking their freedom using the Underground Railroad. In the winter of 1864, at the height of…