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Historic Daniel Boone Home
& Boonesfield Village

DESCRIPTION: Daniel Boone, legendary American frontiersman, helped blaze a trail through the Cumberland Gap, a notch in the Appalachian Mountains, and was largely responsible for the exploration and settlement of Kentucky. He moved his family from Kentucky to Missouri in 1799. This four-story Georgian style house is where Boone and his wife Rebecca spent the last years of their lives with their son Nathan, his wife Olive and their 14 children. Here it is believed that explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark visited Daniel as they started their great trek west from St. Louis in 1804. The Boone Home tour begins with a film about Daniel Boone and his life. Also on the site are several early 1800's buildings which are being turned into a living history village.

ADDRESS: 1868 Highway F, Defiance, MO 63341

LOCATION: 35 miles west of St. Louis.

PHONE: 636-798-2005

WEB SITE: www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/7109

GETTING THERE: From downtown St. Louis, take I-64/40 west across the Missouri River. Turn left (south) on Route 94. Go south on Route 94 to Highway F. Make a right on Highway F and follow it five miles to the Historic Daniel Boone Home.

HOURS: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. through October 31; after November 1, opened until 4:30 p.m. through Thanksgiving weekend. It closes for the season November 25th. Tours begin on the half-hour (9:30, 10:30, ect.) The last tour of the day is at 4:30 p.m.; after November 1st, the last tour of the day is at 2:30 p.m.

ADMISSION: For a tour of the Daniel Boone Home and Boonesfield Village: Adults $12; seniors (55+) $10; Children (4-11) $4. For a tour of the Daniel Boone Home only: $7, adults; $6, seniors; $4, children.

HIGHLIGHTS: Daniel Boone designed this home to resemble his birthplace in Pennsylvania and the ancestral Boone residences in Devon, England. The four-story home is large, especially for its time. There are many items of interest in the Boone home including many of Boone's personal possessions.

The Village contains:

  • A furnished schoolhouse, circa 1831, from St. Paul, Missouri.
  • A milliner's shop, circa 1840.
  • A woodworker's shop, circa 1837, from Flint Hill, Missouri.
  • Peace Chapel, circa 1840-60, from New Melle, Missouri complete with a reconstructed 28-stop Wicks pipe organ
  • Stake House, circa 1828-40, formerly a merchant's house in the Femme Osage Valley of Missouri.
  • The Sappington-Dressel House, circa 1807, from south St. Louis County. The Lindbergh School District in St. Louis was planned and a charter was written for it in the house's dining room.

WHAT'S COMING UP:

Several buildings are scheduled for addition to the Village:

  • Flanders Callaway House, circa 1812, the home of Daniel Boone's daughter Jemima Boone Callaway, originally constructed near Marthasville, Missouri.
  • Newton Howell Log House, circa 1814, the home of Daniel Boone's brother-in-law.
  • Sash Lumber Sawmill, circa 1815, a water-driven mill with a vertical saw blade.
  • Borgmann Animal Driven Mill, circa 1840, a gristmill originally constructed in Missouri's Femme Osage Valley.
  • Fritz Von Der Bruelge Store, circa 1830, from Schluersburg, Missouri.
  • Phillip Creamer House, circa 1820, home of a gun maker in the Jefferson Barracks area of St. Louis.

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBILITY: Partially accessible

ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS: Kids usually enjoy seeing the gun ports built into the walls of the building.

ANNUAL SPECIAL EVENTS: The Boone Home holds an 1800's candlelight Christmas celebration on the first two Friday and Saturday nights in December.

HISTORY: The Boone home was built by Daniel Boone and his son Nathan. Daniel Boone was 69 years old when construction began. The house was built of blue limestone, taken from the nearby bluffs. It was completed in 1810. Daniel died here in his bed in 1820 and was buried in the coffin that he built himself, kept under his bed and lay in from time to time to try out.

GIFT SHOP: A gift shop carries books, glassware, toys and other items relating to Daniel Boone and the time in which he lived.

WHERE TO GET LUNCH: There are a few restaurants in nearby winery town of Augusta, Missouri.

WHAT'S NEARBY: Missouri Weinstrasse, Missouri's wine road, with several wineries is nearby as is the Katy Trail, a hiking and biking trail which will eventually cross the entire state of Missouri.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: Pam Jensen, Director, 636-798-2005; mella@usmo.com

 

Readers should call 1-800-916-0040 to request a free copy of the Official St. Louis Visitor Guide or point, click and explore St. Louis at www.explorestlouis.com