Europeans discovered lead here and had also hoped to find silver. The French governor of Louisiana, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, failed to find silver, but succeeded in recruiting investors in the Company of the West, which was organized in 1717.[6] Mine La Motte was eventually settled by about 200 French settlers along with their slaves from Santo Domingo, under the leadership of Philip François Renault, to develop mines in 1717, making it one of the oldest settlements west of the Mississippi River.[7] The presence of lead, a critical ingredient for ammunition, attracted unusually early mining by Frenchcolonists in this otherwise remote interior region of the North American continent. That same lead, still used for ammunition nearly 150 years later at the time of the American Civil War, was also a factor in the Battle of Fredericktown, in which forces aligned with the Confederate States of America fought for control of the lead smelters in nearby Fredericktown with the Union forces, aligned with the United States of America.
Historical marker at the site of the first lead mine in Missouri
La Mothe named the mine after himself, and the town that grew up nearby was named after the mine. While dispatching workers and supervisors to the mines, La Mothe settled for a time in the Illinois Country east of the mid-Mississippi River, where the first French colonial villages were founded. In 1804 the village had a population of 150.[8] These settlers were mostly French Canadians who developed agriculture. Due to the rich soils, they were quickly able to produce grain surpluses that were critical to the survival of the lower Louisiana colony. The habitants shipped tons of grain to New Orleans and other points south on the Mississippi River. La Mothe later served as Governor-General of Louisiana.[9][10]
Geographyedit
Mine La Motte is in northern Madison County, 4 miles (6 km) north of Frederickton, the county seat. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.37 square miles (8.73 km2), of which 0.10 square miles (0.26 km2), or 2.91%, are water.[1] Sweetwater Branch flows westward through the center of the community to the Little St. Francis River, which bends through the west side of the community on its way to join the St. Francis River.
^McMillen, Margot Ford (1994). Paris, Tightwad and Peculiar: Missouri Place Names. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press. p. 20. ISBN0-8262-0972-6.
^Walter A. Schroeder (2002). Opening the Ozarks: A Historical Geography of Missouri's Ste. Genevieve District, 1760-1830. University of Missouri Press. ISBN9780826263063.
mine, motte, missouri, mine, motte, unincorporated, community, census, designated, place, madison, county, missouri, united, states, 2020, census, population, census, designated, placelocation, missouricoordinates, 61444, 29444, 61444, 29444countryunited, stat. Mine La Motte is an unincorporated community and census designated place CDP in Madison County Missouri United States 5 As of the 2020 census the population was 364 3 Mine La Motte MissouriCensus designated placeLocation in MissouriCoordinates 37 36 52 N 90 17 40 W 37 61444 N 90 29444 W 37 61444 90 29444CountryUnited StatesStateMissouriCountyMadisonArea 1 Total3 37 sq mi 8 73 km2 Land3 27 sq mi 8 47 km2 Water0 10 sq mi 0 25 km2 Elevation 2 774 ft 236 m Population 2020 3 Total364 Density111 28 sq mi 42 97 km2 ZIP code63645 4 Area code573FIPS code29 48602GNIS feature ID2587090 2 Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory editEuropeans discovered lead here and had also hoped to find silver The French governor of Louisiana Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac failed to find silver but succeeded in recruiting investors in the Company of the West which was organized in 1717 6 Mine La Motte was eventually settled by about 200 French settlers along with their slaves from Santo Domingo under the leadership of Philip Francois Renault to develop mines in 1717 making it one of the oldest settlements west of the Mississippi River 7 The presence of lead a critical ingredient for ammunition attracted unusually early mining by French colonists in this otherwise remote interior region of the North American continent That same lead still used for ammunition nearly 150 years later at the time of the American Civil War was also a factor in the Battle of Fredericktown in which forces aligned with the Confederate States of America fought for control of the lead smelters in nearby Fredericktown with the Union forces aligned with the United States of America nbsp Historical marker at the site of the first lead mine in MissouriLa Mothe named the mine after himself and the town that grew up nearby was named after the mine While dispatching workers and supervisors to the mines La Mothe settled for a time in the Illinois Country east of the mid Mississippi River where the first French colonial villages were founded In 1804 the village had a population of 150 8 These settlers were mostly French Canadians who developed agriculture Due to the rich soils they were quickly able to produce grain surpluses that were critical to the survival of the lower Louisiana colony The habitants shipped tons of grain to New Orleans and other points south on the Mississippi River La Mothe later served as Governor General of Louisiana 9 10 Geography editMine La Motte is in northern Madison County 4 miles 6 km north of Frederickton the county seat According to the U S Census Bureau the CDP has a total area of 3 37 square miles 8 73 km2 of which 0 10 square miles 0 26 km2 or 2 91 are water 1 Sweetwater Branch flows westward through the center of the community to the Little St Francis River which bends through the west side of the community on its way to join the St Francis River Demographics editHistorical population CensusPop Note 2010348 20203644 6 U S Decennial Census 11 See also editSoutheast Missouri Lead DistrictReferences edit a b 2023 U S Gazetteer Files Missouri United States Census Bureau Retrieved March 20 2024 a b U S Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System Mine La Motte Missouri a b P1 Race Mine La Motte CDP Missouri 2020 DEC Redistricting Data PL 94 171 U S Census Bureau Retrieved March 20 2024 Mine La Motte MO ZIP Code zipdatamaps com 2024 Retrieved March 5 2024 Mine La Motte Census Designated Place Geographic Names Information System United States Geological Survey United States Department of the Interior Historic Resource Survey City of Fredericktown Missouri http www dnr mo gov shpo survey MOAS001 R pdf McMillen Margot Ford 1994 Paris Tightwad and Peculiar Missouri Place Names Columbia Missouri University of Missouri Press p 20 ISBN 0 8262 0972 6 Walter A Schroeder 2002 Opening the Ozarks A Historical Geography of Missouri s Ste Genevieve District 1760 1830 University of Missouri Press ISBN 9780826263063 A Directory of Towns Villages and Hamlets Past and Present of Madison County Missouri http thelibrary org lochist moser madisonpl html State Historical Society of Missouri Madison County http shs umsystem edu manuscripts ramsay ramsay madison html Census of Population and Housing Census gov Retrieved June 4 2016 nbsp This Madison County Missouri state location article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mine La Motte Missouri amp oldid 1214678928, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
