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Washington County, Missouri
With just 762 square miles and 24,000
residents, Washington County is among
Missouri’s smaller regions. It was organized in August 1813 from Ste.
Genevieve and named for George Washington. The county seat is Potosi. The town
was named after Potosi, Bolivia, a silver mining town. “Potosi” is a South
American Indian word for “place of much noise", other towns in the county
are Caledonia, Irondale, Mineral Point.
Despite its size, the county is big on recreation. The Berrryman Camp &
Trail National Forest is a 24-mile loop through the Mark Twain National Forest.
A variety of Ozark flora and fauna is featured throughout the trail. The trail
starts at Berryman Campground, the site of a Civilian Conservation Corps Camp of
the same name from 1937 until the start of World War II.
Local legend has it that the Jesse James gang frequently camped in a cave near
the trail. Other challenging trails that pass through the county are the Ozarks
Trail, Trace Creek Trail and Moses Austin Trail. The historic "Trail of
Tears", the route which carried the forced march of the Cherokee Indians
from the Southeastern United States to a reservation in Oklahoma, passed through
the county.
Other places of interest in the region:
Big River
Courtois Creek
Hughes Mountain
Indian Creek
Little Indian Creek |
Lost Creek
Mark Twain National Forest
Meramec State Park
Mineral Fork |
Washington
State Park
Washington State Park Hardwoods Natural Area |
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