The Spring of Arrow Rock

For pioneers, homesteaders, and sundry others following the call to head west in early 1800s, one of the most popular routes to get there was over the Santa Fe Trail. No matter who you were, though, one thing was needed more than anything else on such a journey: water. So sites of natural springs, especially ones that had a significant and reliable flow, quickly became imporatant places. Arrow Rock was one of those.

Most sources today recognize Independence, Missouri as the beginning of the Santa Fe Trail, with it ending in Santa Fe, New Mexico (and at the time the trail was established as a trade route, Santa Fe was in the Mexican state of Nuevo Mexico). Independence itself was frontier territory, and travelers departing from St. Louis by land had quite a trek just to get to the beginning. For others, it meant a trip up the Missouri River a ways. Arrow Rock was on the western bank of the Missouri, roughly half-way between St. Louis and Independence, and was a popular jumping-off point because its spring. Travelers would stop at the spring to fill their water barrels before continuing west.

The site has quite a history, dating back to to pre-history. A nearby flint-bearing bluff was frequented by Native Americans from several tribes looking for stone to make arrowheads. Louis and Clark stopped here, noting the spring. On a subsequent trip, Clark noted that the site would be the ideal spot for a town. And one naturally grew up here, starting in 1829.

Today, the site is part of the Arrow Rock Historic Site, and the spring is still there, and still flowing. Waymark.com user BruceS posted a photo, which can be seen here of the spring from a similar angle.