François Chouteau

Infobox Person
name = François Gesseau Chouteau


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = birth date|1797|2|7|df=y
birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, US
death_date = death date and age|1838|4|18|1797|2|7|df=y
death_place = Kansas City, Missouri, US
death_cause =

François Gesseau Chouteau (St Louis, 7 February 1797 – † Kansas City, 18 April ] 1838) and his wife, Berenice Chouteau, often are cited as being the first white settlers of Kansas City, Missouri. He was the nephew of René Auguste Chouteau.

In 1821, he set up a permanent trading post in the great bend in the Missouri River that makes up Kansas City's Northeast Industrial District (crossed today by the Chouteau Trafficway). In 1826, following a flood, Chouteau moved his trading post to higher ground near present-day Troost Avenue's intersection with the river. [ [http://www.kcmo.org/kcmo.nsf/web/kchistory "A History of Kansas City" (KCMO.org)] ]

In 1827, Chouteau and other members of the Chouteau clan became part of the American Fur Company, and his warehouse became the headquarters the company's western trading routes. [ [http://www.kansascityrivermarket.com/history.htm The River Market for History!] ]

His family financed the area's first Catholic church, which was located on Quality Hill at what the present-day intersection of 11th and Pennsylvania Streets, on the site of the present-day Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, known for its "gold dome," which is the seat of the Archdiocese of Kansas City and St. Joseph.

References