Springfield City Map Poster

About Springfield

The first recorded inhabitants of the Springfield area were the Osage Indians. The next known inhabitants were French trappers who used the Missouri River as a transportation route, and lived in villages along its banks. One such village was located at what is now the northwest corner of Second Street and Jefferson Avenue (then called "La Rue de l'Eau" or "Water Street"). This village was established about 1795 by Métis traders Pierre Laclède and François Chouteau, Jr., to serve as an outpost for their fur trading activities further upriver at Fort Kaskaskia on the Mississippi River. It remained under French control until 1803 when all American territory west of Louisiana was purchased by Thomas Jefferson during his presidency; it became part of what would become known as Missouri Territory in 1812 after Louisiana's admission into statehood that year.