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About O'Fallon

It’s no secret that the beginning days of pioneering in the United States was a dangerous and sometimes life threatening adventure. O’Fallon Missouri was no different back in those times, and if you meet with your O’Fallon tutor you might hear mention of the Zumwalt fort. To understand the fort, however, you must understand the times.

When settlers first starting attempting to tame the great West, they found resistance in the Native American tribes that lived there. These tribes felt that the settlers were poaching on to territory that had been there’s for generations. When a fellow Native American tribe did such a violation, the retaliation was often harsh and unrelenting, and they felt no different when settlers started doing this. While the methods may have been harsh and unkind, these Native Americans knew not if the settlers would live peacefully among them or take away what they felt they had a right to.

This caused many dangerous situations and lives were lost. Pioneer families no longer felt safe on their own homesteads, and would often team together. There is safety in numbers and it was easier to construct an imposing fort on one property then 20 properties. This is where the history of Zumwalt fort begins.

Jacob Zumwalt had settled in the area around 1798, and built a large wood cabin for him and his extended family. As the guerilla raids on settlers got worse, other settlers in the area began to flee to Zumwalts fortress, which was said to also have been surrounded by a stockade fence. This banding together helped to ensure the safety of the families, and more hands on the farm was always welcome!

Today we don’t face those same dangers, but Zumwalt’s fort still stands for those who want to visit. It is the only rebuilt settler for in the state, and provided educational information as well as hands on experience for those interested to learn more. If you just recently been covering history lessons of the United States with your O’Fallon tutor, this might be a good place to stop at. Interpretative signs help give visitors information about the fort itself, as well as the inhabitants that lived in it. It provides details on how the settlement may have been run, and details on how some things were done. It’s a great hands on lesson for anyone, and helps to drive home just how dangerous conditions were for the first settlers of O’Fallon Missouri.