The German Heritage of East Central Missouri

By Taylor James Staff Writer

Gottfried Duden helped settle German immigrants in Missouri during the 19th century along the Missouri river.  

The first ever German settlement in Missouri was Dutzow in 1832. Dorris Keeven Franke, a public historian and head of the Missouri Germans Consortium, is in awe of Gottfried Duden because of how he’s impacted East Central Missouri. Duden self-published a book in 1829, that suggested Germans should come settle among the Missouri river. People who opposed his findings called his book “fake news” and gave Duden the nickname “Dream spinner”. Duden’s book and findings in Dutzow impacted East Central Missouri to this day.  

The town of Washington, Mo. was settled by Daniel Boone’s followers, but also German immigrants. There were 13 German Catholic families that were trying to head to Illinois because it was a non-slave state (Most Germans were opposed to slavery), but Henry Meyer read Gottfried Duden’s writings to his fellow Germans. The St. Francis Borgia parish, as this group was called, changed course and headed toward the Missouri river. They wanted to settle north of the Missouri river because that’s where Gottfried Duden had settled. There was a man named Bernard Fricke who had a tavern on the south side of the river in what is now present-day Washington, Mo. So that’s how the first Germans came to Washington, Missouri in 1833, and Washington is full of stories of German heritage.  

There were other settlements that took place north of the Missouri river. Many Germans in 1831 came to an area near, what was called Mt. Pleasant during their time, but is now called Augusta. The Mallinkrodt family were around Mt. Pleasant/Augusta area since the beginning of its establishment. One of the most well-known Mallinckrodt members for people near this area was Anita Mallinkrodt. Anita was a librarian until she passed, but she was also a historian and a journalist. She kept record of the town by producing the Augusta Neighborhood News. Anita’s family also created another settlement called Dortmund in 1836, which is now incorporated into part of St. Charles County, Mo.  

Many different settlements along the Missouri river because of Gottfried Duden’s writings, but also there’s something important to keep in mind. Many of the Germans who came to Midwest America could be found within something called the German triangle. The triangle is part of cities such as St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati. When someone breaks down the situation being discussed on a map about the German Heritage of East Central Missouri, then they look deeper at St Louis. The Missouri river across the state of Missouri stretches from Kansas City to St Louis, but from Jefferson City to St Louis, that’s where the Missouri Rhineland is mainly located. The Missouri Rhineland is the area in what Duden found in his writings and thought that it would be a good idea for Germans to settle there.  

These settlements that are Dutzow, Augusta, and Washington still hold true today and offer rich history as well as exploration. Dutzow being the first German settlement along the Missouri river doesn’t have much population left, however it is still a part of the Katy Trail and Missouri highway TT that runs through it. Baron Johann Wilhelm von Bock was the founder of this village in 1832 which was once analyzed by Gottfried Duden. There’s a general store and deli restaurant still left in Dutzow and the restaurant does sell German food during the weekends. The name of the restaurant is Dutzow Deli and Restaurant and it’s owned by Tina Kuster. The general store in Dutzow has two stories and is made up of the original architecture that the Germans built.  

Augusta, Mo. is off of Missouri State Route 94 and the street that takes a car into Augusta is Jackson Street. There’s a library off to the left once someone is in Augusta, the library is a part of the St. Charles County library branches, but at one time Anita Mallinkrodt worked there. Centennial Farms is in Augusta, Mo. and that’s off to the right of Jackson Street before getting to the library. Centennial Farms has been in Augusta since 1821 and has been owned by the same family since 1854. The farm was sold to a Bavarian, Christian Knoerschild, adding more to the legacy of the Germanic roots of Augusta.  

A very well known Germantown in Missouri, Hermann, Mo. was also affected by the writings of Duden. Hermann was established by the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia, who were a group of people who wanted to settle along the Missouri river. Hermann today has a few streets with German names and a German style. Some of the German streets’ names are Schiller, Mozart, and Gutenburg. Hermann is also home to a Missouri State historic site called the Deutschheim and the building shares the history of Hermann.  

Washington, Mo. has a very rich German history that impacts the city of St. Louis. Katie Dieckhaus, historian at the Washington Historical Society, broke this story down with different key figures. The first part of the story being about the St. Borgia Parish charter coming to Washington and finding the settlement south of the river. The Civil War happened and during that time, a man named Franz Wilhelmi took part in creating something called the Washington Turn Verein. Turn Verein means Gymnastics club in German and Wilhelmi made his club compete in competitions, but also helped train Union soldiers during the Civil War. Hans Schwartzer, who came to the US and wanted to be a farmer, bought land in Holstein, Mo. during 1862. Schwartzer came to Washington, Mo. in 1867 and was able to craft a musical instrument called a zither. Zithers were instruments that were well known back home from where Schwartzer was from and he made Zithers that were so well crafted, that he won the “Gold Medal of Progress” for his Zithers. One of St. Louis’ most famous families, the Busch brothers, have roots in Washington. John B. Busch opened up his own brewery in Washington, this being a separate entity than Anheuser-Busch and they started selling John B. Busch beer. After prohibition had ended, John B. Busch Brewery was hit, and the place went out of business. The first Busch beer created was made as a tribute to John B. Busch brewery. Washington proclaims itself as the Corn Cob Pipe capital of the World and that does have a basis to be built upon. Henry Tibbe, a dutchman, started selling quality corn cob pipes in Washington. His business still stands today and is called Missouri Meerschaum and it’s Washington, Mo. The oldest business in Washington, Mo. is Bleckman Machine Supply Inc. and has been in Washington since 1834 and the business was founded by a German immigrant, John Bleckman.  

East Central Missouri is full of rich German Heritage that still impacts the towns today. Gottfried Duden was the mastermind behind a lot of these events, but people followed him and created these settlements. These settlements shape this certain region of Missouri and the way of life down in these counties.