Last updated: January 10, 2023
Place
Boone’s Lick State Historic Site
Photo/NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Adjacent to Missouri State Highway 187 (County Road 328), between Lisbon and Petersburg (and east of Arrow Rock) in Howard County, Boonesboro, MO
Significance:
The Boone's Lick Road, which connected Franklin with this spot, served as the first leg of the Santa Fe Trail
Designation:
National Register of Historic Places; Certified Site
MANAGED BY:
A map of Passport and Places to Go locations for National Historic Trails.
In the heart of what is now called Howard County, Missouri, three natural salt springs merged into Salt Creek. Because of the presence of salt in the water, animals often licked the ground nearby where salt had risen to the surface. Thus, the area was called a “salt lick,” later to be named Boone’s Lick after the two men who settled and opened a salt works there.
Salt was an incredibly important resource, and thus, Boone’s Lick was important for Native Americans, and later, Euro-American settlers in the central Missouri River area. In 1806, brothers Nathan and Daniel Morgan Boone (sons of famous frontiersman Daniel Boone) began using the salt lick to extract salt which they sold in St. Louis. The brothers built a sizeable operation using a boiling method.
The route to the salt lick was originally a Native American trace but had been cut and widened to accommodate increasing traffic. The road, which became known as Boone’s Lick Road, led from the St. Louis area to Franklin, MO (south of Boone’s Lick). The terminus of Boone’s Lick Road became the start of the Santa Fe Trail in 1821, creating a continuous path between St. Charles and Santa Fe.
The area near Boone’s Lick became known as “Boone’s Lick Country” and was a major site for Westward emigration in the 1800’s. The area was fertile, not only with salt, but with timber, water, and wild game. Today, the area is part of Boone’s Lick State Historic Site which includes 52 acres of wooded area and the remains of the original salt works.
Site Information
Location (Adjacent to Missouri State Highway 187 (County Road 328), between Lisbon and Petersburg (and east of Arrow Rock) in Howard County, Boonesboro, MO)
Boone’s Lick is a heavily wooded area featuring three salt springs and a salt creek. Some remnants of the salt works are visible, including wooden posts rising from Salt Creek and one large spherical cast iron kettle originally used to boil saltwater.