Last updated: February 3, 2026
Place
Salem Park
Photo/Larry Short
Quick Facts
Location:
19901 E Old Lexington Rd, Independence MO 64058
Significance:
Salem Park is in the vicinity of important locations along the Santa Fe Trail. Little Blue River Crossing, Owens Landing, and Blue Mills served as purposeful locations for travelers on the trail.
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
This is one of 29 markers placed by the Missouri Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution from 1912 to 1913 to trace the route of the Santa Fe Trail through the State of Missouri. In 2016, Jackson County in cooperation with the National Parks Service created Salem Park to showcase the DAR marker and provide interpretive signs on the site’s history. In 1909 the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a red granite marker here near New Salem Church to mark for posterity this location at or near important historical sites that date from the earliest days of the Santa Fe Trail.
Little Blue River & Santa Fe Trail Crossing
Landmarks and river crossings helped Santa Fe travelers find their way across 900
miles from Franklin, Missouri to Santa Fe. The Little Blue River crossing, located
two miles northeast of Salem Park, provided both. Known in 1825 as Fristoe’s
Fishtrap (named after its builder Richard Fristoe) this crossing was also a well-known
landmark. In 1827 the western boundary of Fort Osage township was
designated as a line from Prines Ferry on the Missouri thence Southwardly by a
direct line so as to strike Little Blue at Fristoes Fish trap, thence up the said creek.
Independence and Owens Landing
In 1827 Independence became the county seat and a place where trade flourished.
Samuel Owens thrived as a supplier and credit broker to other traders and as
a successful Santa Fe trader himself. In the earliest days after the founding of
Independence, Owens developed a river landing on the Missouri at Prines Ferry.
Owens Landing handled goods destined for the burgeoning supply business done
at outfitting stores run by Owens and his partners the Aull brothers (John, Robert,
and James) in Independence, Liberty, Lexington, and Richmond.
Blue Mills
Soon entrepreneurs Samuel Owens and James Aull had another use for Owens
Landing. By 1834 they hired well-known millwright Michael Rice to build an
imposing four-story grist mill on the Little Blue River near the former site of
Fristoe’s Fishtrap and the Santa Fe Trail crossing. Blue Mills began grinding flour to
be shipped from Owens Landing, located three miles to the west. Owens Landing
was then and forever after known as Blue Mills Landing. The mill is no longer standing.
Site Information
Location (19901 E Old Lexington Rd, Independence MO 64058)