INTRODUCTION
Howell,
unlike Weldon Springs, New Melle, Defiance,
and Wentzville, now will have to live in the memories of those who knew and
loved this quiet little Missouri
village in the fertile region between the two great rivers, the Missouri
and the Mississippi.
If it is to
be cherished in the memories of the descendants of former residents of the
village and prairie, some effort must be made to preserve for future
generations the history and tradition of this region where all homes and
buildings were obliterated in 1940.
Hence the
following data, the compiling of which has been a great pleasure to me. The
information has been obtained from documents in the office of the Recorder, St.
Charles, Missouri; from “Little Things” by my mother, Serena Castlio Hays; from
“Some Missouri Pioneers, Their Ancestors, Descendants, and Kindred from Other
States” by Mary Iantha Castlio; from “Pioneer Families of Missouri” by Bryan
and Rose; from former residents of Howell’s Prairie; from information obtained
by my husband, A. Ray Oliver, and me from inscriptions on stones in the Old
Dardenne Cemetery, the Francis Howell Cemetery, and the Thomas Howell Cemetery—all
in the area acquired by the Government in 1940.
Here, as I take my
solitary rounds
Amidst thy
tangling walks and ruined grounds,
And, many a year
elapsed, return to view
Where once the
cottage stood, the hawthorn grew,
Remembrance wakes
with all her busy train,
Swells at my
breast, and turns the past to pain.
