Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/329

 CHAPTER XX WASHINGTON AND PERRY COUNTIES PoTosi Laid Out and Incoepokated- -Old Mines — Caledonia — Perryville — Longtown Altenburg. Potosi, the county seat of Washington county situated in Breton township at the end of the branch line of the Iron Moimtain Railroad, is one of the oldest towns in this part of the state, the first settlement having been made in that town in 1763. At first it was called Mine a Breton, but the name was changed to Potosi when the town was incor- porated in 1826. It is impossible to tell who erected the first house in Potosi, though it is supposed that it was a member of the Valle family of Ste. Genevieve. The first settlers at the place came because of the lead mine which was discovered by Francois Breton ; the permanent settlement of the place dates from about 1790 and its principal growth began with the coming of Moses Austin, who secured a large grant of land from the Spanish gov- ernment. Austin made his home at Potosi or Mine a Breton, as it was then called, and built for himself a stone house known as Durham Hall. It was the finest residence west of the Mississippi river for a great many years and was burned in 1872. Austin also erected a large smelting plant, being the first reverberatory furnace in Missouri. He was also interested in other enterprises and did much for the building up of the town. When Louis- iana was transferred to the United States in 1808 there were twenty families at Mine a Breton and the town contained two grist mills, a saw mill, Austin's smelter and shot tower and a sheet lead factory operated by Elias Bates. Potosi L.ud Out and Incorporated When Washington county was organized in 1813, Austin donated forty acres and John Rice Jones ten acres for a county seat; the town was laid out and called Potosi. For a time there were two villages adjoining, one known as Potosi, the other Mine a Breton ; they were consolidated and incorporated in 1826 under the name of Potosi. At the time of the incorporation the town had a population of about 400. Among the buildings were a court house, a jail, a school, two churches. Catholic and Methodist Episcopal, besides a number of business buildings of various kinds. At the present time there are six churches, good public school building, the Bank of Po- tosi, with a capital of $15,000, Washmgtou County Bank, with a capital of $10,000, a flouring mill and a number of business estab- lishments of various kinds. The streets are graded and lighted. The present population is 772. There are two weekly papers. The In- dependent, a Democratic paper, and The Journal, which is Republican. 269