History

The earliest evidence of human habitation of the Long Branch area dates back to the Paleo-Indian Culture, about 12,000 years ago. Archaeological investigations of the area indicate a pattern of seasonal and nomadic occupation. The last Native Americans to occupy the area were the Sauk and Fox tribes, who left in the 1830’s.

The Great Trail was an ancient route used by Native Americans which passed through the project area. It partially followed the great divide between the Missouri and Mississippi watersheds and ran through the site of what was to become the town of Bloomington.

Macon County pioneers, coming mostly from Kentucky and North Carolina, began arriving in the 1820’s. They preferred to settle in wooded areas of the county, which more closely resembled the areas they had migrated from. Hogs, tobacco, and hemp were important crops for early settlers.

The location of an old trade route known as the Bee Trace approximates the present route of U.S. Highway 63 which runs through Macon. Pioneers followed the trail each fall in search of honey, one of the few available sweeteners available to them, from the numerous bee trees along the route.

Bloomington was at one time the Macon County seat. It had several newspapers, a stage line, a tobacco factory, and a race track. The Bloomington community was sympathetic to the Confederacy during the Civil War, and as a result, the county seat was moved to Macon where a Union garrison was located.

Coal was discovered near the town of Bevier by a well digger in the 1850’s. Coal mining operations were soon underway and Bevier became the leading coal mining community in northern Missouri. Major coal mining activities in the Bevier coal field were discontinued in the 1990’s.