History

Prior to the first white settlement, the Smith Fork region of the Platte River country was largely inhabited by the Missouri Indian Tribe. Once one of the most power-full Indian tribes in the region, it was this tribe that lent its name to the Missouri River.

One of the first settlers in the Little Platte Valley was Humphrey Smith. Smith found a suitable fall in the creek and built a water-powered mill, the first flour mill in Clay County. A town eventually grew up around the mill and the village became known as Smith's Mill. The site later became present day Smithville.

Undoubtedly, the most notorious men from the area were the James Gang of the post-Civil War period. Frank and Jessie James were sons of a respected Baptist minister of Clay County, and Jesse was born just a few miles from the Little Platte River. After the war, the James brothers robbed banks and railroads, and indulged in other acts of lawlessness that gained them an image as outlaw folk heroes. Jesse James' home, located near Kearney, Missouri, has been designated as a National Historic Site and is open to the public.