John OFallon, Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum Historic Tour Line Stop 30 скачать в хорошем качестве

John OFallon, Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum Historic Tour Line Stop 30

Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum is a key cultural institution in St. Louis, offering visitors a beautiful atmosphere for exploring history, art, architecture, and nature. We have a 3.7-mile newly painted white line to follow while in your car, on your bike, or on foot for your self-guided tour. Maps are available outside of our cemetery office highlighting 38 historic stops along this tour line. Stop 30 on the white line tour belongs to one of our Irish souls resting eternally here at Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum. Born in 1791, native St. Louisan Colonel John R. O’Fallon was a descendant of a long line of Irish kings on one side explorers on the other. John was the nephew of explorer William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition. John’s father James O'Fallon, was a physician who served as a surgeon in Washington's army during the Revolutionary War. After the war, James went to Louisville, Kentucky, and married Frances Clark, a sister of George Rogers Clark and explorer William Clark. In 1793, when John was two and his brother Benjamin was an infant, his father James died. His mother and uncle William raised John and Benjamin. In 1810, John graduated from college in Lexington, Kentucky. Following in his father's footsteps, John entered the army and fought in the War of 1812 where he rose to the rank of Captain. After the war ended, John settled in St. Louis and became assistant Indian Agent to William Clark. John then established a contracting business, buying and selling supplies to the Army, from which he accumulated wealth. He invested his newly acquired wealth in several very lucrative enterprises including the Branch Bank of the United States, where he was president and several railroads. He was one of the promoters of the Pacific Railroad (now Missouri Pacific), the North Missouri Railroad (now the Wabash), and the Ohio and Mississippi (now Baltimore and Ohio), He was the first president of each of these railroads. In the 1850s, brothers Nicholas and Arnold Krekel founded the town in Missouri and named it after O’Fallon because his railroad contributed to the city’s growth. O’Fallon Station, built in1854, along with a water tank, became O’Fallon, Illinois, and was incorporated in 1874. John was a philanthropist. He built medical buildings for Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Pope Medical College which became Washington University, and the O’Fallon Polytechnic Institute of Washington University, as well as a Methodist Church on the corner of Fourth Street and Washington. He also built a mansion on his estate, called Athlone, above the Mississippi River on the north end of St. Louis. The City eventually purchased it and set up O’Fallon Park, a public park in honor of the family. John died on December 17, 1865, in St. Louis and is buried here at Bellefontaine Cemetery. His monument is on the largest lot and is the work of famed architect George I. Barnett. To learn a little about history, iconography, and architecture, please watch this short video about John O’Fallon, stop #30 on Bellefontaine Cemetery’s historic tour line. Sign up to receive more information about the history of BCA. https://bellefontainecemetery.org/tou.... Photos courtesy of the Missouri History Museum, the web, and BCA files.