Day Trip

by Vicki Wood

Missouri River Steamboat days

The Katy Trail State Park runs 240 miles between Clinton and Machens with 26 trailheads, including one in Rocheport. Charming restaurants and boutiques are a great stop-off along the trail.

Missouri Division of Tourism photos

Commerce in Missouri took a hard hit with the Civil War from 1861-1865. One area in particular took on a second wave, when at the end of the war years in 1864, Sterling Price tried to revamp a final acquisition of the Booneslick Country area with a high concentration of pro-confederacy civilians there. Four days before “Bloody Bill” Anderson’s raid and massacre on Union forces at Centralia, he tore up and burned a business district in Rocheport on his way there. What Anderson didn’t count on was the strength of the steamboat commerce at Rocheport, which thrived long before the Civil War. It continued to carry the small town through those hard times, and birthed what is still a popular tourist spot today.

Steamboat merchants enjoyed a thriving business at Rocheport’s low docking inlets naturally snuggled up to the rocky cliff faces. The name of the town was originally designated as “Rockport.” It changed when a French missionary showed up later when the town was being platted and Roche happened to be his name.

When walking or biking the Katy Trail from the visitor’s center, a short journey takes one to the areas that can clearly still be imagined with river commerce coming and going. There are humble roots there, however. Rocheport’s river trade began with one man and a ferry. John Gray opened a single ferry in 1819. By 1835 there were stores in Rocheport, and two years later there were many more ferries and became a busy crossing for travelers heading west. Daily landings of steamboats at Rocheport

by 1849 had established the town as the largest shipping point between St. Louis and St. Joseph with a population of 500 citizens and 200 slaves. Along with all of the imported goods grown or produced rolling out of Rocheport by boat, ice became a big commodity in the winter months. Ice was cut from the river and stored in ice houses insulated with sawdust and straw. There are still very old stone structures that can be seen peeking through the wooded river bottoms along the Katy Trail that possibly could be that storage mentioned.

The first steamboats were not without problems. It was dangerous, hard work. Boiler problems caused fires, and injuries and burns of workers were common. The frequency of contagious illness was also a reality for river commerce. A cholera epidemic hit Rocheport in 1833, 1849, and 1852. Nevertheless, the town commerce thrived. Floods were a difficulty, at times covering the perfect docking conditions with flood waters that would reach to the downtown businesses. The mode of travel became so reliable that people began riding along with goods, and enjoying excursions, with nighttime excursions being a favorite of residents and visitors. An excursion to the once named Mammoth Cave, three miles below Rocheport was advertised by The Plow Boy steamboat. The Rocheport Cave Conservation Area still exists and can be visited by walking the Katy Trail from the train depot toward the Lewis and Clark trail points highlighted on the handy visitor boards outside the Rocheport Katy Trail visitors center.

Steamboat days were over when the railroad came through, although a few excursions lingered until the 1920s. You can still take your own excursion by river, and imagine the popularity of what this section of the Missouri River had to offer by checking out Mighty Mo Canoe Rental. Easily found at 101 Lewis Street in Rocheport, this company will guide visitors on their very own river experience. The paddle expedition by kayak or canoe takes groups on one of the most scenic journeys of the Missouri River. It pinpoints Lewis and Clark Expedition stops, and Native American heritage, establishing their existence in the area. Online reservations at www.mighty-mo.com are suggested and the adventure begins each Saturday at 1 p.m. from Katy Trail Bed and Bikefest. It’s only $35 per person.

This leaves plenty of money to have a nice meal while in town. There are handy food grabs for adventurers right up to the trail. Meriweather Café and Bike Shop is the choice for this day trip because it was convenient, located right on the parking lot of the Katy Trail. It was exciting to find that they are focused on serving food sourced from local ingredients. Boasting 10 local producers, the Meriweather Café is a good balance of healthy and hearty, perfect for all of the outdoorsy visitors to the trail. Anything made with Missouri local Hemme Bros. Cheese is a good thing, and this menu features it. Smoothie bowls or house made granola smothered in local honey looks good. But for a full day of adventuring, their fluffy stacks of pancakes are more fitting. After expending a lot of energy exploring the river, one can return for dinner for a warming bowl of chili, corn chowder, or a Hemme Bros. Cheese smothered burger.

Meriweather’s Café and Bike Shop is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily but closed on Wednesdays at 700 1st Street, Rocheport. *Sources -- www.waymarking.com, www.hmdb.org, Rocheport Chamber of Commerce