Henry R. Schoolcraft

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was born near Albany, New York March 28, 1793. His family had a glassmaking business. When he graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont he worked for the glass factory for a while. But, he soon decided to head west. He wanted to explore new territory, and write about these explorations. He headed down the Ohio River to Missouri. Here he started studying geography (which is the study of the earth and its people), geology (which is the study of history through rocks) and mineralogy (which is the study of rocks). He wrote about these studies in the book A View of the Lead Mines of Missouri.

While he was in Missouri he wrote many entries in his Journal about the Ozarks. He was very interested in the rivers, springs and caves. He also described the mountains, forests and prairies that make up this area. And, he wrote about the animals like bear, deer, beaver buffalo, and elk that lived here. He explored and crossed many rivers in the Ozarks during his travels. He wrote about the James River and Pearson Creek, which are both in Springfield. While he was in the Ozarks he met some of the people that lived here. He met a few frontiersmen, he met farmers, and he also met some Native Americans.

Schoolcraft’s Journal was the first written account of an exploration through the Ozarks. But, this was not his only accomplishment. He did many great things in his life. He went on many explorations on the Northern Mississippi and around the Great Lakes. He was an Indian Agent around the Great Lakes. He married a woman that was half Native American. She was an Ojibwa, so Schoolcraft learned the Ojibwa language. He wrote many books on Native Americans and their history. He is considered by some people to be one of the greatest ethnologists on Native Americans. (An ethnologist is someone who studies human races.)

Henry R. Schoolcraft was very important to the history of the Ozarks. Because of this a part of Highway 65 in Springfield is named after him. It is called the Schoolcraft Freeway.

Author: Lacey Hanes

Sources:
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001. Columbia University Press.
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe. The Papers of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, 1973. Found on: http://www.library.utoronto.ca/robarts/microtext/collection/pages/schoolhr.html
Henry R. Schoolcraft, Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansaw, from Potosi, or Mine a Burton, in Missouri Territory, in a South-West Direction, toward the Rocky Mountains, Performed in the Years 1818 and 1819. London: Richard Phillips and Company, 1821