Established: Nov. 16, 1820,effective Jan. 1, 1821
Parent County: Cooper
County Seat: Jefferson City
Named After: Stephen Cole, pioneer settler and Indian fighter

COLE COUNTY
[The Source is: P.M. Pinckard, The Missouri handbook, St. Louis, 1865, 162 pgs.- Transcribed by Donna Walton]

Is situated on the Missouri river, near the center of the State. The face of the country is generally rolling or broken, with thin soil, generally well adapted to the growth of small grain and fruits of all kinds. On the bottoms of the Missouri, Osage and Moreau, is good alluvial soil; very fertile, embracing perhaps one-fourth of the area of the county. The soil and climate are favorable to fruit culture; the peaches seldom fail, and all kinds of fruits, including the grape, yield abundantly. The interior of the county is drained by Moreau creek, which rises so rapidly and to such a height, that it is upon some maps called a river. Fish are numerous in this stream; and it is related by a former representative from this county who had a mill upon the Moreau, that the fish were so numerous as to frequently clog the wheels and stop the mill. Then the only alternative was to shut the gate and beat the water with poles, to drive them away! The Capitol of the State, Jefferson City, is located in this county, and the beautiful limestone from which the Capitol building is constructed, is very abundant, forming a stratum of upwards of forty feet in thickness, in the bluffs upon with Jefferson City is situated. Limestone suitable for making hydraulic cement is found in the bluffs above the city, and sandstone, for building, and sand and clay for brick are also abundant. Timber in great variety and good size is found on the bluffs and in the valleys. (For history of Cole county, see "Missouri As It Is", pages 234 and 235.) Both lead ore and coal are found in the county, but no systematic mining has been done.

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