The Beginning of a Town
Kennett was an American Indian village long before the county was settled. Just as the Native Americans of this region thought it a desirable location, so did the early settlers. They relocated here and built small log cabins near the town's present site. Eventually, the pioneers made it official by giving the settlement the name, Chilletecaux, after a Delaware (Lenape) tribal chief who was living here at the time.
In 1845, Dunklin County was officially organized, and Chilletecaux was chosen as the county seat. Later, the town's name was changed to Butler. Residents thought the name, Chilletecaux, too long and hard to pronounce. The name, Butler, was eventually changed, as well, because the town's mail was constantly getting mixed up with mail intended for Butler County. In 1851, the community was finally renamed "Kennett," in honor of St. Louis Mayor, L. M. Kennett.
From Trappers to Timbermen to Township
Early settlers, hunters and trappers found the flat, alluvial plain in this area abundant with all types of timber: Tupelo gum, bald cypress, sycamore, oak, elm, hickory, ash and cottonwood. Eventually, they were followed by woodsmen intent on harvesting these forests.
As the town developed into a noted cotton, soybean and livestock farming area, it also grew as a trade and legal center. The first Circuit Court met in 1846, in a 10 ft. x 12 ft. round-pole hut, scarcely high enough for judge and jury to stand in. Jurors A. D. Bridges and E. Holtzhouser helped lay the puncheon-style timber slab floor, smooth on one side, rough on the other. One of the lawyers, H. H. Bedford, lined the wall with coarse cotton panels that protected court documents from flying around the room, carried on winds whistling through the gaps in the pole walls. Crude wooden slabs with peg legs provided the only seating, except for a few chairs borrowed from generous residents. The building also served as the town's first school and church. By 1847, a 40 ft. square courthouse, standing one-and-a-half stories high and made from hewn gum logs, replaced the original pole hut.
The Independent State of Dunklin
In 1862, during the Civil War, Dunklin County adopted a resolution to secede from the Union. The county became known as the "Independent State of Dunklin." Union troops briefly occupied Kennett in1863, and guerrilla raiders constantly roamed the area.
Kennett had been steadily growing, with strong prospects for the future, when the war broke out. When the war ended, however, the town was a shadow of its former self, as was much of the rest of the country. The courthouse, as well as dozens of other buildings, lay in piles of burned ashes. Businesses were destroyed, operations were suspended. In short, daily life in the town came to stop. Kennett had to be almost entirely rebuilt.
Economic recovery began with the arrival in town of the Little River Valley/Arkansas (Cotton Belt) Railroad line in 1892. By 1893, Kennett boasted newly-built brick shops on the south side of the downtown courthouse square, as well as four attractive new churches, and a $9,000 public school building, with over 400 students enrolled.
In 1845, Dunklin County was officially organized, and Chilletecaux was chosen as the county seat. Later, the town's name was changed to Butler. Residents thought the name, Chilletecaux, too long and hard to pronounce. The name, Butler, was eventually changed, as well, because the town's mail was constantly getting mixed up with mail intended for Butler County. In 1851, the community was finally renamed "Kennett," in honor of St. Louis Mayor, L. M. Kennett.
From Trappers to Timbermen to Township
Early settlers, hunters and trappers found the flat, alluvial plain in this area abundant with all types of timber: Tupelo gum, bald cypress, sycamore, oak, elm, hickory, ash and cottonwood. Eventually, they were followed by woodsmen intent on harvesting these forests.
As the town developed into a noted cotton, soybean and livestock farming area, it also grew as a trade and legal center. The first Circuit Court met in 1846, in a 10 ft. x 12 ft. round-pole hut, scarcely high enough for judge and jury to stand in. Jurors A. D. Bridges and E. Holtzhouser helped lay the puncheon-style timber slab floor, smooth on one side, rough on the other. One of the lawyers, H. H. Bedford, lined the wall with coarse cotton panels that protected court documents from flying around the room, carried on winds whistling through the gaps in the pole walls. Crude wooden slabs with peg legs provided the only seating, except for a few chairs borrowed from generous residents. The building also served as the town's first school and church. By 1847, a 40 ft. square courthouse, standing one-and-a-half stories high and made from hewn gum logs, replaced the original pole hut.
The Independent State of Dunklin
In 1862, during the Civil War, Dunklin County adopted a resolution to secede from the Union. The county became known as the "Independent State of Dunklin." Union troops briefly occupied Kennett in1863, and guerrilla raiders constantly roamed the area.
Kennett had been steadily growing, with strong prospects for the future, when the war broke out. When the war ended, however, the town was a shadow of its former self, as was much of the rest of the country. The courthouse, as well as dozens of other buildings, lay in piles of burned ashes. Businesses were destroyed, operations were suspended. In short, daily life in the town came to stop. Kennett had to be almost entirely rebuilt.
Economic recovery began with the arrival in town of the Little River Valley/Arkansas (Cotton Belt) Railroad line in 1892. By 1893, Kennett boasted newly-built brick shops on the south side of the downtown courthouse square, as well as four attractive new churches, and a $9,000 public school building, with over 400 students enrolled.
Kennett Chamber of Commerce
1601 First Street
Kennett, Missouri 63857
(573) 888-5828 • Contact Us
1601 First Street
Kennett, Missouri 63857
(573) 888-5828 • Contact Us
