Cole Camp, Missouri
Welcome to Cole Camp, Missouri
Cole Camp Real Estate
Located in Benton County, Missouri, Cole Camp is a historic town located where the Ozarks meet the great prairies. Cole Camp is best known for its annual street fair in September and also hosts a Maifest in May, an Oktoberfest in October, and a Christbaumfest in late November to highlight the city's German heritage.
Cole Camp boasts four or five buildings dating from pre-Civil War times and the downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. It also has a strong German heritage that is still evident in the many German festivals and heritage related events and in the large number of the area residents that still speak the Low German language brought over by their ancestors. The town prides itself on its neatness and their well kept homes as well as the orderly life of the community.
History of Cole Camp
Cole Camp is located along what was once known as the Military Road. This road was surveyed by Ezekiel Williams and included a section of road that would one day become Benton County. Williams was known as Zeke. He liked the area and was to return in 1829 or 1830, settling along what became Williams Creek, about four miles west of the present town site. It was here that he opened a trading post and a way-station for travelers and stage coaches. Zeke also established a post office and named it after his home town of Cole Camp, Kentucky.
The town site of Cole Camp was first settled in the 1830s and history records that the first person to stake out a claim and build a house on the site where Cole Camp is now located was Dr. Hosea Powers. The Powers' were soon joined by other settlers. The Kemper family were merchants and had what is believed to be the first store in Cole Camp. The Blakey family were also merchants operating a store at the corner of Hickory Street and the Butterfield Trail. Yet another early merchant in town was Septimus Martin
Anglo-Americans were the first settlers, coming from the south and bringing their southern culture and institutions. However, after 1835, a wave of immigrants from northern Germany began to move in to the farming areas northeast of town, bringing with them their low German language, strong work ethic, and Lutheran religion. These characteristics still tend to define the citiizenry of the area.
Immigrants came in waves and, soon, several Germans occupied the majority of the farms east, south, and north of town. they came in such large numbers and were such successful farmers that they were to become the predominant group in the area, giving the community the German character it retasins to this day.
Education in Cole Camp
Cole Camp public schools are overseen by the Cole Camp R-1 School District. There is one elementary, one middle school, and one high school located within Cole Camp. Additionally, the Lutheran School ASsociation is a private school for grades 1-8 that operates within Cole Camp's city limits.
Things to See & Do in Cole Camp
Residents of Cole Camp love to celebrate their heritage. This is evident in the many annual events that it holds, including the Irish/Celtic Festival, Maifest Art & Craft Show, Saengerfest, Antique FArm Equipment Show, Cole Camp Fair, Oktoberfest, Cemetery Walk, Christbaumfest and much more. Residents are kept busy all year long with these fun events plus plenty of outdoor recreation and youth sports.
