Drove into Howard County, which originally covered the entire northeast quadrant of the state. Missouri lawmakers eventually carved 29 Missouri counties from its sprawling flanks. But even the slimmed-down Howard County packs a history: The ubiquitous Boone Family. Trail enthusiast Kit Carson. The movie Killer Diller. Benjamin Cooper’s first permanent settlement in 1810, which would become Fayette. And a piano player whose tune became the Missouri Waltz, for which he got no credit until long after his death.

Erifnus rolled off the brand new Missouri River bridge and drove up the embankment into a city whose charms are regularly overlooked. Like the other river towns up and down the Missouri River, Glasgow’s history extends to the beginnings of westward expansion. Its oldest homes saw the early settlers clutching the handrails of steamboats, and felt the heat from the Civil War. Those homes survive today to flavor the town’s hilltops.

Its oldest homes saw the early settlers clutching the handrails of steamboats, and felt the heat from the Civil War. Those homes survive today to flavor the town’s hilltops.

Nearer the river, the business district maintains the feel of the nineteenth century, including the oldest continuously operated soda fountain west of the Mississippi at Henderson Drug Store.

Fayette teems with aging elegance, from the old homes along the boulevard leading to Central Methodist University, to the town square around the stately old courthouse. Even vacant old structures cling to life like stubborn teeth in an aging jaw.

The town’s history-minded stewards work tirelessly to preserve these gems. Scaffolding rose beside one brick wall where an unfinished mural took shape. On this Monday morning in the mist, the scaffold was empty, no artist in sight.

The mural caused controversy. The state highway department thinks the scenes are nothing but billboards for local businesses. Indeed, most of the scenes include business names and telephone numbers, tastefully incorporated into the mural. The highway department looks at the mural and sees a rule infraction: illegal unlicensed roadside advertising sitting too close to a state-maintained road.

Who wouldn’t want their logo next to Missouri’s longest state highway? It’s the only Missouri state highway to traverse the entire state. More important, it crosses the threshold of every young boy’s frontier adventure, from Daniel Boone to Kit Carson, steamboats to wagon trains and railroad roundhouses.

On the town square Emmett’s Kitchen & Tap pumped out the aromas of Angry Shrimp and Heaven & Hell Pasta. It’s refreshing to find savory Louisiana cooking this far north. After an oyster po’boy and jambalaya, I found shady rest at an overnight with a sure-fire wake me up alarm bell.

And the piano player who wrote the “Missouri Waltz”? Edgar “Jelly” Settle is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery just outside New Franklin.

–from Souls Along the Road and Coastal Missouri