SNELSON - BRINKER

The Snelson-Brinker House, located in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks region, is a place where the histories of hopeful pioneer life converged with tragic events. Levi Lane Snelson moved west from Ohio into Missouri in 1832 to help establish the new Maramec Iron Works as the largest iron production operation west of the Mississippi. He built the original cabin as his home in 1834. His log home was also the Crawford County Circuit Court meeting place in 1835 & 1836 with Levi serving as Justice of the Peace in 1836.

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Levi sold part of his farm and the cabin to John Brinker in 1837. The Brinker’s were witness to two tragedies shortly after. The first was the murder of their eldest daughter, Vienna Jane, that involved the Missouri Supreme Court in the subsequent trial and conviction. The second was the appearance of the BB Cannon detachment of Cherokee who were forced from their homes and were westward bound on the Trail of Tears. Records reveal that detachments of Cherokee camped on the property near the Snelson-Brinker cabin and nearby in the Meramec River bottom before continuing west through the Ozark hills. The harsh winter and Trail of Tears claimed lives and there were Indian burials near the cabin.

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Sadly, the Snelson-Brinker cabin was burned on July 4th, 2017. The Snelson Brinker Foundation was formed to reconstruct the cabin, repair a smokehouse/root cellar that was added in 1880, and preserve the important histories that converged on the site from 1834 to present day. Explore this website and the Snelson Brinker Facebook page to discover early Missouri history as it happened at the cabin.

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Understanding our past informs and shapes our future. The mission of the Snelson Brinker Foundation, and those who have generously provided their time, skills and funds, is restoration and preservation of this historic witness site for the benefit of Americans and visitors from abroad who seek an understanding of pioneer life in Missouri, early Missouri history, the Maramec iron trade, and the tragic Trail of Tears Cherokee displacement.

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Please join us with your support to preserve this historic site for future generations.

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Frank J. Snelson