Osage Village State Historic Site
| Osage Village State Historic Site | |
| Missouri State Historic Site | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Missouri |
| County | Vernon County |
| Coordinates | 37°58′52″N 94°12′35″W / 37.98111°N 94.20972°WCoordinates: 37°58′52″N 94°12′35″W / 37.98111°N 94.20972°W |
| Area | 0.16 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Founded | 1984 |
  | |
| Website: http://mostateparks.com/osagevillage.htm | |
Osage Village State Historic Site in Vernon County, Missouri, is maintained by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as a state historic site. It was once the site of around 200 lodges and the home of 2,000 to 3,000 people.[1]
History
The Osage Indians were first recorded in 1673 by explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette. The territory claimed by the Osage at its greatest influence was vast and consisted of what is now southern Missouri, Arkansas, eastern Kansas and Oklahoma. Between 1700 and 1775, a group of the Osage lived on a high, open hilltop near the Osage River valley that today has been preserved as Osage Village State Historic Site.
At its height, the village contained 2,000 to 3,000 people and about 200 lodges. Pottery, weapons and tools excavated from the site have provided information about the daily lives of the villagers, who hunted, planted crops, processed hides and were very successful traders with the Europeans. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Osage Indians accounted for more than half of the total trade in furs along the Missouri River.
After the United States government took control of the Louisiana Purchase territory in 1804, the Osage Indians were gradually forced to retreat to Oklahoma. Through excavations they obtained information that demonstrated the shape of the house, which was rectangular.