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17-774: The river is believed to have been named for Joseph Chorette, who drowned while swimming in the river as he accompanied the French Jean-Baptiste Truteau expedition up the Missouri in 1795. Variations of the name are Choret, Care and Carrette. Human occupation of the Chariton River valley dates back at least 1,500 years. Petroglyphs found at Thousand Hills State Park near the Chariton in Adair County featuring ceremonial carvings by Native Americans indicate early habitation as do

34-473: A long career in statewide elected office. In 1932 Forrest Smith was elected Missouri state auditor, a post he would hold for the next sixteen years until being elected governor in 1948 . According to the August 16, 1948, issue of Time magazine, Smith "helped himself get re-elected by reminding voters that he was the man who mailed out the old-age pension checks". From the outset, Forrest Smith's term as governor

51-544: A number of burial mounds found not far from the riverbanks. The petroglyph site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Chariton the Confessor was a 4th-century CE Christian saint from Asia Minor. White settlement along the river began in the early 1820s as pioneers ventured up the valley from Howard County, Missouri . With a few notable exceptions the interaction with the native Sac-Fox and Iowa tribes

68-464: Is a public recreation area covering over 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) two miles (3.2 km) west of Kirksville in Adair County , Missouri . The state park features 573-acre (232 ha) Forest Lake and Native American petroglyphs . By the late 1940s, the nearby city of Kirksville was in need of a larger and more reliable water supply than the Chariton River could provide. In October 1948,

85-689: Is used for fishing, swimming, and both motorized and non-motorized boating. A marina offers boat and equipment rentals. Two campgrounds provide a total of 57 campsites. Overnight accommodations are also offered at seven duplex cabins. Trails are available for hiking and bicycling and include the Carolyn Bagley Harding Trail, which is a paved trail being developed in cooperation with the community volunteer organization FLATS ( Forest Lake Area Trail System ). The park hosts an annual bass tournament in spring. The NEMO Triathlon formerly held in September

102-691: Is very low, largely because instream habitat has been so adversely affected by channelization and sedimentation". Major tributaries are Mussel Fork Creek and Shoal Creek. Because of extensive channeling the Little Chariton River, formerly a tributary, now flows directly into the Missouri about 7 miles (11 km) from the main branch. A branch of the Little Chariton was dammed in Macon County, Missouri to create Long Branch Reservoir . Thousand Hills State Park Thousand Hills State Park

119-724: The Forrest Smith for Governor Club. This mafia influence greatly tainted the relationship between Smith and the national Democratic Party. Despite this, Smith, as sitting governor, was the lead delegate to the 1952 Democratic National Convention. Additionally, the 1950 murder of Binaggio had closed off many avenues of fundraising and guaranteed votes. By now in his mid-60s with a lifetime of public service, Governor Smith retired from public life following completion of his term in January 1953. Governor Smith died March 8, 1962, in Gulfport, Mississippi. He

136-560: The Kirksville city council, through ordinance, officially designed the reservoir "Forest Lake" (with one "r") so named for the surrounding woodlands. The lands, but not the lake itself (owned by the city of Kirksville), were presented to the state of Missouri free of charge in return for the promise of establishing a state park and protecting the land around the water reservoir. It was named Thousand Hills State Park, in honor of Doctor Laughlin's Thousand Hills Farm that had formerly occupied part of

153-436: The family of local physician George Laughlin donated 1,100 acres (450 ha) to the city. The city of Kirksville matched the donation by purchasing an additional 1,150 acres (470 ha). Following voter passage of a special bond issue, land was acquired to construct a dam across Big Creek, a tributary of the Chariton. Upon its completion in summer 1952, the new reservoir was known as "Lake Kirksville" but by September that year

170-739: The gambling interests throughout the state that with their financial support Smith could win in the November election and they could "open up" the state. The amount of money the gamblers put up was estimated to be between $ 50,000 to $ 200,000, most of it from the St. Louis/East St. Louis area. The Smith-Binaggio connection and its effect on Mob business nationwide even played a part in Senator Estes Kefauver 's 1950 Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, in particular

187-432: The land. Missouri Governor Forrest Smith , who attended the 1953 ceremony, has been erroneously linked to several historical accounts that claim Forest Lake was named in his honor. A series of Native American rock carvings, listed on the National Register of Historic Places , are protected in an enclosed observation and interpretation center. The carvings are estimated to date back at least 1,500 years. The park's lake

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204-452: The parents of two daughters, Forrestine and Mary Josephine. Smith was a Methodist . Forrest Smith began his lifelong political career in 1910 when he became deputy assessor for Ray County, Missouri. In 1914 he was elected county clerk for Ray County, a post he held for the next eight years. From 1925 to 1932 Smith served on the Missouri state tax commission, a post that laid the groundwork for

221-647: The river in both Missouri and Iowa. As had the Native Americans before them, early settlers found an area rich with game for hunting, ample fish in the river, and large stands of timber. Below the Highway 136 bridge at Livonia, Missouri, the river has been channelized and dredged. The largest amount of this happened in 1948 and 1949 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, "public use of Chariton River watershed streams

238-532: The transaction. A few brief skirmishes between the Big Neck and Missouri militia were fought, the biggest being at a location known as "Battle Creek" in what is now southern Schuyler County, Missouri . Except for a brief period during the Black Hawk War immigration into the Chariton river valley increased rapidly during the 1830s and 1840s with several counties being formed and communities being established on or near

255-725: Was discontinued in 2017. In 2023, the park began hosting an annual Earth Day event in April and Archaeology Day in September. Forrest Smith Forrest Smith (February 14, 1886 – March 8, 1962) was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of Missouri . He was a Democrat . Forrest Smith was born February 14, 1886, near Hardin in Ray County, Missouri . After receiving his secondary education at Woodson Institute in Richmond, Missouri , Smith attended Westminster College . On October 12, 1915, he married Mildred Williams and they were

272-560: Was followed by whisper and innuendo, primarily that he owed his election to elements of organized crime. By 1948 reputed Kansas City mobster Charlie Binaggio had rebuilt a powerful political machine from the ashes of the one originally created by Boss Tom Pendergast , which he used in Smith's favor. According to American Mafia.com: When Binaggio swung the vote for Forrest Smith and he won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1948, he convinced

289-507: Was peaceful. The tribes primarily used northern Missouri areas along the river as hunting grounds and not for permanent residence. A misunderstanding between settlers and Chief Big Neck and a party of Iowa hunters in July, 1829 led to a conflict known as the Big Neck War. The Sac-Fox had ceded all hunting rights to northern Missouri in 1825, but Big Neck and his band of Iowa refused to acknowledge

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