BOONVILLE

city, seat (1818) of Cooper county, central Missouri, U.S. It lies along the Missouri River, 27 miles (43 km) west of Columbia. Settled in 1810 (by Kentuckians, among others) and named for Daniel Boone, it was enlarged as a fort during the War of 1812 and became an important trading post on the river and the Santa Fe Trail. During the American Civil War the first battle in the state was fought near Boonville, and the victory by Captain N. Lyon's Federal troops there is credited with preserving Missouri for the North. Thespian Hall (185557), allegedly the oldest theatre west of the Alleghenies, was used during the war as a supply depot, barracks, and hospital. Boonville is now an agriculture-trade centre with some light manufactures (electric appliances, shoes, wood products). It is the home of Kemper Military School and College (1844), the oldest military school west of the Mississippi, and the Missouri Training School for Boys (1889). Arrow Rock State Park is nearby. Inc. village, 1839; city, 1896. Pop. (1990) 7,095.