[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 10, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E885]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





     CELEBRATING THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VILLAGE OF CALEDONIA

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                            HON. JASON SMITH

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 10, 2019

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
Village of Caledonia in Washington County, Mo. Caledonia was 
established in 1819 when Alexander Craighead named the village after 
his native Scotland and built a home there that still stands today. 
Caledonia is Latin for Scotland.
   Caledonia was officially organized as an incorporated village on 
November 6, 1874 and the first appointed mayor was Alexander C. Relfe, 
son of Congressman James H. Relfe. The little town was home to history 
in our country's expansion west of the Mississippi. The first 
Presbyterian Church, the first Masonic Lodge, and the second Methodist 
Church west of the river are all located in the village. Its first two 
businesses were Tom Sloan's blacksmith and Fergus Sloan's brewery. 
Caledonia was also home to the Bellevue Collegiate Institute that 
operated from 1864 until 1902. One of its first presidents, Willard 
Duncan Vandiver, went on to become a U.S. Congressman and is credited 
with coining the phrase, ``I'm from Missouri--you'll have to show me!''
   The Village of Caledonia was designated in 1984 by the Department of 
the Interior as a Place of Historical Designation. Today, Caledonia is 
a quaint little village of shops, eateries and places to stay that has 
kept this charming community of 130 people thriving in the 21st 
century. It is my great pleasure to celebrate Caledonia today on the 
occasion of its bicentennial birthday before the U.S. House of 
Representatives.

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