[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING LACLEDE COUNTY, MISSOURI, AND THE CITY OF LEBANON, 
                     MISSOURI, ON 175TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. SCHMITT. Madam President, I rise today to honor the 175th 
anniversary of the organization of Laclede County, MO, and its county 
seat, Lebanon.
  As America expanded westward in the 1800s, Laclede County and Lebanon 
served as a crossroads. On February 24, 1849, the city and county were 
established. Pierre Laclede, a French fur trader and the founder of St. 
Louis, MO, is the county's namesake. The region witnessed the rapid 
change ushered by innovated modes of transportation like the railroad 
and later the highway system, including the famous Route 66 in the 
1920s. Today, I-44 traces a similar route in this area and Laclede 
County continues as an intersection between time periods of history.
  The citizens in Laclede County, which include the cities and villages 
of Conway, Lebanon, Richland, Evergreen, Phillipsburg, and Stoutland, 
maintain their commitment to preserve the community's history for 
future generations. The county is proud to be the hometown of prominent 
figures like Jim Bohannon, a renowned radio news and talk show host, 
Michael S. Hopkins, an esteemed NASA astronaut and Air Force colonel, 
and Betty Wagoner, a professional baseball player for the South Bend 
Blue Sox. Today, Laclede County is home to more than 36,000 proud 
Missourians, and more than 14,000 of that number reside in the city of 
Lebanon.
  Both Laclede County and Lebanon hold great significance to the State 
of Missouri, and I hope the region continues to thrive for many years 
to come.

                          ____________________