The Fountain Bluff Sports Complex site is rich in local history and heritage, with ties to events such as the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Liberty Landing, the Mormon Trail and a World War II prisoner of war camp.
In 1804-1806, captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led an estimated 40 soldiers and boatmen on an epic journey across the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, their charge was to find a route to the Pacific Ocean through the newly acquired Louisiana territory. Along the way, Lewis and Clark also mapped the land’s geography, recorded its resources, and contacted its native inhabitants. As recorded in the archives of their travels, the Liberty area was traveled through and recorded by the Lewis and Clark “Corp of Discovery” team. The bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Trail expedition will occur in the years 2004-2006. In recognition of the bicentennial, the City of Liberty will participate in a statewide Lewis and Clark Interpretive Sign Program, with the sign being placed at the new Fountain Bluff Sports Complex.
The Liberty Landing was located along the Missouri River, just east of the new sports complex off 291 Hwy. The Liberty Landing contributed to much of the industrial and residential growth in this area during the early 1800s. During the 1830s, the Liberty Landing brought local prosperity from the regular steamboat trips from St. Louis and other points from the east, which carried merchandise and early settlers. The steamboats would fire a cannon when they were several miles away from Liberty in order to give merchants and the town’s people time to reach the dock before the boat arrived. During this decade, as many as five “steamers” would move up the river daily and at least one would dock at the Liberty Landing. Some of the boats served as floating hotels, offering richly appointed accommodations. The steamboat business and means of travel continued into the early 1900s.
From the late 1840s through the 1860s, an exodus of more than 70,000 Mormons passed through on their way to their “New Zion” in Salt Lake City, Utah. Starting from Nauvoo, Illinois, the Mormon Trail passed through many states along their journey to Utah. Today, a 1,624-mile auto tour route closely parallels their historic trek.
From 1943 to 1945 during World War II, a German prisoner of war camp was set up at the turkey farm, located west of the Mann farm on old 210 Hwy. The Miller family owned the land. The large Desert Gold grain silos still stand in this location. The prisoners stayed in turkey laying houses that were adapted for living quarters. Approximately 600 prisoners were housed in this location. The prisoners were transported to area farms, including the Mann potato farm, to work and produce crops for the local economy and war effort.
The “Mann Potato Farm” was known throughout the Midwest and much of the United States for its potato crops. Potato farming was somewhat unusual for this area, but was made successful from Orrick to Liberty by the Mann family. Ron and Martha Wellington previously owned the land where the Fountain Bluff Sports Complex is now located. Martha Wellington is the daughter of the deceased William S. and Dorothy Mann, who owned and farmed the land in potatoes since the early 1930s. The Fountain Bluff Sports Complex Administrative Building is named after William S. Mann.
