St. Francis River - Names

Names

The origin of the river's name is unclear. It might refer to St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order. None of the region's early explorers were Franciscans, however. One possibility is that Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit, named the river when he explored its mouth in 1673. Before his voyage down the Mississippi Marquette had spent some time at the mission of St. Francois Xavier, named for the Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier. The spelling of the river's name shifted from "François" to "Francis" in the early 20th century. A number of place names in the region stem from the river's name, including Saint Francois County and the St. Francois Mountains.

The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "St. Francis River" as the stream's name in 1899. According to the Geographic Names Information System, historical names for the river have included:

  • Cholohollay River
  • El Rio San Francisco
  • Fiume San Francesco
  • Rio San Francisco
  • Riviere Saint Francis
  • Riviere des Chepoussea
  • San Francisco River
  • Saint Francois River (mentioned in the Congressional act which set the boundaries for the state including the Bootheel in Missouri)

  • The St. Francis River rises in the granite mountains of the eastern Ozarks where it is a clear, rapid stream.

  • Silver Mine Dam on the upper St. Francis River

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