Kimmswick was founded by Theodore Kimm in 1859. A successful St. Louis dry goods merchant, Mr. Kimm moved to Jefferson County in 1850 and purchased a large tract of land, extending West and crossing what is now Highway 61-67. A native of Brunswick, Germany, he probably named the town he founded after himself and his birthplace by combining the words into “Kimmswick”. Our definition of the word “wick” means a town or a village. Or maybe he knew that a salt works had been established in the area before 1779 by Thomas Jones, and that another definition of “wick” is a salt-spring or brine-pit. However, hostile Indian raids had put an end to that early salt works endeavor 70 years before Mr. Kimm arrived.
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