Lewis deMun

Lewis deMun, a French aristocrat and trained draftsman, emigrated to the U.S. in the 1790s and became the right-hand man of Benjamin Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol. He oversaw construction of the west wing of the Capitol building, other structures in the capital, and the Baltimore Cathedral. In Washington D.C., he became associated with Vice President Aaron Burr and became involved in Burr's plans in the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. After Burr was tried for treason and acquitted, deMun relocated to the wilderness, where his family owned hundreds of acres in south central Randolph County. In 1813, he established deMun Mills on Mill Creek in what is now south Pocahontas, including the first grist mill in what would become Arkansas. In 1815, he was appointed administrator of Lawrence County in Missouri Territory, a vast area from which forty-four counties in north Arkansas and southern Missouri would later be formed. He chose a site near his family lands in what became Randolph County as the county seat of the new county, which became the town of Davidsonville, eight miles south of Pocahontas. He also served as commander of the militia in the county, and deMun Township is named for him.

Pocahontas, Arkansas · United States