Note 122 — {87} CHAPTER V
Reading edition
The name of this river has undergone many changes, appearing as Charleton, Charlatan, Chératon, Charliton, Chareton, and Charlotte; the form Chariton has now become fixed. The origin is unknown.
The town here mentioned, two miles north of Glasgow, was laid out by Duff Green, a famous Jacksonian politician, and other associates. The growth was for a few years so rapid that one settler exchanged St. Louis lots for an equal number in Chariton; but the location proved unhealthful, and was abandoned in 1829. Monticello, on higher ground, a mile away, and Thorntonsburg, at the mouth of the Chariton, were founded in succession, but likewise disappeared. Glasgow, laid out in 1836, was the first permanent town in the vicinity.—Ed.