- 1832: Arnold Krekel, age 17 and brother
Nicholas, age 10 emigrated from Prussia along with the rest of their
extended family.
- 1833: They arrived penniless and motherless in
St. Charles County.
- Arnold had a tremendous influence on the area
and the state in the following ways: as justice of the peace, school
board member, investor, lawyer, surveyor, engineer, founder of
newspaper for the German immigrant community, and as state
representative.
- 1855: Arnold purchased investment property in
what is now O'Fallon, laid out the town, then called the Krekel
Addition, and granted a right-of-way through the town to the North
Missouri Railroad.
- Nicholas Krekel built the first
home in O'Fallon facing the North Missouri
Railroad. It became his general merchandise store
and in 1857 he became the town's first postmaster and stationmaster of
the O'Fallon Depot.
- Nicholas was postmaster for 32 years, station
agent for four years and served with his brother in the home guard
militia during the Civil War.
- The first building, Krekel's home and
store, stands today and is in use as a private pre-school at the corner
of Civic Park Drive and North Main Street. It is
directly across from the present City Hall.
- A total of seven settler forts were in St.
Charles County; three were located in or near O'Fallon. The
other two being Pond Fort off Highway N in Dardenne Prairie, and
White's Fort in Dog Prairie (St. Paul area).
- Many direct descendants of the founders,
Nicholas and Wilhelmina Krekel, live in O'Fallon today.