Upcoming in Kansas City, Mo.
The Chouteau Family’s Impact on Missouri
Presentation by Keith Nelson, Chouteau Fountain Founders
A short history presentation on the early years of the Chouteau family who were the most prominent fur traders in Missouri. The program will follow-up with an introduction of the Francois Chouteau & Native American Heritage Fountain project to be constructed near Chouteau’s first trading post in Clay County, Missouri.

An artist mockup of the landscapig for the Chouteau Heritage Fountain proposed for installation in Kansas City, MO. The sculpture, to be installed on the rock ledge, is being created by sculptor and artist Kwan Wu. For more info: http://www.kcfountains.com/single-post/2016/12/20/Chouteau-Heritage-Fountain-Proposal
Presentation by Keith Nelson, Co-chair of the Chouteau Fountain Founders
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Where – Westport Coffeehouse Theater – 4010 Pennsylvania Ave. Kansas City, MO
6 p.m. – Social Hour
7 p.m. – Presentation. Presentation will be filmed – After 7 PM, Please enter through Green Room Burgers

This painting is the concept drawing for the sculpture, to be completed by Kwan Wu, which will be installed at the Chouteau and Native American Heritage Fountain.
Presentation is FREE and open to the public!
The program will follow-up with an introduction of the Francois Chouteau & Native American Heritage Fountain project to be constructed near Chouteau’s first trading post in Clay County, Missouri.
Keith Nelson is a seventh generation Clay Countian who lives in Kansas City’s Northland. He is on the board of directors for the Clay County Archives & Historical Library. A community activist, Keith is Co-chair of the Chouteau Fountain Founders and is currently raising funds to construct the Francois Chouteau & Native American Heritage Fountain along Chouteau Parkway in the Northland. The fountain will honor Kansas City’s founding Father, Francois Chouteau and the Native Americans he traded with on the banks of the Missouri River.
Directions
Westport CoffeeHouse – 4010 Pennsylvania Kansas City, Mo – www.westportcoffeehouse.com
The Westport CoffeeHouse is in the Westport entertainment area, midtown KC, south of downtown and north of the Plaza. The main intersection is Westport Rd and Broadway. From this intersection, go west on Westport Rd one block to Pennsylvania. Turn north (right).
OR you can get there from the intersection of Southwest Trafficway and Westport Rd. Go east on Westport Rd to Pennsylvania. Turn north (left).
Westport Coffee House is approximately one block down on the west side of Pennsylvania. Parking can be had either south of the coffee house in the large parking lot or just north of the coffee house alongside the building. Enter through Green Room Burgers or Westport CoffeeHouse.
Resources & Links
- Chouteau Fountain Founders Facebook page
- Francis Chouteau & Native American Heritage Fountain Proposal page on kcfountains.com (and donation page)
- ARTICLE – “Advocates say new fountain will offer history lesson, neighborhood facelift” – by Traci Badalucco, KC Star, Aug. 30, 2016
The Big Muddy Speakers Series in Kansas City
is hosted by these wonderful partners!
- Healthy Rivers Partnership
- Little Blue River Watershed Coalition
- Kansas City Digital Video
- Missouri River Relief
- Lights On – KCK
Thanks to all of our venue hosts for making this possible! Click here for a list of upcoming presentations» The Big Muddy Speaker Series is also held monthly in Rocheport and St. Charles.
Recordings of Presentations
Kansas City Digital Video has been recording Big Muddy Speaker Series presentations. These are available on their website at this link. Some contain synchronized powerpoint presentations. We will be posting these to the archived presentation pages on bigmuddyspeakers.org.
We are deeply saddened by our loss of KCDV’s driving founder, Michael Morgan. Our hearts are with his family. Big Muddy Speaker Series will always be indebted to his vision, skill and selfless hard work.