Gottfried Duden

Who was Gottfried Duden?

Gottfried Duden was a German emigration writer of the early 19th century. His famous book Bericht über eine Reise nach den westlichen Staaten Nordamerika's gave romantic and glowing descriptions of the Missouri River valley between St. Louis and Hermann, Missouri. He established a farm near what is now Dutzow, Missouri along the Missouri River near Washington, Missouri. His book on the region, comparing the Missouri River to the Rhine in Germany, and his positive remarks concerning the climate, culture and soils in Missouri led to untold tens of thousands of German immigrants to the area beginning in the 1830s.

Gottfried Duden was born in Remscheid, Duchy of Berg. A lawyer by profession, he settled in rural Warren County about 50 miles west of St. Louis, in 1824. He was able to hire others to farm his land while he spent most of his time traveling and writing. He returned to Germany in 1827, and published his "Report" which was first printed in 1829. It praised the virtues of settling in Missouri. Apparently numerous similar books circulated in Germany at that time, but Duden's was especially well known. The result was a flood of German immigrants beginning in the 1830s. By 1860, more than 38,000 Germans had settled in the lower Missouri River valley. German immigrants to Missouri are often called "followers of Duden." Duden died in 1856, and is buried in Bonn, Germany.