Why Sautrelle?

by Betty Jane Wilson, society president

"Why Sautrelle?" — Valley Falls, Kan., survivor of three names of which Sautrelle, (French for Grasshopper) was name number two given by the legislature in 1863.

Adoption of the name evoked sundry reactions from citizens and outsiders, especially when the nickname "Sowtail" was substituted for Sautrelle. The name was not acceptable to the citizens so the legislature restored the old name, "Grasshopper Falls" in 1864.

Still the inquiry "Why Sautrelle?"

The subject of the name change, revived in 1874, and an assortment of names were suggested. According to the Kansas Historical Quarterly, ironically, the worst invasion of grasshoppers came the summer of 1874, and the residents of the town, eager to eliminate the name Grasshopper, met with the legislature and in 1875, the bill was passed changing the name to Valley Falls, with no answer to the "Why Sautrelle?" inquiry.

The October 1990, Yesteryear, Jefferson County Genealogical publication, included newspaper quotes dated March 17 and March 31, 1883, respectively, taken from the Annals of Oskaloosa and compiled by Mr. Frank R. Roberts, 1945.

March 17, "R. A. Van Winkle of Arrington reports a conversation he held prior to 1854 with Jos. Robidoux, founder of St. Joseph, Mo., regarding the Delaware or Grasshopper River.

"About the year 1818, Robidoux and others, hauled some merchandise from the Missouri River westward to the bank of this small stream where they traded it to the Indians. While there the party encountered an infestation of grasshoppers, which in two or three days, ate all the grass in the vicinity and later most of the grass in Kansas. From the circumstance, Robidoux and his party named the stream 'Sautrelle' (French for grasshopper).

March 31, "Jas. H. Jones, Grantville, adds a chapter about the first naming of the Delaware River. In 1827, a government surveyor recorded in his field notes the name of the river as Sautrelle or Necushcontabe, the later presumed to be an Indian term, meaning unknown."

The Valley Falls Historical Society Museum will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 23.