Many of the stories researched and shared on this web site originated with the writings of David Stark of Gallatin. Here’s a brief sketch of a Daviess Countian you should know.

David Stark was born in Daviess County in 1935 and is of the sixth generation of the county. His great-grandfather, Jim Bristow, was in Gallatin when the town was laid out in 1837; Bristow purchased lots in the new town in 1838. David’s parents were teachers.

Mr. Stark is a Korean War veteran and a retired member of the U.S. Army after 25 years of military service. He graduated from Gallatin High School in 1954 and returned to reside in Gallatin in 1974. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State at Maryville, MO, and became a CPA at Arlington, VA, in 1967, working mostly with federal government finance.

In 1968 Stark became a foreign service officer and served five years at the American Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam. He made a world circling trip in 1970, researched family records in Scotland, and visited Expo ’70 in Japan.

From 1974 to the present, David has been busy studying world history and advances in science. Other activities include family history, county history, shooting sports, and Missouri law enforcement.

— written in May, 2004

David Stark, a local historian and lifelong citizen of Daviess County, took special interest in Mormon history. His studies led him to speculate on the location of a earthen fort built by Mormons as Missouri militia advanced toward Adam-ondi-Ahman in Daviess County after confrontations occurred at Far West in Caldwell County, MO.