About Antonine Barada

For the show that air's tonight at 8:30, we did a little history segment on a legendary pioneer named Antonine Barada (also commonly referred to as Antoine). He was the source of many frontier myths and legends. Many of these legends helped formulate the tall tale of Paul Bunyan.

We chose to talk about Barada because he has some "local" connection. His grandfather helped to establish St. Louis. Barada spent some time as a boy in St. Louis, although he much preferred the wild life of the Nebraska frontier. He even lifted a 1700 lb. stone once at the St. Louis Armory to prove his monumental strength.

In addition to the whopping tales of Barada's size, strength, and superhuman feats, he was also a conductor on the Underground Railroad. His "half-breed" tract was one of the final stretches of the Underground Railroad. He helped numerous escaped slaves across the Missouri River and north to John Brown's Cave. He often carried escaped slaves across the river, and on occasion, he had to knock them unconscious if they were afraid of drowning.

If you like frontier history and lore, you'll probably be interested in Antonine Barada. Watch tonight's show, for a brief summary of his life and times. Then, check out these links to some of the sources we used in our research:

Antonine Barada
Half-Breed Creek
Antonine Barada Biography and Archive Page
History of Richardson County
History of Barada Township