Great question. For the answer to that question, you have to look to a man named Jacob Zumwalt. Zumwalt and his family were among the first settlers of Missouri, and his lineage is somewhat tricky ─ the family had a predilection for re-using first names.

The Zumwalt we're interested in is descended from Adam Zumwalt, who lived in Germany in the early 18th century. He had several sons, five of whom emigrated to the United States, settling in York, Pennsylvania. One of these emigrant sons was Jacob Zumwalt. He was married twice, having two sons and two daughters with his first wife and five sons and one daughter with his second wife.

Having had 10 kids, it seems he ran out of names. He named one of his sons Jacob.

This Jacob is the one we're interested in. Jacob Zumwalt Jr. fought in the Revolutionary War, married, had kids, and eventually moved west. Zumwalt's family was among the leading edge of American settlement in Missouri. When Daniel Boone's family arrived in the area in 1799, Zumwalt's family were already settled and had built a large log home the previous year.

As the years went by, the home expanded. During the War of 1812, British-sponsored American Indian raids hit the settlers in Missouri. Zumwalt and his family turned their homestead into a fort, building a stockade fence to protect the area. A natural spring (fed by a nearby lake) ensured a safe supply of water in the event of a siege.

Zumwalt's Fort, as it became known, was a place of refuge for many families in Missouri on the frontier. By the time Jacob Zumwalt died in 1820, he had a large, thriving family and a solid reputation as a community bulwark. The name of Zumwalt's Fort lived on, and as explorers and settlers traveled west from Missouri, they carried the name of the family that had protected them and fed them at the start of their trip.