At the time of this settlement the area was under Spanish rule. On October 7, 1800, Spain ceded the whole of upper and lower Louisiana to France. It was not until our own Louisiana Purchase on April 30, 1803, that this area became a part of the United States. Settlers came in large numbers after the Murphy Settlement was established, and at the close of 1803 it had grown to a sizable community. Most of the settlers had enjoyed freedom of worship in their previous homes but found here they were restricted in worshipping God according to their Protestant tradition. Mrs. Murphy frequently invited friends to her home where secret prayer meetings were held while sentinels kept guard to warn of approaching danger. The religious restriction imposed by the Spanish officials gave way when the United States came into full possession. When the settlement learned that control of the land had passed to the United States, Mrs. Murphy was given the honor of the first Protestant prayer in public west of the Mississippi.