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History of St. Louis County by Esley Hamilton
The 1700s: The First St. Louis Settlements The first European settlement in St. Louis dates back to the 1700s, following the transfer of French territories west of the Mississippi River to Spain. Even with the Spanish influence, the population remained predominantly French. St. Louis was founded by Pierre Laclede in 1764, and Carondelet three years later by Clement Delor. Florissant (originally called St. Ferdinand) was laid out about 1788, and Bridgeton ("Marais des Liards") followed in 1794. Settlers from the United States, mostly from Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia, began to appear in the 1790s in Upper Louisiana, as this territory was known. Concentrations were found in the Bonhomme Settlement (now Chesterfield) and the Gravois Settlement (now Crestwood). Following the Louisiana Purchase, this immigration increased rapidly, and the first protestant churches were founded, including Cold Water Methodist in 1806 and Fee Fee Baptist in 1807. Lewis and Clark noted Charbonier Bluff along the Missouri River at the beginning of their "Corps of Discovery" journey to the northwest in May, 1804. Fort Bellefontaine (which is now partially a St. Louis County park) was established in 1805 on the south bank of the Missouri River as the first U.S. military installation west of the Mississippi.
The 1800s: The Early Years of St. Louis County St. Louis County was one of the first five in the Missouri Territory, organized in 1812. Missouri's second governor after statehood in 1820 was Frederick Bates, whose home, "Thornhill," is now within Faust Park Subsequent governors from St. Louis County have included Henry S. Caulfield and Forrest C. Donnell. The county remained largely rural until the advent of the railroad in the 1850s, with German immigrants gradually replacing the French and English settlers from the 1840s onward. The construction of the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1853 spurred the development of suburban communities, including Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Valley Park, Eureka and Pacific. The North Missouri (later Wabash) Railroad opened Jennings and Ferguson, while the Hodiamont Narrow Gauge Railroad created a corridor of suburban estates from Pine Lawn through Normandy and Kinloch to Florissant.
The present boundaries of St. Louis County date from 1876, when the City and County were separated into two distinct governmental entities by a vote of the citizens.
The 1900s: Almost Now in St. Louis County By the turn of the century, the city of St. Louis was overflowing the 62 square miles cordoned off by the 1876 vote to separate it from the county. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 extended into the county, where the third modern Olympiad was conducted at the Hilltop Campus of Washington University. New streetcar lines triggered the development of University City, Maplewood, and Overland, while the county seat, which had been created on the farm of Ralph Clayton in 1878, finally began to grow. These communities became the sites of some of the finest residential planning and architecture in the Midwest, as the tradition of private places moved from St. Louis into the county. The county's population exploded after World War II, as did the number of municipalities. In 1950, a new county charter changed the form of government from a three-judge panel to a county supervisor (County Executive since 1982) and County Council.
Entering the 21st Century: St. Louis County Today Today, slightly less than a million people live in 91 cities and villages, as well as large but dwindling unincorporated areas administered directly by the county. One of the most fragmented of all counties in the United States, St. Louis County has 24 school districts, 23 fire districts, three library districts, and three special districts that include both city and county (the Community College, the Zoo-Museum District, and the Metropolitan Sewer District). In 2000, the county voted to join St. Charles County and St. Louis in a new Metropolitan Park & Recreation District. St. Louis County is home to Washington, Maryville and Webster universities, Fontbonne and Missouri Baptist colleges, Concordia, Eden, Kenrick-Glennon, and Covenant Theological seminaries, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
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