Brooklyn, Illinois, was established during the 1820s as a refuge for those escaping enslavement. Situated along the Mississippi River and directly across from St. Louis, Brooklyn became the hub of community and self-determination for many of its early residents. One of its founders was Priscilla Baltimore (affectionately known as “Mother”), an anti-slavery activist who dedicated …

Continue reading "“Mother” Priscilla Baltimore’s Freedom Village"

Valentine’s Day has been commemorated throughout the western world as a celebration of love for hundreds of years, but the celebration—and the associated exchange of cards—hasn’t always been as sweet as you might expect. That seems fitting since the holiday’s origins date back to the Roman empire but have very little to do with love, …

Continue reading "Anti-Valentines from the Collections"

Any St. Louisans sick of winter in early 1959 must have been thrilled when temperatures soared into the 60s after a week with lows dipping into the teens. Even as the sun set and rain began to fall on February 9, most of the region settled in for the evening with temperatures in the high 50s …

Continue reading "The Winter Tornado That Shocked St. Louis"

EDITOR’S NOTE: Part of the revitalization at Soldiers Memorial Military Museum involved collecting the oral histories of St. Louis–area veterans and their families. Some of these interviews are featured in the new exhibits at Soldiers Memorial, and all will be available to researchers. John Lopez was born in 1920 and grew up in the Carondelet neighborhood. His …

Continue reading "Stories of Service: A World War II Vet Remembers the Effects of the Atomic Bomb"

This post has been adapted from Great River City, the latest title from the Missouri Historical Society Press. Additional adaptations can be found here. Beyond the splendor of the 1904 World’s Fair, the real St. Louis was a grimy, crowded place—and no part of town looked worse than the Mississippi River. With lumberyards, rail yards, and factories …

Continue reading "Great River City: The 1907 City Plan"

When the steamboat Zebulon M. Pike arrived in St. Louis in 1817, it ushered in a new era. Steam travel in the region increased dramatically over the next few decades, but the Golden Age of Steamboats was fraught with danger. Boiler explosions and submerged debris frequently sunk steamers, while icy conditions also led to wrecks. James B. Eads, best …

Continue reading "Sunken Treasure"

To say that the automobile changed St. Louis and the world is certainly an understatement. But it changed the city in more ways than just making it easier to get around. St. Louis was an early center of car manufacturing, and the city developed a notable economy around the sale, service, and marketing of automobiles. By 1930, at least 29 different car companies had existed …

Continue reading "St. Louis’s Automobile Row"

EDITOR’S NOTE: This post has been adapted from the article “Desperately Seeking Carmel,” written by Dr. Frances Levine for the Summer 2019 issue of El Palacio, the magazine of the Museum of New Mexico. While the Santa Fe Trail is not often associated with stories of frontier women, they played an important role in linking people …

Continue reading "Opposite Ends of the Trail"

Helen Weiss, divisional vice president of public relations and special events at Famous-Barr, was stylish, flamboyant, and never afraid to be herself. She began her career of almost 50 years accidentally, by volunteering to organize an unrelated charity fundraiser being held in the Famous-Barr parking lot. Helen’s boundless talents attracted the attention of Famous-Barr executives, …

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Nothing quite says 19th-century personal prosperity like a life-sized oil portrait in a gilded frame. A large group of these artifacts was once planned to stare down at visitors in our Mighty Mississippi exhibit. In their opulence, these paintings, depicting fur traders, merchants, and explorers, would drive home the successful, interpersonal connections of the first …

Continue reading "Lost to the Mighty Mississippi: Friends and Family Edition"

In 1843 a young West Point graduate named Ulysses S. Grant, future commander of the Union army and 18th president of the United States, reported to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri. The following year he visited the nearby White Haven farm to catch up with his friend and former West Point roommate, Fred Dent. …

Continue reading "Welcome to Hardscrabble"

The middle of the day on February 13, 1936, looked like the middle of the night. Streetcars and automobiles turned on their headlights and streetlights had to be turned on as a thick cloud of coal smoke blotted out the sun and turned St. Louis dark. This became a regular feature of St. Louis life. …

Continue reading "Photojournalism as Memory Album"

Decades ago during the very coldest winters, St. Louisans waited anxiously for that special moment when the Mississippi River would disappear. The river didn’t technically go anywhere—it was just hidden beneath a solid surface of ice that could measure up to 3 feet thick. St. Louisans took to the ice in droves, delighting at the peculiar sensation of walking on the water. But although the frozen Mississippi …

Continue reading "Great River City: The Ice Gorge"