Picking up on a topic from yesterday, here's a historic map of the St. Louis area, Missouri side only. The idea I'm thinking of is to create a new map today, combining Missouri and Illinois, designed with the historic explorer in mind, offering interesting day trips starting from St. Louis city.
Key routes might be 159 through the Metro East, Spoede Road through STL County, W. Florissant and S. Broadway through STL City. The final product would be something that would serve locals and visitors alike interested in visiting the many historic settings of the STL area.
Landmark destinations could be highlighted, including places operating businesses in original settings, such as Marx Hardware in Old North St. Louis, the White Cottage Ice Cream restaurant in Belleville, interesting hole in the wall taverns, etc.
The map should include historic neighborhoods, parks, and cemetaries; and old roads such as West Main in Belleville, the Old River Road in Illinois, Manchester Road in St. Louis, etc.
If you started with a modern day Missouri and Illinois road map, and then highlighted the main roads in use around 1900, you'd have a good base map.
If you were planning such a map, what landmarks would you include, especially looking outside of STL City?
3 comments:
actually except for the governor's mansion and historic houses in faust park (in chesterfield, off olive) i'm not sure there's much history left standing in st louis county. at least not with road access.
chalked that up as one more part of st louis that makes us unique and hospitable
Actually I think there would be a ton of stuff that would turn up with investigation. I remember in Carlinville Illinois there was a bar full of wild animals of the stuffed variety and a local chili maker with a small plant, both on the main square. It has been years since I have been there, but I would guess they both might still exist. Again I think early quad maps would be most useful, showing buildings, old quarries and the like. It could be an interesting project. One map I have been looking for is of Indian Mounds in North St. Louis. They used to be all over but were leveled (hence mound city). I remember seeing such a map years ago and I guess Mercantile Library or the History Museum might have a copy. Much has been destroyed, but I am always amazed how much is left. As you suggest along the old roads is a place to start.
is highway 61 part of this map? a lot of hisotry on there...
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