Laclede Gas Company facts for kids
Laclede Gas Company is the biggest natural gas company in Missouri. It delivers natural gas to over 630,000 homes and businesses in St. Louis and ten nearby counties in eastern Missouri.
Besides delivering gas, the company also stores natural gas deep underground. They also have special underground caverns to store propane and equipment to turn it into gas.
Laclede Gas is a company that's watched over by the government (called a "regulated public utility"). It's also a part of a bigger company called Spire Inc (which used to be known as Laclede Group). The main office for Laclede Gas is in the 700 Market building in downtown St. Louis.
Company History
Laclede Gas started as the Laclede Gas Light Company. Back then, gas was mainly used to light up streets and homes. This was a super cool new invention!
In the 1800s, gas lighting began to replace candles and lamps that burned different types of oil. Gas lighting was a big step forward! It came before electric lights and even before gas was used for cooking or heating.
The Laclede Gas Light Company officially began in Missouri on March 2, 1857. It was named after Pierre Laclède, who founded the city of St. Louis.
In 1905, a large utility company called North American Company bought the main streetcar company in St. Louis. North American Company also owned Union Electric and Laclede Gas at that time. You can learn more about this in Streetcars in St. Louis.
By 1909, North American Company decided to sell Laclede Gas. Their lawyers thought owning too many companies might break Missouri's antitrust laws. A group of business people from St. Louis, led by GH Walker and Adolphus Busch, bought the company for $7 million. Adolphus Busch, who was famous for his brewing company, invested $1 million in the purchase.
See Also
- Erastus Wells — an early president of the company
- Spire Inc — the company that owns Laclede Gas today
