Lake St. Louis is a special kind of town called a planned community. It's a suburb of the larger city of St. Louis, located in western St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The city is built around two beautiful lakes.

In 2020, about 16,707 people lived in Lake St. Louis. It's about 43 miles away from the main city of St. Louis.

History of Lake St. Louis
Community Association
Geography
Population Information
- How Many People Live Here?
- 2020 Census Details
Education
Economy
- Major Employers
- Shopping and Business Growth
  - The Shoppes at Hawk Ridge
  - The Meadows at Lake St. Louis
Notable People
See also

History of Lake St. Louis

How the Community Began

In 1961, two people named Ellis Ellerman and Ira Nathan started making plans for a private resort community. This was a popular idea in the St. Louis area back then. They wanted to create a place for weekend getaways with a big lake for fun activities. Ira Nathan named the project "Lake St. Louis."

Ellerman and Nathan formed a company called Trails Lake Development Corp. in 1962. They even sold 10 lots by August of that year! However, they didn't have enough money or business experience. Other investors, including R. T. Crow, joined them to help keep the project going.

R. T. Crow's Vision

Eventually, R. T. Crow took over the project completely in 1966. He saw that Lake St. Louis was located perfectly between two major highways. He believed it could be a whole new town, not just a weekend resort. St. Charles County approved his plans for Lake St. Louis in April 1967. People who had bought land from the first developers were given new lots in Crow's project.

The first family to move into Lake St. Louis was the Neal family in January 1968. They lived in an existing house on the property.

Building the Lakes and Challenges

By 1969, a smaller lake called Lake Ste. Louise (85 acres), a golf course, tennis courts, a clubhouse, and a pool were all open. Building the dam for the larger lake, Lake St. Louis (600 acres), started in 1968 and finished in 1972.

However, in 1974, R. T. Crow faced financial problems. This was partly because of the 1973 oil crisis, which made gas expensive and travel harder. Highway speeds were lowered, and a bridge on I-70 was partly closed. These things made Lake St. Louis seem too far from jobs and shops.

Becoming a City

With Crow no longer involved, and nearby towns like O'Fallon and Wentzville possibly wanting to take over the area, residents decided to take action. In June 1975, the people living in the Harbor Town area asked the court to make their community an official town. The court agreed and appointed a group of trustees to lead it.

In December 1975, the town grew to include more areas. In 1976, a special count showed 2,445 residents. In 1977, residents voted to change the town's name to Lake St. Louis. They also decided to become a "4th Class City" under Missouri law. Howard Haddock was elected as the first mayor of the new city.

Community Association

The two lakes in Lake St. Louis are private. They are owned by the members of the Lake St. Louis Community Association (LSLCA). This association was created to take care of the lakes and other fun places in the community. It also provides services for people who enjoy recreation.

The LSLCA gets its money from fees paid by property owners who are members. At first, everyone who owned property in the city was a member. But as the city grew, new homes were built without LSLCA membership. This was done to prevent the lakes from getting too crowded. Because the lakes, country club, and parks are private, only LSLCA members can use them. This means some people living in the city cannot use the lakes if their property is not part of the LSLCA membership area.

Geography

Lake St. Louis covers a total area of about 8.72 square miles (22.58 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 7.91 square miles (20.49 square kilometers), is land. The remaining 0.81 square miles (2.10 square kilometers) is water, which includes the two lakes.

Population Information

How Many People Live Here?

Lake St. Louis has grown quite a bit over the years! Here's how the population has changed:

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1980	3,843	—
1990	7,400	92.6%
2000	10,169	37.4%
2010	14,545	43.0%
2020	16,707	14.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 Census Details

The 2020 census counted 16,707 people living in Lake St. Louis.

About 85.85% of the people were white.
About 4.33% were black or African-American.
About 2.43% were Asian.
About 4.3% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

The average age of people in the city was 45.1 years.

About 19.3% of the population was under 18 years old.
About 20.5% of the population was 65 years or older.

Education

Students living in Lake St. Louis attend schools in the Wentzville R-IV School District.

Economy

Major Employers

Here are some of the biggest employers in Lake St. Louis, based on a report from 2018:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	SSM St. Joseph Hospital West	908
2	National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC)	553
3	Medical Transportation Management (MTM)	500
4	Walmart	353
5	Schnucks	145
6	Wentzville R-IV School District	130
7	Lowe's	115
8	Von Maur	98
9	City of Lake St. Louis	94
9	American Poolplayers Association (APA)	63

Shopping and Business Growth

In 2004, a Schnucks grocery store opened on the south side of Lake St. Louis. This was a big deal because it was the first new retail business in 17 years! This opening started a fast growth of shops and businesses in the city.

Also in 2004, a company called National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) announced plans to build its large headquarters nearby. Before this time, people in Lake St. Louis usually had to drive to nearby towns like Wentzville or O'Fallon for most of their shopping and dining needs.

The Shoppes at Hawk Ridge

The Shoppes at Hawk Ridge is a huge shopping area on the south side of Lake St. Louis. It covers about 800,000 square feet (74,000 square meters)! This development was helped by a new overpass built in 2005. It was the biggest retail project in St. Charles County when it was built and opened in January 2006.

This shopping center has many large stores and lots of smaller shops and restaurants. The buildings and landscaping here are very important to how it looks. Some businesses even had to change their usual store designs to fit the style of the development.

The Meadows at Lake St. Louis

The Meadows at Lake St. Louis is another major shopping area. It opened in August 2008. This outdoor shopping district was designed for the community's wealthier residents. It was created to offer more special stores and restaurants in St. Charles County.

The Meadows is known as the first "lifestyle center" in the county. It has two nicely landscaped streets with about 500,000 square feet (46,000 square meters) of restaurants and unique stores. A fancy department store called Von Maur is a main store here. There are also plans to build a hotel for business travelers. The Meadows is located on 64 acres near Lake St. Louis Boulevard.

Notable People

Many interesting people have connections to Lake St. Louis:

Howard "Chingy" Bailey, Jr., a music artist who has sold many records.
Jud "Fabio" Birza, who won the TV show Survivor: Nicaragua.
Don Coryell, a former coach in the National Football League (NFL).
Jonathan Dolan, a State Senator for Missouri.
Cornell "Nelly" Haynes, Jr., a music artist who has won Grammy Awards.
Shaun Murray, a four-time World Champion in wakeboarding.
Cal Neeman, a former catcher in Major League Baseball.
Bob Onder, a State Senator for Missouri.
Dave Phillips, a retired umpire from Major League Baseball.

Lake St. Louis, Missouri facts for kids

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