Timeline of St. Louis facts for kids

This is a timeline showing important events in the history of St. Louis, Missouri, a big city in the United States. It's like a calendar of what happened there over many years!

Early Days: Before the 1800s

• 1764 – Pierre Laclède founded St. Louis. It was part of New Spain then.
• 1767 – The town was a small village. About 500 people lived in log cabins.
• 1770 – Spain took control of the area.
• 1780 – There was a conflict with Native American groups.
• 1785 – The city experienced floods.
• 1799 – The population grew to 925 people.

The 1800s: Growth and Change

Early 1800s: A New American City

• 1800 – St. Louis became part of French Louisiana.
• 1804
  • St. Louis became part of the U.S. This happened because of the Louisiana Purchase.
  • The first Post Office opened.
• 1805 – St. Louis became the capital of the U.S. Louisiana Territory.
• 1808 – The Missouri Gazette newspaper started.
• 1809
  • The town officially became a city.
  • The Missouri Fur Company was started.
  • The first drug store opened.
• 1811 – December 16: A big earthquake, the New Madrid earthquake, shook the area.
• 1812 – St. Louis County was created.
• 1815 – A new theatre opened.
• 1816 – The Bank of St. Louis was started.
• 1818
  • Saint Louis Academy was founded.
  • A Baptist Church was built.
• 1820
  • June: Missouri held a meeting to write its constitution.
  • September: The Missouri General Assembly met for the first time.
• 1821
  • St. Louis became part of the new U.S. state of Missouri.
  • The city's first Directory was published.
• 1822 – The City of St. Louis was officially incorporated. It covered 385 acres.
• 1823 – William Carr Lane became the mayor.
• 1825 – Lafayette, a famous French general, visited the town.
• 1826 – The Catholic Diocese of St. Louis was created.
• 1828 – The County Courthouse was built.
• 1830 – The population reached 4,977 people.
• 1832 – A cholera outbreak occurred.
• 1834
  • The Daily Evening Herald newspaper started.
  • The Cathedral of St. Louis was dedicated.
• 1835 – The German-language newspaper Anzeiger des Westens began.
• 1836 – The Chamber of Commerce was established.
• 1837 – Daniel Webster, a famous speaker, visited the city.
• 1840
  • The city's boundaries were expanded.
  • The population grew to 16,469.

Mid-1800s: Challenges and Progress

• 1841
  • The United Hebrew Congregation was founded.
  • The city's area was 4.5 square miles.
• 1844
  • There were tensions related to new immigrants.
  • The city experienced more floods.
• 1846
  • Dred Scott started his famous lawsuit.
  • The Mercantile Library Association was created.
• 1847 – Boatmen's Savings Institution was started.
• 1849
  • Concordia Seminary moved to St. Louis.
  • A cholera epidemic hit the city.
  • A major fire occurred.
  • Bellefontaine Cemetery was established.
• 1850
  • The Third Baptist Church was founded.
  • The population reached 77,860.
• 1851 – Bates' Theatre opened.
• 1852
  • The Iron Mountain railroad was built.
  • Bavarian Brewery started its business.
  • The Grand Opera House opened.
• 1853 – Washington University was founded.
• 1854 – The Czech Slavonic Benevolent Society was founded.
• 1856
  • The Academy of Science was founded.
  • The St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Fair began.
• 1857
  • The city became a center for philosophical ideas.
  • The St. Louis Fire Department was established.
  • The Lindell Hotel opened.
  • The Dred Scott decision was made in March.
  • The Westliche Post (a German newspaper) was started.
• 1859
  • Horse-drawn streetcars began operating.
  • Mary Institute was founded.
  • A synagogue was built on Sixth Street.
  • The Missouri Botanical Garden was founded.

Late 1800s: Big City Developments

• 1860 – The population reached 160,773.
• 1861 – The Western Sanitary Commission was established.
• 1862 – Hoelke and Benecke photo studio opened.
• 1865
  • The Sokol sport club was established.
  • The St. Louis Public Library was founded.
  • The Southern Hotel opened.
• 1866
  • Another cholera epidemic occurred.
  • The Missouri Historical Society moved its headquarters to the city.
  • The Olympic Theatre opened.
• 1867 – The City Board of Health was established.
• 1869 – Congregation Shaare Emeth was founded.
• 1870
  • Carondelet became part of St. Louis.
  • The city covered 17.98 square miles.
  • The population reached 310,864.
• 1871
  • A tornado hit St. Louis.
  • The German-language magazine Puck began.
• 1872
  • Maryville College of the Sacred Heart was founded.
  • A smallpox outbreak occurred.
• 1873 – Laclede Gas Light Company started.
• 1874 – The famous Eads Bridge opened.
• 1875 – The Merchants Exchange opened.
• 1876
  • June: The city hosted the 1876 Democratic National Convention.
  • Forest Park opened.
  • Busch's Budweiser beer was introduced.
  • The city's area expanded to 61.37 square miles.
• 1877
  • The city separated from St. Louis County.
  • July: The 1877 St. Louis general strike occurred.
• 1878 – The St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper began.
• 1879
  • Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association started.
  • St. Louis Children's Hospital opened.
  • St. Louis School of Fine Arts opened.
• 1880 – The St. Stanislaus Kostka Church was built. The population was 350,518.
• 1882 – Mallinckrodt Chemical Works was incorporated.
• 1883 – The St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall opened.
• 1884 – The St. Louis Maroons baseball team was active.
• 1886
  • May 1: A labor strike took place.
  • The St. Louis Watchmaking School was founded.
• 1888 – The city hosted the 1888 Democratic National Convention.
• 1889
  • The Missouri Botanical Garden was officially established.
  • Tower Grove Park was established.
  • The Merchants Bridge opened.
• 1890 – The population reached 451,770.
• 1891
  • The Wainwright Building was constructed.
  • Washington University School of Medicine opened.
• 1892 – The St. Louis Browns baseball team was active.
• 1894 – Union Station opened.
• 1896
  • May: A tornado hit St. Louis.
  • June: A flood occurred.
  • The city hosted the 1896 Republican National Convention.
  • Busch's Michelob beer was introduced.
• 1898 – The Compton Hill Water Tower was built.

The 2000s: Modern St. Louis Emerges

Early 1900s: World's Fair and Expansion

• 1900
  • The St. Louis Streetcar Strike of 1900 occurred.
  • Monsanto Chemical Works started.
  • The population reached 575,238.
• 1902 – Sportsman's Park opened.
• 1903 – The Missouri Athletic Club was founded.
• 1904
  • The St. Louis World's Fair opened in April.
  • The Saint Louis Art Museum was built.
  • The city hosted the 1904 Summer Olympics.
  • The Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held.
• 1905 – The May Department Store moved to St. Louis.
• 1906 – A statue of Louis IX of France was unveiled in Forest Park.
• 1908 – Fairground Park was established.
• 1909 – October: The city celebrated its 100th birthday.
• 1910 – The population reached 687,029.
• 1911 – Famous-Barr (a shop) opened.
• 1912 – The St. Louis Argus newspaper began.
• 1913 – Henry Kiel became mayor.
• 1914
  • The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis began operating.
  • The St. Louis Zoo was incorporated.
  • Barnes Hospital opened.
  • The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis was completed.
• 1915 – The Junior League of St. Louis was organized.
• 1917
  • The MacArthur Bridge opened.
  • The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (The Muny) opened.
• 1919 – The League of Women Voters of St. Louis was organized.
• 1920 – The Chase Hotel was built. The population was 772,897.
• 1921 – WEW radio began broadcasting.
• 1925 – St. Louis Theater opened.
• 1926 – The Southwestern Bell Building was constructed.
• 1927
  • The Racquet Club of St. Louis helped fund Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis airplane.
  • A tornado hit the city.
• 1928 – The St. Louis American newspaper began.
• 1929
  • The Fox Theatre opened.
  • The St. Louis Arena opened.
• 1930 – Lambert-St. Louis Municipal Airport was dedicated.
• 1931 – Rombauer's Joy of Cooking cookbook was published.
• 1933 – Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser Clydesdales were established.
• 1937 – The Floral Conservatory was built in Forest Park.
• 1939 – The city experienced smog.
• 1940 – The population reached 816,048.

Mid-1900s: Post-War Changes

• 1948 – The U.S. Supreme Court decided the Shelley v. Kraemer lawsuit.
• 1949 – The Fairground Park riot occurred.
• 1950 – The population reached 856,796.
• 1951 – The Veterans' Memorial Bridge was built.
• 1954
  • KETC television began broadcasting.
  • The Pruitt–Igoe housing complex was built.
• 1958 – The Landmarks Association of St. Louis was established.
• 1959 – A St. Louis sit-in took place during the Civil Rights Movement.
• 1960
  • The population was 750,026.
  • St. Louis became a sister city with Stuttgart, Germany.
  • The NFL's Chicago Cardinals football team moved to St. Louis.
• 1962 – St. Louis Community College was established.
• 1963
  • University of Missouri–St. Louis was established.
  • MetroBus began operating.
  • The Planetarium opened.
• 1964
  • Imo's Pizza opened in Shaw.
  • The Cardinals won the World Series.
• 1965 – The famous Gateway Arch was built.
• 1966 – Busch Stadium opened.
• 1967
  • The Poplar Street Bridge was completed.
  • The St. Louis Blues ice hockey team was formed.
  • The Cardinals won the World Series.
• 1970 – The population was 622,236.
• 1972 – Demolition of Pruitt-Igoe began.
• 1974 – St. Louis became a sister city with Suwa, Japan.
• 1976 – St. Louis became a sister city with Lyon, France.
• 1977
  • The St. Louis Convention Center opened.
  • St. Louis became a sister city with Galway, Ireland.
• 1979 – St. Louis became a sister city with Nanjing, China.

Late 1900s: New Eras and Connections

• 1980 – The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis was established.
• 1981 – Gwen B. Giles became the first woman and first African-American to lead the St. Louis City Assessor's Office.
• 1982 – The Cardinals won the World Series.
• 1986 – Express Scripts started its business.
• 1987
  • St. Louis became a sister city with Bologna, Italy.
  • The Football Cardinals played their last season in St. Louis.
• 1989 – One Metropolitan Square (a tall building) was built.
• 1990
  • The population was 396,685.
  • St. Louis became a sister city with Georgetown, Guyana.
• 1991 – The Hindu Temple of St. Louis was founded.
• 1992 – St. Louis became a sister city with Szczecin, Poland.
• 1993 – MetroLink (the light rail system) began operating.
• 1994
  • The Kiel Center arena opened.
  • St. Louis became a sister city with Saint-Louis, Senegal.
• 1995
  • The St. Louis Rams football team moved from Los Angeles.
  • The Trans World Dome (a stadium) opened.
• 1997 – The city's website went online.

The 2000s: Into the New Millennium

• 2000 – The population was 348,189.
• 2001
  • The Pulitzer Arts Foundation museum opened.
  • Francis G. Slay became mayor.
• 2004 – St. Louis became a sister city with Bogor, Indonesia.
• 2006
  • The new Busch Stadium was built.
  • The Cardinals won the World Series.
• 2008 – St. Louis became a sister city with Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 2009 – Citygarden opened.
• 2010 – The population was 319,294.
• 2011 – The Cardinals won the World Series.
• 2014
  • Events in nearby Ferguson led to community discussions.
  • The Musial Bridge opened.
• 2016 – The Rams football team left St. Louis.
• 2019 – The Blues won the Stanley Cup for the first time.
• 2022 – CityPark opened.