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St. Louis County, Missouri
 St.
Louis County was one of the original five counties
organized in the Missouri Territory in 1812. Until the
railroads came in the 1850s, the area remained mostly rural,
and as French and English settlers either died out or moved
on, they were replaced with German and Irish immigrants.
Today’s boundaries of St.
Louis County are the same as they were in 1876,
when the city and county were separated into two distinct
governmental entities by citizens’ vote. St. Louis was the
nation's first home-rule city, but unlike most, it was
separated from any county.
Today, more than 1 million people live in St. Louis County’s
91 cities and villages. It is home to Washington, Maryville
and Webster universities, Fontbonne and Missouri Baptist
colleges, Concordia, Eden, Kenrick-Glennon, and Covenant
Theological seminaries, and the University of Missouri-St.
Louis. The county seat is Clayton.
With 24 school districts and 23 fire districts, St. Louis
County is widely considered on of the most fragmented counties
in the country. However, it’s patriotic and impressive
history is the glue that unites all citizens. The county’s
famous historic sites include:
- Jefferson
Barracks. Named in honor of former President
Thomas Jefferson, the barracks is considered the
country’s first “Infantry School of Practice.”
- Gen.
Daniel Bissell House. Gen. Daniel Bissell was a
military commander of the Upper Louisiana Territory. The
1812 house has period family artifacts and furnishings on
display.
- Ebsworth
Park. The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth
Park was the architect’s first building in the area, and
one of his most complex designs. The home is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
- Faust
County Park. The park is home to the Sophia M.
Sachs Butterfly House, St. Louis Carousel, a historical
village, the Saint Louis Symphony Music School and
Thornhill, the estate of Frederick Bates, Missouri’s
second governor.
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