A Guide to Researching St. Louis History

The first time ever I saw St. Louis I could have bought it for six million dollars, and it was the biggest mistake of my life that I did not do it. - Mark Twain (Life on the Mississippi)

Researching St. Louis history can be a fascinating journey. All you need is a light to steer your research by. While this brief guide cannot illuminate all available resources, it will help you get started. For additional assistance, please stop by or call our reference desk: (314) 516-7247.

GENERAL HISTORIES

1.) Encyclopedia of the History of Saint Louis by William Hyde & Howard Conard, 1899. A four-volume set providing concise articles on the citizens, commerce, government, and cultural history of St. Louis. MERC REF & TJ REF: F474.S2 H9

2.) History of Saint Louis City and County from the Earliest Periods to the Present Day by J. Thomas Scharf, 2 vols., 1883. Highly detailed history with an emphasis on biographical sketches and institutions. MERC REF & TJ REF F474.S2 S3

3.) Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri, by James Neal Primm, 2nd ed., 1990. The standard history of the city.MERC CIRC& TJ REF:F 474.S257 P75 1990

4.) Saint Louis: a Chronological and Documentary History, 1762-1970, by Robert Vexler, 1974. Reproduces the text of some of the city’s important documents and provides a chronology of its most significant events. TJ REF: F474.S2 V49

5.) Saint Louis: an Informal History of the City and its People, 1764-1865by Charles Van Ravenswaay, 1991. A detailed, well-illustrated history of the city’s first century.

MERC CIRC, TJ, & TJ REF: F474.S275 V36 1991

6.) St. Louis, the Fourth City, 1764-1909 by Walter B. Stevens, 3 vols., 1909. Vol. 1 is"a narrative of the rise and progress of St. Louis;" volumes 2 & 3 provide detailed biographical sketches of prominent turn-of-the-century St. Louisans. MERC REF, TJ F474.S2 S846. See also the detailed index to Vol. 1 by Pauline Pfeifer:MERC REF F474 .S2 S846 1960

7.) This is Our Saint Louis by Harry M. Hagen, 1970. General history of the city; a useful source for photographs and illustrations.MERC ARCH & TJ REF: F474.S2 H15

NEIGHBORHOODS & LANDMARKS

8.) Discovering African-American St. Louis: a Guide to Historic Sites by John A. Wright, 1994. Concise descriptions of over 300 African-American historic homes, institutions, and places. MERC REF, TJ REF, TJ F474.S29 N4 1994

9.) History of St. Louis Neighborhoods by Norbury Wayman, 1978-81. A series of19 booklets on individual St. Louis neighborhoods covering topography, parks, schools, and industries. Cataloged individually, check Merlin for names of neighborhoods covered.

10.) Lafayette Square Restoration Committee Records. An extensive collection of photos, clippings, and other documents about this historic Victorian neighborhood.MERC Collection M128

11.) St. Louis: Its Neighbors and Neighborhoods by Robert E. Hannon, 1986. Historical sketches of neighborhoods in the city of St. Louis and nearby Missouri and Illinois.MERC NONCIRC, TJ REF F474.S257 S8 1986

12.) St. Louis Landmarks and Historic Districts by Carolyn H. Toft, 1988. A look at the best of St. Louis's cultural and historic sites. This author has also written insightful ethnic histories of four St. Louis neighborhoods: Carondelet, the Hill, Soulard, and the Ville.MERC NONCIRC F467.S2 T5 1988

13.) Where We Live: a Guide to St. Louis Communities, Tim Fox, ed., 1995. Concise background information on landmark sites, buildings, and thirty St. Louis neighborhoods. Authoritative bibliographies.TJ, TJ REFF474.S23 W48 1995

NEWSPAPERS

The Mercantile Library has an extensive collection of 19th and 20th century St. Louis newspapers, including St. Louis Suburban newspapers such as the South Side Journal. Consult staff at the Mercantile Reference Desk for titles and dates. Thomas Jefferson Library has the following newspapers (call numbers indicated in bold) in microfilm on level 5:

St. Louis Argus, 1915-45; 1947-82; 1984 - current. AN.S2 A7

St. Louis Daily Globe, 1872-1875. AN.S2 G52y

St. Louis Daily Times, 1867-1879 (in Mercantile Library)

St. Louis Democrat (Daily Missouri Democrat), 1853-1875. AN.S2 G53y

St. Louis Globe Democrat, 1875-1986. AN.S2 G54y

St. Louis Dispatch, 1874-1877. AN.S2P58y

St. Louis Evening Post, 1878. AN.S2P59y

St. Louis Post Dispatch, 1878 - current. AN.S2P6

St. Louis Weekly Reveille, 1844-1846 (in Mercantile Library)

14.) Index to St. Louis Newspapers, 1975-1979. TJ REF Index Table AI 21 .S22x Provides subject indexing to Focus/Midwest; Metro-East Journal; St. Louis Argus; St. Louis Commerce; St. Louis Globe-Democrat; St. Louis Magazine; St. Louis Post Dispatch; St. Louis Sentinel.

15.) Index to the Saint Louis Post Dispatch, 1980 - current. A subject and personal name index to the newspaper. TJ REF Index Table AI 21 .S2B4xSearch the newspaper full- text from 1989 - current on T.J. Library's Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe database. PostNet, the official website of the Post Dispatch, provides searchable, full-text indexing to its articles from 1988 - current; however, there is a charge for viewing actual article:

St. Louis Post Dispatch Archives

16.) Saint Louis Globe-Democrat Archives. A unique and valuable research tool on the people and history of St. Louis. Includes many thousands of clippings and photographs arranged by personal name, company, or topic beginning about 1920 and ending with the newspaper’s closing in 1986. Ask at MERC Reference Desk

PICTORIAL & MAP SOURCES

17.) Pictorial Saint Louis – 1875 by Camille N. Dry, 1971 reprint. Detailed views of St. Louis including streets, buildings and other physical features. Also provides brief descriptions of businesses and institutions of 1875. TJ FOLIO, MERC REF G4164 .S4 1875 D7x

18.) Saint Louis Illustrated: Nineteenth Century Engravings and Lithographs of a Mississippi River Metropolis by John W. Reps, 1989. Presents over 100 engravings and color lithographs of Saint Louis depicting its growth up to the turn of the century. MERC REF, TJNE954.2 .R47 1989

St. Louis Mercantile Library

A Guide to Researching St. Louis History

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