As the nineteenth century drew to a
close, St. Louis would rise to become the nation's fourth largest city. As a major city in Missouri, St. Louis had a
significant slave population, by 1850 there were 2,656 slaves and 1,398 free
blacks. The total population for the
city was 77,860 (Ravenswaay 394). The
wealth and power of the free blacks within the black community was a sharp
contrast to the lives of those still within the bounds of slavery. At this time a large influx of German, Irish
and other European immigrants was flooding the labor market of St. Louis. Soon the slave market was exceeding the labor
needs of the city, allowing St. Louis to rise as a major slave market. However those running the markets were faced
with public disgust and became social outcasts (401). There were legal avenues that slaves were
able to pursue to purchase their freedom and win it in court leading to the
defining Dredd Scott case. The Scott
case gained national attention as it exemplified the bitter disputes about
slavery that were dividing the country. The
1850’s were a time of uncertainty and change for St. Louisans, who began to
rebuild after a devastating 1849 fire.
The commercial centers were rebuilt, and new elegant buildings and
streets were emerging from the ashes (412). As the economy grew, so did the city
limits. The city's main economic draw
was its booming industry and as a major port on the Mississippi River, the very
heart of trade through the country.
Immigrant populations continued to grow in great numbers as German,
Irish, Italian, Bohemian, and other European settlers made their home in the
city. This allowed the city to develop
unique communities and social circles revolving around connecting fellow
immigrants together and keeping the culture alive in their new homeland
In
the late 1850's Henry Shaw had built and opened Shaw's Garden park free to the
public, hoping to emulate the great country gardens of Europe (Ravenswaay 439). In 1868, Shaw gave the city 190 acres of
land, which later grew to 277 acres, and named the area Tower Grove Park. He
leased a strip two hundred feet wide to the city, and used the income to
support the Botanical Gardens (Primm 306).
In 1872, St. Louis purchased over one thousand acres to build a new
public park. Although approved by the
legislature, this purchase was doggedly challenged by a group of taxpayers. However, the land purchase was eventually
settled and the owners of the land C.P. Chouteau, Julia Maffitt, William
Forsyth, Thomas Skinker, and others allowed the city to purchase their land for
$799,995. Forest Park was officially
dedicated in 1876, and by the 1890s the park experienced over three million
visitors a year. During this time Forest
Park incorporated the zoological park that was previously located on popular
fairgrounds (306-307). St. Louis'
social and cultural scene was also coming into its own with the opening of
elegant theaters and stops from well-know entertainers like Jenny Lind and Tom
Thumb (Ravenswaay 444-445). By 1876, St. Louis had
not only experienced a population boom, but was expanding quickly beyond its
city limits. The city now covered 61.37
square miles and stretched along the Mississippi for 19 miles (307). By 1900, the population of St. Louis
continued to grow to 575,238, ranking again as the fourth largest city in the
nation. Its industries, manufacturing
and commercial economies continued to experience growth and prestige, despite
the fact that Chicago was a larger railroad hub.
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