Description
After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, St. Louis became a key trade hub, launching point for western explorers, and center of the fur trade. Waves of immigrants, especially Irish and German, joined its French Catholic roots, creating a diverse city shaped by slavery debates and freedom suits. By midcentury, rapid growth, cholera, and fire pushed the city to modernize with sewers, police, and fire services. On the eve of the Civil War, St. Louis had become a major, strategic American city.
