St Louis Attractions

History In 1764 a French fur trader named Pierre Laclede established a trading post here, named St Louis after the French King Louis IX (St Louis). In 1803 the town, which then had a population of only 1000, passed to the United States along with the rest of Louisiana under the Louisiana Purchase, and soon developed into an important staging post for settlers on their way to the west. In 1849 most of the town was destroyed in a great fire. During the Civil War St Louis was an important Union base.

Downtown St Louis, bordered on the east by the Mississippi River and centered on its famous Arch, radiates for several blocks and is marked by a rich architectural tradition.