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Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum
Ninth Street looking North from Chestnut, 1852. “Most streets in 1849 St. Louis were chocked with dust in the summer and a muddy quagmire in the spring and summer.”
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Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum
Ruins of the Great St. Louis Fire, 1849. “Daguerrotypist Thomas Easterly created the only known photograph of the ruins of the city after the Great Fire.”
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Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum
Fire Engine Dinky, Union Fire Company, 1852. “Members of Union Fire Company No. 2 pose with Dinky, the engine they acquired a year after the Great Fire.”
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Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum
“The Independent Gold Hunter on His Way to California,” lithograph by N. Currier, 1849.
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Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum
“Bob Wilkinson was a barber at several of St. Louis’ better hotels, and was well-known throughout the city. Daguerrotype by Thomas Easterly, 1860.
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Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum
The letter from the French consul, replete with red, yellow and blue paper, figures in toto The Montesquiou murder.
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Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum
Christopher Alan Gordon.
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Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum
For the rapidly growing city of St. Louis, 1849 was quite the year. A fire struck a steamboat on the levee, spreading flames deep into the bustling heart of the city. There was also the cholera epidemic, which showed the dangers of not addressing sanitation and equitable housing conditions. Even with those seemingly crippling disasters, the population jumped to 77,580 residents in 1850, which translated into a 372.8% increase from the 1840 census. The city’s growing pains redefined St. Louis, and certain reforms, such as legislating for brick buildings, and the development of a safe water supply still reverberate to this day. 1849 also seems to be a catch-all reference for today’s reformers: "See what strong leadership and enlightened policymaking can do? If we simply capture the spirit of 1849…"
But obviously, it is not that simple. The Missouri History Museum has just published an extensive examination of the events of that fateful year in Fire, Pestilence, and Death: St. Louis, 1849. Written by Christopher Alan Gordon, director of the library and collections at the Museum, we see a side of St. Louis that is much more complex and multifaceted than our idealizations. In fact, there was much more happening other than a cholera epidemic and urban fire.
The book is arranged thematically, with each chapter focusing on a calamity or other interesting incident or character. Chapters 1 and 3 touch on cholera and the Great Fire, respectively. But Chapter 2 reminds us of the importance of St. Louis as the Gateway to the West, and 1849 brought a wave of gold prospectors passing through town, causing more than their fair share of problems. Chapter 4 deals with the crime that grew out of St. Louis' expanding population, which at the time was still concentrated within a mile of the Mississippi River. Chapter 5 reveals that while leaders were taking concrete steps to improve sanitation and building codes, they were sorely lacking in their treatment of African-American slaves and freedman. Chapters 6 and 7 deal with several colorful characters such as Nathaniel Childs and the Montesquiou Brothers, the latter of which were put on trial for murder before eventually being found not guilty.
What I really found interesting is how Gordon weaves objects in the History Museum’s archives into the overall narrative. Before the St. Louis Post-Dispatch existed, the Missouri Republican was the newspaper of record, and the massive bound volumes tell all sorts of stories. For example, during the cholera epidemic, the newspaper chronicled each death. Gordon remarks, “They would get sick in the morning, and by sunset they would be dead.”
On a more somber note, right below advertisements for cattle and horses, the Missouri Republican featured advertisements for escaped slaves, and those for sale. Gordon reminds us that for many of those slaves, this advertisement may be the only record of these people. “It’s incredibly moving to see this newspaper,” Gordon explains, “to see this happening right in St. Louis.”
The story of Elizabeth Keckley, a slave who bought her freedom from the owner who brought her to St. Louis, is chronicled in a first-edition copy of Behind the Scenes from 1868. Keckley led a fascinating life, as recounted in her autobiography, from a slave making money for her destitute owner to working in Washington, D.C. There are also numerous objects in the collections from the Great Fire, including maps and a firefighter’s hat. The letter from the French consul, replete with red, yellow and blue paper, figures in toto The Montesquiou murder.
The work on the book developed over several years, explains Gordon. “I would come across these amazing accounts, letters, and diaries. There are already plenty of ‘big picture’ stories about the events of 1849. I wanted to share the voices of everyday people who lived through these events in St. Louis history.”
Chris Gordon will be speaking about his new book, “Fire, Pestilence, and Death: St. Louis, 1849” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 13 in the Lee Auditorium at the Missouri History Museum.
Chris Naffziger writes about architecture at St. Louis Patina. Contact him via email at naffziger@gmail.com.
