St Louis History of Manchester Road

Manchester Road and its Diverse History Driving down Manchester road was a trip down memory lane. I am currently familiar with much of Manchester road and it booming activity. So much has been built and added in the past twenty years. I did not realize how far into the city Manchester went and so it was a new experience for me. Much of Manchester Rd. in the city is very industrial with the train tracks running parallel to the road much of the time. There were trains present. As we approached Maplewood, the tracks disappeared, leaving behind the barred windows and dilapidated buildings, giving way to a cute little town and the sidewalk shops. Suddenly you saw lots of people walking around. Prior to this I had seen a couple of rough looking people sitting at bus stops but that was all. It only got better. As I drove along I realized how old the places like Glendale and Rock Hill and Kirkwood are. Whereas toward the end in Ballwin and especially Wildwood everything was so new still and in some instances still under construction. Instead of building new homes like these places Kirkwood and some areas closer to the city are in the process of tearing down old homes and building new ones in their place.
Manchester road itself has a very long and interesting history. It first was called Rue Bonhomme during French control of the area. At that time, it was an extension of Market Street, which farmers used to carry produce to market on the St. Louis riverfront. In 1826, the Missouri State Legislature moved to Jefferson City, making it the new state capital. One of the first orders of business after the move was to supplement the Missouri River access to the capital with an overland route. Soon an overland mail route between St. Louis and Jefferson City was established. In 1835, the St. Louis County Court approved an act to plan out Manchester Rd. The General Assembly made Manchester Road the first official State road in St. Louis County in order to provide an overland

Bibliography: www.ballwin.mo.us www.explorestlouis.com www.ellisville.mo.us stlouis.missouri.org stlouis.mo.org