St. Louis: An Informal History of the City and its People, 1764-1865

St. Louis, MO: Missouri Historical Society Press, 1991. Hardcover. VG/VG- (book has nameplate of previous owner on inside front cover, minor smudging spot on textblock, all pages clear and intact - dust jacket shows minor wear at edges). Red cloth boards with gold gilt lettering, green and color illustrated dust jacket with orange and yellow lettering, ix, 568 pp., bw and color illustrations. "Founded as a fur trading post in 1764, St. Louis grew into one of America's great cities by the end of the Civil War. Author Charles van Ravenswaay captures the excitement of this tumultuous century in his lively new book. He focuses on the people - the French fur traders and Yankee entrepreneurs, the prominent politcians and forgotten frontier families, the saints and sinners - who settled St. Louis and made it the 'Queen of the West.' The city's colonial period was dominated by the Chouteau family dynasty, by its colorful Creole settlers, and by a succession of Spanish governors who ruled St. Louis until 1804. Next St. Louis took on another role, as territorial capital, with a new set of growing pains: the intrigues of Gov. James Wilkinson; the notorious duel between Thomas H. Benton and Charles Lucas; the rough atmosphere of the young city, and the clerics who tried to tame it. Then the city had ' flush times' until 1850, as the hub of the burgeoning western trade. New saddle, rifle, and wagon companies spring up; hotels opened to a flood of visitors, including Charles Dickens; the city's cultural life blossomed. Yet there were also serious problems, such as deadly cholera epidemics, the depression of 1837, growing tension over slavery, and the murder of abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy. During the Civil War, St. Louis became a divded city in a border state, nationally known for the Dred Scott case, the bloody Camp Jackson affair, and the hundred-day regime of Gen. John C. Fremont. Following the political and social turmoil of the war years, the city was ready to take on a new identitty, as a sprawling industrial center. The author weaves together these stories to create an interesting, anecdotal, highly readable account of the city's past. This lavishly illustrated volume also contains more than 400 early images, which help bring the history of St. Louis to life." - dust jacket description.