A history of St. Louis,
since 1764
Postcards, papers and photographs of St. Louis from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The area that became St. Louis was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture, which built numerous temple and residential earthwork mounds on both sides of the Mississippi River. Their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds, active from 900 to 1500. Due to numerous major earthworks within St. Louis boundaries, the city was nicknamed "Mound City". These mounds were mostly demolished during the city's development. Historic Native American tribes in the area encountered by early Europeans included the Siouan-speaking Osage people, whose territory extended west, and the Illiniwek. Sugarloaf Mound in South St. Louis was repatriated to the Osage Nation in 2025.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish St. Louis’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewNewsies. Location: St. Louis, Mis…, 1910: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10St. Louis, decade by decade
LOCNewsies. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCNewsie. St. Louis, Mo. May 1910. Location: St. Louis, Misso…1910
LOCNewsie. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCYoung messengers, Olive St. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCOld newsboys. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOC"Just newsies." Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCYoung newsies. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCFlipping cars. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCBundle boy. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCBundle boys. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCBundle carrier. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCExpress helper. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCA young messenger. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCHotel de Bum. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOC"Livers" a young newsie. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCAn old time newsboy. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCSaloon and boys selling. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCNewsies selling near saloon. Location: St. Louis, Missouri1910
LOCJohnston's Branch adjoining Saloon 10th & Cass St. Location…1910
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Newsies. Location: St. Louis, Missouri (1910) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom the Library of Congress (22). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.