Christopher Alan Gordon, “Fire, Pestilence, and Death: St. Louis 1849”

In 1849, St. Louis was a frontier town at a crossroads. An exploding population was pushing the city, its infrastructure, and its residents to the limit. Fire had decimated a large part of the riverfront, and disease, greed, and crime were running rampant. Christopher Gordon, the Missouri Historical Society’s Director of Library and Collections, culled publications, diaries, government records, and letters to reconstruct one of the most turbulent—and fascinating—years in St. Louis history.
Presented in partnership with the Missouri History Museum Press and the St. Louis County Library History and Genealogy Department.