This Month in St. Louis History

Strassenfest, Moonlight Ramble
and more in August

Two events that are still celebrated in St. Louis had their beginnings during past Augusts. The two are Strassenfest German festival and the Moonlight Ramble bike ride.

The Dardenne Creek area's varied history ranged from farming to the TNT explosives plant and to an outdoor conservation/recreation area. Its local history began in August.

Saint Louis IX of France and the steamboat Arabia also had August anniversary dates.

The Missouri History Museum in Forest Park each month cooperates with Young Saint Louis.com to provide information about the state's rich history. Each item in this article has an August anniversary date.

If you'd like more information about Missouri history, visit www.mohistory.org.

Strassenfest

Strassenfest is a traditional German festival held in August. It has a history that dates back 300 years.

With its strong German heritage, St. Louis is a natural place to celebrate a Strassenfest. The name translates into "street party" and reflects the sensibility of "gemultlichkeit" which means "warmth and friendliness."

This would be a good time to visit two websites that tell of the German history in Missouri and of Strassenfest. They are www.serve.com/shea/germusa/mochild.htm and www.strassenfest.org.

Moonlight Ramble

The 2007 Moonlight Ramble bicycle ride will be held Aug. 25/26, 2007. It often draws up to 15,000 riders who begin riding through St. Louis at the stroke of midnight.

If 15,000 riders show up again this year, that will be 14,999 more than took part in the first one in 1964.

The idea for a nighttime bike ride was the brainstorm of Dick Leary. He was with the Ozark Area Council of American Youth Hostels and thought it would be good promotion for his program.

But, it turned out he was the only person who showed up to ride that first year. But, he persevered with his idea.

By the 1970s, the ride was drawing thousands. And since then it has become sort of a one-night festival with entertainment, a vendor village, food, souvenirs and a family-oriented after party.

For more about the ride's past and current status, visit www.moonlightramble.com/mr/.

Dardenne Creek

In August, 1750, a French trapper, Toussaint Dardenne, bought a house in a village along a beautiful freshwater creek in what is now St. Charles County.

The area had everything the Dardenne family and others living there wanted. It had large areas of grassland for farming, plenty of timber and wildlife along the creek and plenty of fish for food.

But, when the 1900s began, the assault on the creek area began. First, the Cottleville Drainage District dredged and channeled the stream. That meant more farming but less water and wildlife.

Dardenne Creek at Highway B

Then, in 1940, the federal government began buying out schools and homes to establish a huge TNT plant that produced explosives for World War II. That left the area polluted and the situation got worse.

A uranium-processing plant ran from 1957 to 1966. Water in Dardenne Creek was now an orange-pink color and the stream was basically a chemical sewer.

At least some of the area began a comeback when the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area was purchased by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Although the conservation area still has over 100 explosive storage bunkers, the primary use is now outdoor recreation.

For more, visit www.cares.missouri.edu/dardenne.

Saint Louis IX of France

 

Saint Louis IX

Saint Louis IX, the king of France and namesake for our city, died on Aug. 25, 1270.

St. Louis, Mo., is just one of the places around the world named after the king. Saint-Louis du Senegal in Africa and Lake Saint-Louis in Quebec, Canada, are a couple others.

The fact he was the only canonized French king prompted his name to be used so often.

He was named king when he was just 11 years old. As son of King Louis VIII, he got the title when his father died on Nov. 8, 1226. His mother, Blanche of Castile, served as regent of France while Louis IX was a minor.

Staue of Saint Louis in Forest Park

He was known for his religious fervor and participated in the Crusades. His death is said to have occurred in Tunis in North Africa in 1270 while fighting against Islam. A Tomb of Saint-Louis is still in the Algerian city.

However, in Islamic history, King Louis IX was said to have converted to Islam under the name Sidi Bou Said. He is said to have been an Islamic saint when he died.

For more, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_IX_of_France.

You can see a statue of Saint Louis on horseback in Forest Park. For more on that, visit http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/
history/statue.html.

Steamboat Arabia

Painting of the Steamboat Arabia by artist Gary Lucy

The steamboat Arabia left St. Louis on Aug. 30, 1856, on what turned out to be its last journey up the Missouri River. The side-wheeler sank Sept. 5 when it hit a river snag.

Of course, the Missouri destroyed a number of steamboats in its day. A historian H.M Chittendon recorded almost 200 ships that sank between St. Louis and Kansas City in a 65-year period in the 1800s.

But, the Arabia got a place in Missouri history when it was one of just two boats found buried with its structure and cargo virtually intact.

Glass bottle from the Steamboat Arabia

The Arabia remained undiscovered until 1988. When found, it was buried 45 feet underground and more than a half-mile from the current Missouri River channel. (Rivers like the Missouri that move quickly often change channels during flood periods.)

The boat was located by use of a proton magnetometer that detected metal in the boat.

There is an Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City. For more on that, you can visit http://www.1856.com/story4.html.

For more on cargo from the Arabia, visit http://www.glswrk-auction.com/102.htm.