This Month in St. Louis History

St. Louis' role in nation's space program

St. Louis has been a key part of the U.S. space exploration from the beginning. In 1962, Mercury 8 capsule built by McDonnell-Douglas Co. in St. Louis was launched.

Some other key events in St. Louis' past Octobers include:

Each month, the Missouri History Museum helps Young Saint Louis.com collect information about the long history of the St. Louis area. We want to encourage kids to find out more about people and events, which shaped this area. For more, you can visit www.mohistory.org.

 

St. Louis and space exploration

October was an important month in the nation's space exploration history. On Oct. 3, 1962, the Mercury 8 capsule was launched in one of the first successful manned space flights.

The capsule's orbital flight took 9 hours, 13 minutes, from launch to splash down in the Pacific Ocean. The capsule was built by McDonnell-Douglas Co. of St. Louis.

Two years later, Gemini space flights were planned for October. But, problems delayed the launch until March of 1965.

Next up was the Apollo space program. Again, McDonnell-Douglas was a key player. McDonnell-Douglas is now a part of the Boeing Co. but major space building is still done in St. Louis.

For a more on Mercury, visit http://www.astronautix.com/flights/merryma8.htm

For more on Gemini, visit http://www.astroinfoservice.co.uk/html/gem_era.html

 

First overland mail from San Francisco

The first overland mail to travel from California arrived in St. Louis on Oct. 9, 1858. The mail took 24 days, 18 hours and 26 minutes to make the trip on both stagecoach and train.

The contract schedule called for the trip to be done in 25 days.

A shipment of mail westward from St. Louis had started on Sept. 16, 1858. It arrived in San Francisco on Oct. 10.

The overland mail left St. Louis every Monday and Thursday mornings. Letters were marked "By Overland Mail" and cost 3 cents to send. Passengers going westward were charged $200 but a return trip only cost $100.

 

The tragic 1918 Spanish flu outbreak

An article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2004 reviewed the deadly outbreak of Spanish flu, which hit the country in 1918.

In October, 1918, there were 500 cases of the flu reported at Jefferson Barracks. Fifty more cases were reported in the city just 50 days later.

But, quick action by Mayor Henry Kiel and Dr. Max Starkloff, the city health commissioner, was credited with keeping the city's death rate low. A state of emergency order gave the health commissioner the right to close public gathering places, including schools and theaters.

More than 1,700 died in St. Louis. But, that was the lowest death toll among the nine largest cities in the country. Nationwide, over a half million people died.

One of the local victims was U.S. Congressman Jacob E. Meeker who fell ill while visiting Jefferson Barracks on an investigation visit.

 

St. Louis Children's Hospital opens

The St. Louis Children's Hospital had a very small opening in 1879. The hospital opened at 2834 Franklin Ave. with just two patients and one matron.

A drive to build a children's hospital had started in 1878. A fund drive raised $4,500 to purchase the Franklin Avenue building. Its capacity was listed at 15 patients.

In 1884, a larger, modern hospital was built with a capacity of 60 patients.

Of course, now St. Louis Children's Hospital is much larger and one of the nation's leading children's hospitals. It is associated with Washington University.

St. Louis Children's Hospital's history is outlined in an article that can be viewed at http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/mowihsp/articles/SLCH.htm.