From Missouri History Museum

First U.S. kindergarten class here in 1873

Susan Blow

In September, 1873, St. Louis was the site of the nation's first public school kindergarten class. And teacher Susan Blow of St. Louis became the first kindergarten teacher.

She welcomed 68 young boys and girls to that class at Des Peres School in Carondelet.

Her idea was to introduce kids to creative play and great literature at an earlier age. She felt it was important to start education early. After all, in the 1870s in St. Louis, only half of local school-age kids attended any classes.

She said she wanted kids to get an education early before they learned too many bad habits.

Miss Blow picked up this philosophy while traveling in Europe. She saw how the ideas of German educator Friedrich Froebel were used in kindergartens in that country.

Miss Blow got the attention of St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent William Torrey Harris in a simple way. She offered to teach the class without pay. In fact, her father, a rich industrialist, agreed to fund the entire experiment.

She also taught others the Froebel methods so there could be more kindergarten classes throughout the city.

Her program became a model for schools across the country. Miss Blow was in demand as a speaker and educational theorist. She published five books of educational theory and was active in the International Kindergarten Union until her death in 1916.

You can learn more about Miss Blow and her education ideas in author Katherine T. Corbett's book, "In Her Place." The book also contains much more about history of St. Louis. It's available at the Missouri History Museum and can be borrowed from area libraries.

The Des Peres School building is still standing. Located at 6303 Michigan St., it is now the Carondelet Historic Center. The building includes a carefully-restored classroom where the first kindergarten class was taught 130 years ago.

Susan Blow is one of the famous St. Louisans who have stars in the Walk of Fame in University City. You can visit the Walk's website at www.stlouiswalkoffame.org.

Other historic items from past Septembers

* In September 1823, the Native American Keokuk was named by the U.S. to be "Grand Chief of the Sac and Fox Tribe."

In those days before Missouri became a state, Indian affairs were very much on the minds of all pioneer families. In fact, the U.S. government and Indian tribes were still signing peace treaties.

A picture of that famed Indian chieftain is included in the Missouri History Museum's Current Gallery.

* On Sept. 27, 1953, the St. Louis Browns baseball team played its last game at Sportsman's Park.

The Browns started in St. Louis in 1902 and were the dominant local professional team in those early years. However, when the Anheuser-Busch brewery bought the Cardinals, they moved ahead of the Browns.

You can learn lots about the Browns and other major league baseball teams by logging on www.baseballlibrary.com.

* One of St. Louis' founders, Auguste Chouteau, was born in September, 1749, in New Orleans. He and Pierre LaClede would later travel up the Mississippi to found an outpost which would become St. Louis.

When in St. Louis, Chouteau successfully negotiated several peace treaties with Indian tribes. When he died on Feb. 24, 1829, he was the largest landowner in St. Louis.

For more about Chouteau, LaClede and other famous St. Louisans, see Charles Ravensway's big book, "St. Louis: an informal history of the city and its people-1764-1865."

 

From "St. Louis, 365"

Highlights: Union Station opens;
Edison shows phonograph

St. Louis's Union Station opened in 1894. In 1900, Thomas Edison demonstrated to the public for the first time how phonograph records were made.

In 1842, then-lawyer Abraham Lincoln was challenged to a duel by a Belleville, Ill., attorney. They ended up not dueling. That was several years before Lincoln became president of the United States.

These events as well as several sports records occurred in past Septembers, according to local historian Joe Sonderman. These and dozens of other past incidents are included in his book of local history, "St. Louis 365."

(The book is available in local book stores or at www.booksonline.com. Sonderman has given Young Saint Louis.com permission to quote items from his book.)

Here are a selection of the 151 separate historical items in the September chapter of Sonderman's book:

September 1, 1894: The magnificent Union Station opened. Architect Theodore C. Link's building cost $6.5 million to build, and was twice as big as any railroad depot in the world at the time. The station closed in 1979. In 1985, it was renovated and turned into a unique shopping area. Today, the station is one of the top attractions in St. Louis.

September 5, 1906: Bradbury Robinson of St. Louis University threw the first legal forward pass in football. This was the first season in which the forward pass was legal. The first pass in a practice game against Carroll College was incomplete and the Bills lost the ball. The next time, Robinson completed a 20-yarder for the first aerial touchdown.

September 13, 1951: The Cardinals became the first modern era team to play two different teams on the same day at the same ball park. The Cards beat the Giants at Sportsman's Park, 6-4, in a make-up game from the previous night. Then, the Redbirds beat the Braves, 2-0, in a make-up game from earlier in the season.

September 19, 1949: A $100 million plan for development of the Meramec River Basin for recreation was unveiled. Planners assumed that three dams recommended by the army engineers would be built. They already had been approved by Congress. For the next 28 years, a battle would rage over the Meramec Basin. (Eventually, the dam proposal was reversed. For a story about how kids are involved in the current Meramec River Basin, see Lifestyle story on home page.)

September 21, 1948: Benson Ford, vice president of the Ford Motor Company, dedicated the new $12 million Lincoln-Mercury plant on Highway 66 near Lambert Municipal Airport. At that time, Hazelwood did not exist. The village was founded by residents concerned about plans for Florissant to annex the area that included the new plant. (Recently, Ford Motor Company announced it would close the Hazelwood plant soon.)

September 22, 1842: Belleville attorney James Shields challenged Abraham Lincoln to a duel. The two men met on this date, but Lincoln's friends convinced the future president not to fight.

September 23, 1806: Lewis and Clark returned to St. Louis after their journey of discovery into the wilds of the Louisiana Purchase. They had traveled 1,700 miles in two years and four months. The people of the village of St. Louis lined the river bank and "Hizzard three cheers" as they landed.

September 26, 1983: Bob Forsch became the only pitcher in Cardinal history to ever throw two no-hitters. He also became the 25th pitcher in major league history to do it. His second was a 3-0 win over Montreal. Only two runners reached base; and Forsch threw just 96 pitches.

September 27, 1998: Mark McGwire blasted home runs 69 and 70 in the season finale at Busch Stadium. Number 69 came off Mike Thurman of the Expos in the third inning. Number 70 was a three-run shot off Carl Pavano in McGwire's last at bat of the season.

September 30, 1900: A huge crowd gathered at the St. Louis Exposition to see how phonograph records were made. Until now, the process was a secret closely guarded by Thomas Edison. Since his patents were about to expire, Edison arranged the demonstration. The crowd watched a recording session by "world famous phonograph singer," Will Denny.