Carondelet, St. Louis
Encyclopedia
Carondelet is a neighborhood in the extreme southeastern portion of St. Louis, Missouri
. It was incorporated as an independent city
in 1851 and was annexed by the City of St. Louis in 1870. As of the 2000 Census, the neighborhood has a population of 9,960 people.
Originally, the neighborhood was populated predominantly by French and then later German immigrants. Today the neighborhood contains a mixture of industrial uses along the Mississippi River
and residential and commercial uses further from the river. Because it once existed as an independent village, the neighborhood contains some of the oldest homes in St. Louis. Most of the housing was constructed between 1880 and 1930. Housing in the area ranges from modest single story cottages, to apartment buildings, to larger single family homes. Most of the housing is of brick construction.
In a 1799 census, Carondelet was described as "two leagues below St. Louis" and having a population of 181 white residents and 3 African American slaves. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsp&fileName=037/llsp037.db&Page=383
The community is particularly associated with processing lead from the Southeast Missouri Lead District. The affiliation began in the 1840s with the production lead shot shipped in via the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway
.
During the American Civil War
in the 1860s, 32 ironclad gunboats for the Union Army and Navy were produced at the James Buchanan Eads
-owned Union Marine Works shipyards including four of the initial City class ironclad
s: St. Louis
; Carondelet
(correctly mispronounced "Ka-rahn-dah-let"); Pittsburgh
; and Louisville
. The three other "City-Class" gunboats.... Cairo
(correctly mispronounced "Kay-roh"), Mound City; and Cincinnati
.... were completed for Eads under contract by Hambleton & Collier Company Shipyards in Mound City, Illinois. These seven vessels were the first ironclads produced for the United States government. They were soon joined by a fleet of heavy and light armored vessels....including light draft turreted "river monitors".....which was a decisive factor in Federal victory in the Civil War's Western Theater
. The Eads gunboats played key roles in Union victories at: Fort Henry
; Fort Donelson
;Nashville
; Shiloh
; Island Number Ten
; Memphis
;Arkansas Post; and the long and bitter Vicksburg Campaign
. Eads' ironclad fleet would later perform well during the ill-conceived Red River Campaign
and several of Eads vessels entered "blue water" Navy service and participated in the Federal victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay
.
From 1870-1930, Hertz Metal Company operated a lead smelter. It produced bailing wire and also operated a lead smelter. In 1876 Provident Chemical Works became a world leader in production of phosphate
s from its Carondelet Plant in a process that initially involved lead. In the 1920s the plant was purchased by Swann Chemical Company, and then in 1935 by Monsanto
. The River des Peres
was rerouted through the plant in the 1930s as part of a Works Progress Administration
project. Monsanto spun off the production to Solutia. In 2000 it became part of Astaris and then Israel Chemical Limited. The plant produces 250 million pounds per year of phosphate and phosphoric acid products.
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. It was incorporated as an independent city
Independent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
in 1851 and was annexed by the City of St. Louis in 1870. As of the 2000 Census, the neighborhood has a population of 9,960 people.
Originally, the neighborhood was populated predominantly by French and then later German immigrants. Today the neighborhood contains a mixture of industrial uses along the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and residential and commercial uses further from the river. Because it once existed as an independent village, the neighborhood contains some of the oldest homes in St. Louis. Most of the housing was constructed between 1880 and 1930. Housing in the area ranges from modest single story cottages, to apartment buildings, to larger single family homes. Most of the housing is of brick construction.
In a 1799 census, Carondelet was described as "two leagues below St. Louis" and having a population of 181 white residents and 3 African American slaves. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsp&fileName=037/llsp037.db&Page=383
The community is particularly associated with processing lead from the Southeast Missouri Lead District. The affiliation began in the 1840s with the production lead shot shipped in via the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway
St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway
The St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway was a historic railroad that operated in Missouri, and Arkansas during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
.
During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in the 1860s, 32 ironclad gunboats for the Union Army and Navy were produced at the James Buchanan Eads
James Buchanan Eads
Captain James Buchanan Eads was a world-renowned American civil engineer and inventor, holding more than fifty patents.-Early life and education:...
-owned Union Marine Works shipyards including four of the initial City class ironclad
City class ironclad
The Pook Turtles, or City class gunboats to use their semi-official name, were war vessels intended for service on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. They were also sometimes referred to as "Eads gunboats." The labels are applied to seven vessels of uniform design built from...
s: St. Louis
USS Baron DeKalb (1861)
USS Baron DeKalb was a City class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War....
; Carondelet
USS Carondelet (1861)
USS Carondelet was a gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War...
(correctly mispronounced "Ka-rahn-dah-let"); Pittsburgh
USS Pittsburgh (1861)
USS Pittsburgh was a City class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Army by James B. Eads during the American Civil War, and transferred to the Union Navy in October 1862...
; and Louisville
USS Louisville (1862)
USS Louisville was a City class ironclad gunboat constructed for the U.S. Army by James B. Eads during the American Civil War. [While initially owned by the Army, the City Class gunboats were commanded by U.S. Navy officers, and were eventually transferred to the Navy.]Louisville was built at St....
. The three other "City-Class" gunboats.... Cairo
USS Cairo (1861)
USS Cairo was a City class ironclad gunboat constructed for the Union Navy by James B. Eads during the American Civil War. She was the first vessel of the City class ironclads, also called the Cairo class....
(correctly mispronounced "Kay-roh"), Mound City; and Cincinnati
USS Cincinnati (1862)
The City class ironclad USS Cincinnati was a stern-wheel casemate gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for Cincinnati, Ohio and was the first ship to bear that name in the United States Navy....
.... were completed for Eads under contract by Hambleton & Collier Company Shipyards in Mound City, Illinois. These seven vessels were the first ironclads produced for the United States government. They were soon joined by a fleet of heavy and light armored vessels....including light draft turreted "river monitors".....which was a decisive factor in Federal victory in the Civil War's Western Theater
Western Theater of the American Civil War
This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.-Theater of operations:...
. The Eads gunboats played key roles in Union victories at: Fort Henry
Battle of Fort Henry
The Battle of Fort Henry was fought on February 6, 1862, in western Tennessee, during the American Civil War. It was the first important victory for the Union and Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater....
; Fort Donelson
Battle of Fort Donelson
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
;Nashville
History of Nashville, Tennessee
This article pertains to the history of Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Early history:The first known settlers in the area of modern Nashville were Native Americans of the Mississippian culture, who lived in the area from about 1000 to 1400 CE...
; Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
; Island Number Ten
Battle of Island Number Ten
The Battle of Island Number Ten was an engagement at the New Madrid or Kentucky Bend on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War, lasting from February 28 to April 8, 1862. The position, an island at the base of a tight double turn in the course of the river, was held by the Confederates...
; Memphis
Battle of Memphis
The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately above the city of Memphis on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis. It resulted in a crushing defeat for the Rebels, and marked the...
;Arkansas Post; and the long and bitter Vicksburg Campaign
Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....
. Eads' ironclad fleet would later perform well during the ill-conceived Red River Campaign
Red River Campaign
The Red River Campaign or Red River Expedition consisted of a series of battles fought along the Red River in Louisiana during the American Civil War from March 10 to May 22, 1864. The campaign was a Union initiative, fought between approximately 30,000 Union troops under the command of Maj. Gen....
and several of Eads vessels entered "blue water" Navy service and participated in the Federal victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay
Battle of Mobile Bay
The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Federal fleet commanded by Rear Adm. David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Adm...
.
From 1870-1930, Hertz Metal Company operated a lead smelter. It produced bailing wire and also operated a lead smelter. In 1876 Provident Chemical Works became a world leader in production of phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
s from its Carondelet Plant in a process that initially involved lead. In the 1920s the plant was purchased by Swann Chemical Company, and then in 1935 by Monsanto
Monsanto
The Monsanto Company is a US-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is the world's leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed in the "Roundup" brand of herbicides, and in other brands...
. The River des Peres
River des Peres
The River des Peres is a metropolitan river in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the backbone of sanitary and stormwater systems in the city of St. Louis and portions of St. Louis County...
was rerouted through the plant in the 1930s as part of a Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
project. Monsanto spun off the production to Solutia. In 2000 it became part of Astaris and then Israel Chemical Limited. The plant produces 250 million pounds per year of phosphate and phosphoric acid products.
See also
- Carondelet ParkCarondelet ParkCarondelet Park, established in 1875, is the third largest park in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. The park contains nearly and is located in the southeastern portion of the city, just west of Interstate 55, and is accessible at the Loughborough Avenue exit. Loughborough Avenue is the park's...
- Holly Hills, St. LouisHolly Hills, St. LouisHolly Hills is a neighborhood located in South St. Louis, Missouri, near the intersection of I-55 and Loughborough Avenue. The neighborhood is defined by Bates and Walsh on the Northeast, Holly Hills on the Southwest, Leona and the Missouri Pacific Railroad on the Northwest and Grand Boulevard on...
- Susan BlowSusan BlowSusan Elizabeth Blow was a United States educator who opened the first successful public Kindergarten in the United States. She is known as the "Mother of Kindergarten".-Early life:The eldest of six children, Susan Blow was the daughter of Henry Taylor Blow and Minerva Grimsley...
- Henry Taylor BlowHenry Taylor BlowHenry Taylor Blow was a two-term U.S. Representative from Missouri and an ambassador to both Venezuela and Brazil....
- Quinn ChapelQuinn Chapel AME Church (St. Louis, Missouri)Quinn Chapel AME Church is an historic African Methodist Episcopal Church building located at 227 Bowen Street in the Carondelet section of St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. Built in 1869 as the North Public Market, it was acquired by the church in 1880.On October 16, 1974, it was added to...
- Dred ScottDred ScottDred Scott , was an African-American slave in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v...
- Neighborhoods of St. LouisNeighborhoods of St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri, is divided into 79 neighborhoods. Census data is collected for each neighborhood, as well as crime data, historic property data, and dining establishment health ratings. National historic neighborhoods are identified by the official neighborhood to which they belong.Also,...
External links
- Carondelet neighborhood website