Pierre Laclède or
Pierre Laclède Liguest (
BedousBedous is a commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-References:*...
, Bearne,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, 22 November 1729 † near the mouth of Arkansas River, 20 June 1778) was a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
fur tradeThe fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur.-Russian fur trade:Before the colonization of the Americas, Russia was a major supplier of fur-pelts to Western Europe and parts of Asia. Fur was a major Russian export as trade developed in the early Middle...
r who, with his young assistant and "stepson"
Auguste ChouteauRené Auguste Chouteau was a trader with Indians and an influential figure in early St. Louis....
, founded
St. LouisSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
,
MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
, in 1764.
Laclède was sponsored by the
New OrleansNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
merchant
Gilbert Antoine MaxentGilbert Antoine de St. Maxent was a merchant and military officer who played a major role in development of the Louisiana Territory during its era as New France and New Spain....
in 1763 to construct a trading post near the confluence of the
MississippiThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
and
MissouriThe Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and is the longest river in the United States of America. The Missouri likely originates at Brower's Spring at the upper reaches of the Jefferson, before joining the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana....
rivers. Laclede and Chouteau set out from New Orleans in August, arriving at the confluence in December.
Pierre Laclède or
Pierre Laclède Liguest (
BedousBedous is a commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-References:*...
, Bearne,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, 22 November 1729 † near the mouth of Arkansas River, 20 June 1778) was a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
fur tradeThe fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur.-Russian fur trade:Before the colonization of the Americas, Russia was a major supplier of fur-pelts to Western Europe and parts of Asia. Fur was a major Russian export as trade developed in the early Middle...
r who, with his young assistant and "stepson"
Auguste ChouteauRené Auguste Chouteau was a trader with Indians and an influential figure in early St. Louis....
, founded
St. LouisSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
,
MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
, in 1764.
Laclède was sponsored by the
New OrleansNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
merchant
Gilbert Antoine MaxentGilbert Antoine de St. Maxent was a merchant and military officer who played a major role in development of the Louisiana Territory during its era as New France and New Spain....
in 1763 to construct a trading post near the confluence of the
MississippiThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
and
MissouriThe Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, and is the longest river in the United States of America. The Missouri likely originates at Brower's Spring at the upper reaches of the Jefferson, before joining the confluence of the Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin rivers in Montana....
rivers. Laclede and Chouteau set out from New Orleans in August, arriving at the confluence in December. The confluence area was too marshy to build a town, so they selected a site 18 miles downriver.
Laclède returned to St. Louis in April 1764 with a design for the town, where Chouteau was overseeing clearing of the land. He was followed soon after by his common-law wife Marie Thérèse Bourgeois Chouteau (Madame Chouteau).
Laclède had four children with Madame Chouteau:
Jean PierreJean Pierre Chouteau was an early settler of St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of Madame Chouteau and Pierre de Laclede Linguest, and the half-brother of Auguste Chouteau. He had three sisters with whom he arrived in Lousiana with in 1764...
(1758), Marie Pelagie (1760), Marie Louise (1762), and Victoire (1764) Chouteau. Because divorce was forbidden by the law of both the Roman Catholic Church and France, these children were baptised as the children of Madame Chouteau's legal husband, René Auguste Chouteau (père). René Chouteau was in fact in France, having battered then abandoned Madame Chouteau.
Laclède, unfortunately, was not a good businessman. He died en route returning from New Orleans, where he had gone to try to straighten out his financial situation.
The St. Louis downtown riverfront area is named
Laclede's LandingLaclede's Landing is a popular attraction located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.Located just north of the Eads Bridge on the Mississippi Riverfront, the Landing is a multi-block collection of cobblestone streets and vintage brick-and-cast-iron warehouses dating from 1850 through 1900, now...
in his honor. He is also the namesake of
Laclede County, MissouriLaclede County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2000, the population was 32,513. Its county seat is Lebanon. The county was organized February 24 1849, and was named after Pierre Laclede, founder of St. Louis, Missouri.-Geography:...
, the Pierre Laclede Elementary School in St. Louis, Missouri, and he has a star on the
St. Louis Walk of FameThe St. Louis Walk of Fame honors well-known people from St. Louis, Missouri who made contributions to culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there...
.
External links