USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 32
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" We have made some inquiry, and have found that upwards of two hundred houses are now building in the city. They are started in every direction, and it is probable that another hun- dred will be put up during the season if contracts can be mado for them. One or two churches are to be erected, a splendid theatre is under way, and a female seminary is to be commenced. Many of the buildings will be handsomely finished for stores and extensive warehouses, and it is to be hoped that before another year passes away we shall be able to furnish houses for the numerous business men who aro desirous of making estab- lishments here. Our country friends who are engaged in mer- eantile pursuits have in many instances determined to make their purehases hereafter at St. Louis, as tho competition and increase of business has satisfied them that they ean do so to better advantage than in tho Atlantic eities. Useful and extensive manufactories are starting up at every point, and in a short time we shall be independent of other places for our steam-engines and other materials of daily use. The corporate societies are not behiud our citizens in making improvements. The whole line of the wharf is rapidly being macadamized, and before the winter sets in it will present a better appearance than any port in the Western country. Many contracts are made for paving the streets, and two or three years of industry will bring about the completion of this work throughout the city."
1 The Republican of June 4, 1836, describes the commercial condition of St. Louis at that time as follows :
" At no prior time has this eity exhibited so many signs of improvement as are now daily seen. Capital is finding its way to us, and large investments are made in real estate, not, we feel assured, with a view to speculation, which benefits no one but those who are parties in it, but with the design of improv- ing it. The sale of lots in Christy's addition to tho town amounted on the first two days to one hundred and one thou- sand dollars. It was continued yesterday, and will probably reach one hundred and forty thousand dollars. Other sales of property bordering on the town have recently been made amounting to many thousands of dollars. Block No. 13, with three or four houses upon it, fronting upon Main and Water Streets, sold ten or twelve days ago for two hundred and forty thousand dollars, and other property in the business part of the city went for equally fair prices. We say fair prices, for they
72
pig, 1b.
2.75
Linen tow, yd .. flax, yd
7.00
1126
HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.
St. Louis had in 1840 made considerable progress on the road to that commercial prosperity which she now enjoys. The imports were valued at from ten to fifteen millions of dollars.
A slight idea may be gathered of the trade of St. Louis in 1843 from the following table, which exhibits the imports and exports of the city from the 13th of January up to the 12th of August, 1843 :
Imports.
Exports.
Beeswax, bbls.
470
777
66
lbs.
36,007
26,655
Buffalo robes, bales.
8,983
4,186
Corn, sacks
28,091
27,688
Flour, bbls
59,965
88,393
Hemp, bales
26,947
17,629
Lead, pigs
398,225
397,213
Lard, bbls.
10,751
19,243
kegs.
15,581
18,337
Oil lard, bbls.
559
3,060
Pork, bbls.
16,633
30,097
Tobacco, hhds
14,599
13,498
Wheat, bbls.
58,777
22,241
66
sacks ..
78,299
27,945
The receipts of tobacco for the year 1842 were 1754 hogsheads, of which 1645 hogsheads were sold, leaving on hand on the 1st of January, 1843, 109 hogshcads.
In the Prices Current for 1844 the population is estimated at 40,000, and the registered tonnage at 20,420 tons, against 14,729 tons in the year 1842, thus showing an increase in less than three years of nearly 40 per cent. This tonnage was the property of citizens of St. Louis, and it may be safely said that at least as much more was employed in its trade and commeree the property of other cities. The arrivals during the year amounted to 2613, against 2105 the previous year, showing an increase of 508 arrivals. The annual trade of St. Louis was then estimated at $50,000,000. Nearly 47,000 bags of coffee, 11,000 hogsheads of sugar, 758,000 pigs of lead, 31,000 bales of hemp, 13,000 hogsheads of tobacco, 132,000 barrels of flour, and nearly a million bushels of wheat were imported into St. Louis in 1843, being an average inerease of nearly 20 per cent. on that of the previous year.
The harbor-master's report for 1845 shows that during the year there were 2050 steamboat arrivals in the harbor of St. Louis, with an aggregate tonnage of 358,045 tons, and 346 arrivals of keel- and flat- boats, and that the trade of the city was carried on by 213 steamboats, with an aggregate tonnage of 42,922 tons.
From the same report there has been compiled the following table of the places from whenee these ves- sels came, showing the arrivals from each quarter for each month, as follows :
New Orleans.
Ohio River. River.
Illinois
Upper Mississippi River.
Missouri Other River. Points.
In January ......
17
5
15
5
8
February
13
13
20
12
2
7
March
27
42
57
67
11
8
April
24
39
36
75
23
10
May ...
35
49
52
102
49
13
June ..
27
33
29
66
42
21
July
16
46
26
58
29
18
August.
20
44
26
63
25
22
September
25
38
7
60
22
19
October
22
45
13
48
20
16
November
21
47
17
74
20
24
December
3
5
...
3
1
1
250
406
298
647
249
167
......
From the foregoing it appears that during 1845 there were 250 steamboat arrivals from New Orleans ; 406 from different ports on the Ohio River, including arrivals from the Cumberland and Tennessee; 278 from ports on the Illinois River ; 647 from ports on the Mississippi above the mouth of the Missouri, not including the daily trip of the Alton packet ; 249 from ports on the Missouri River; and 168 from other points, chiefly from Cairo and intermediate ports between that point and St. Louis.
During the year 1848-49, St. Louis began to receive heavy shipments of the products of the Southern States, and orders for articles hitherto sent to other cities were sent to the merehants, manufacturers, and meehanies of St. Louis. Direet communication with the lakes and the Canadas also presented great advantages to the shipping and commercial interests of the city. The total receipts of tobacco by the river for the period of five years, from 1844 to 1849, was 49,918 hogs- heads, an exhibit which shows "a steady deerease in the production of that staple in the State of Missouri since 1844." The deerease in the pro- duction of tobacco was compensated by an inerease in that of hemp, the entire erop of which in 1846 was 80,000 bales, of which 47,152 bales were rc- ceived by the river. The receipts of lead by the river were, for 1847, 749,128 pigs, and for 1848, 705,718 pigs. The receipts of flour by the river for 1847 were 328,568 barrels and 686 half-barrels, and for 1848 they were 387,314 barrels and 541 half- barrels. In addition the city mills produced 400,000 barrels. The total production was over 700,000 bar- rels, which, at $4.25 per barrel, made an aggregate value of $2,975,000. The wheat crop of 1847-48 was an unusually fine one throughout the river States, and the receipts by way of the river for 1847 were 2,432,377 bushels, and for 1848, 2,194,798 bushels. The receipts of corn by the river were, for 1847, 1,016,318 bushels, and for 1848, 699,693 bushels. The Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1847-48, drawing off 316,625 bushels. The receipts of oats
1127
RIVER COMMERCE OF SAINT LOUIS.
for 1847 were 202,365 bushels, and for 1848, 243,700 bushels. "Of the entire shipments from this city," it was stated about this time, " it is computed that fully threc-fourths reach the city of New Orleans." The beef receipts for 1848 were 9381 tierces, 7876 bar- rels, and 47 half-barrels ; and of pork, 97,662 barrels and 1923 half-barrels, together with 25,820 casks, 3603 hogsheads, 2847 barrels, 3775 boxes of bacon. Of lard there were received 6579 tierces, 67,329 barrels, and 14,180 kcgs, showing an immense im- provement in the provision trade. The lumber trade for 1847 amounted to 16,917,850 feet, and for 1848 to 22,137,915 feet; shingles for 1847, 13,098,800, and for 1848, 15,851,500. There were also 42,282 cords of wood received by the river in 1847, and 38,857 cords in 1848. Of coal the receipts by river in 1847 were 1,454,048 bushels, and in 1848, 1,623,- 687 bushels.
As elsewhere stated more in detail, two calamities visited St. Louis in the year 1849, the cholera and
the great conflagration of steamboats and other prop- erty on the 17th of May, which exerted a disastrous influence on cvery branch of her trade, commerce, and business. A mortality of seven thousand eight hundred and twenty-one persons and the destruction of three million three hundred and thirty-five thou- sand four hundred and fifty dollars of property could not but have administered a cheek to enterprise and retarded progress. It is surprising, however, to note the alaerity, energy, and perseverance which were ex- hibited by the people of St. Louis in repairing the losses and obliterating the evidences of these visita- tions. Before the expiration of six months com- merce, if not fully recovered, at least exhibited no signs of impairment, but was in full motion, and all the routine of mercantile affairs was in active operation.
The estimated value of thirty-one of the leading articles of produce received at the port of St. Louis during the year 1849, with total valuation, is as follows :
ARTICLES.
Aggregate Amount.
Average Rate.
Estimated Value.
Tobacco, leaf .
9,879 hhds.
$50.00
per hhd.
$493,950.00
manufactured.
5,904 boxes.
15.00
box.
88,560.00
Hemp ..
· 9,258 tons.
110.00
66
ton ...
1,018,380.00
Lead.
16,428 tons ..
85.40
ton ...
1,402,951.20
Flour
306,412 bbls
4.20
bbl.
1,286,930.40
Wheat.
1,792,535 bush ..
.80
66
bush
1,434,028.00
Corn
305,333 bush.
.31
bush
94,653.23
Outs
252,291 bush.
.28
66
bush
70,641.58
Barley
92,463 bush
.70
bush
64,724.10
Rye.
5,844 bush.
.40
bush
2,337.60
Beans
9,078 bush
.40
bush
2,731.20
Beef
10,687 tierces,
9.00
tierce
96,183.00
12,336 bbls
8.00
bbl.
98,688.00
Pork
113,862 bbls.
8.00
bbl.
920,896.00
" bulk
9,651,656 lbs.
.023
1b.
241,291.40
Lard.
15,801 tierees
17.50
66
tierce ..
276,517.50
58,270 bbls
13.00
bbl
757,510.00
Bacon
16,880 casks
30.00
cask-
580,400.00
Pickled hams and shoulders.
10,564 casks.
14.56
cask
153,178.00
Whiskey
29,085 bbls.
7.50
bbl.
217,997.50
Tallow ..
721,460 1bs.
.062
1b .....
48,698.55
Butter.
1,255,280 lbs ..
.084
66
1b ....
...
coil ..
142,211.25
Bagging.
1,079 pieces
14.00
piece ..
15,106.00
Potatoes
103,500 buslı.
.30
bush
31,050.00
Onions
21,350 bush
.50
bush
10,675.00
Grease.
351,851 lbs.
.033
"
1b
12,314.78
Hides, dry and green.
68,902
1.80 cach
124,033.60
Hay.
920 tons
16.00
per ton.
14,720.00
Flaxseed
26,500 bush
.85
bush
22,525.00
Feathers.
62,340 lbs.
.28
1b ..
17,455.20
Brooms
11,023 dozens
1.60
doz.
17,636.80
Dried fruit
63,102 bush.
.90
" bush
56,791.80
Green apples
20,533 bbls.
1.50
bbl
30,874.50
Wool.
1,274 bales.
22.50
bale
28,665.90
Total estimated value.
$10,087,327.99
During 1849 the arrivals of steamboats at St. Louis werc : From New Orleans, 313; Ohio River, 401; Illinois River, 686; upper Mississippi, 806;
Missouri River, 355; Cairo, 122 ; other points, 217. The total number of arrivals of steamboats and barges in 1848 was 3468; in 1849, 2975; of keel-
...
...
3,245 bbls. and boxes ...
12.50
box and bbl
40,562.50
Bale rope.
19,065 coils.
7.25
keg.
64,957.50
18,8.15 kegs.
3.50
66
66
...
66
106,698.80
66
...
...
"
1128
HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.
and flat-boats in 1848, 332, and in 1849, 166. The total tonnage of steamboats and barges in 1848 was 688,213, and in 1849, 633,892.
The prevalence of yellow fever at New Orleans in 1853 proved a serious cheek to the river trade of St. Louis, and the difficulty of shipping crews, except at enhaneed wages, threw a large amount of tonnage out of the trade and advanced freights to a high figure. All descriptions of agricultural products ruled un- usually high in prices, and the farmers reaped a rich reward for their enterprise and industry, the profits realized enabling them to enlarge the area of cultiva- tion, to improve their residences, and to invest to a large extent in the railroad enterprises that were then being projected in every direction through the West. In this year (1853) the statistics and transactions of a railroad were reported for the first time in connec- tion with the river trade. The Missouri Pacifie Railroad was that year completed a distance of forty miles, through a section of country which, though contiguous to St. Louis, had not been brought under cultivation. Without a farm along its line, and with its western terminus in a dense forest, this great railroad began to connect the Mississippi with the " back country," and overpaid the expenses of transportation more than ten thousand dollars, fore- shadowing the immense profits from the investment. The " receipts per Pacific Railroad" were : Tobacco, 48 hogsheads and 3 boxes ; lead, 1556 pigs; iron, 88,350 pounds pig, 530 blooms; wheat, 3418 bushels ; hides, 5200 pounds; whiskey, 214 barrels ; wood, 370 cords; wine, 9 casks, 7 barrels, and 8 boxes, native; hubstuff, 25 cords; and hoop-poles, 570,000.
A comparison of the tonnage of Western citics at the end of the year 1853 will show the rapid strides that St. Louis had made in the river trade.
The official returns of tonnage, June 30, 1853, were :
Tons.
Tons.
Cincinnati ..... 10,191
Deerease from 1851 ...
3,996
Louisville ...... 14,166
Increase
... 1,229
Nashville. .. . 3,414
Decrease
... 163
St. Louis
45,441
. Increase
... 11,136
These returns also show that St. Louis had then more steam tonnage than Wheeling, Cincinnati, Louis- ville, New Albany, Nashville, and Memphis combined. The arrivals of vessels at St. Louis for 1853 num- bered 3307, or 529 more than at New Orleans.1
The official returns of tonnage for the year ending June 30, 1854, give the following table of steam ton- nage, showing the amount enrolled at several ports, viz. :
Tons.
New York.
101,487.41
New Orleans.
57,174.54
St. Louis. 48,557.51
Philadelphia
24,523.93
Cineinnati
23,842.73 20,122.89
Louisville
Mobile.
18,110.40
Baltimore.
14,451.14
Nashville
5,726.73
Wheeling.
4,127.89
New Albany.
2,952.31
Memphis.
1,894.80
St. Louis was then the third city in the Union in the amount of enrolled steam tonnage, nearly doub- ling Philadelphia, with more than Philadelphia and Baltimore combined, with more than Cincinnati, Louis- ville, and Wheeling together, and paying duties on foreign imports amounting to more than seven hundred thousand dollars.2
The navigation of the rivers in the West was im- peded to a greater extent and for a longer period in 1860 that ever before within the recollection of the oldest boatmen. This condition of the rivers lcd to action on the part of St. Louis merchants, which for a while induced the hope that new and entirely differ- ent methods were about to be adopted. The necessity of changing the mode of handling grain consigned to the merchants of St. Louis had long been felt, and the commission houses and millers of the city had be- come convinced that sacks should be dispensed with, and that grain should be transported in bulk. The Chamber of Commerce aided in the movement by pre- senting a memorial to the City Council requesting it to grant an elevator privilege to Messrs. Henry and Edgar Ames and Albert Pearce, who had offered to construet upon their own responsibility two clevators upon the Levee,-one near the foot of Carr Street, in the northern part of the city, and the other near the foot of Myrtle Street, in the southern part. The elevators were to have been of the most approved con- struetion and material, with a capacity of half a million bushels each, and to have been exclusively used for the storage of grain in bulk. The City Council, after an able report from a special committee of that body had been submitted, promptly passed the ordinance, but it was vetoed by the mayor, and the inauguration of the elevator system of handling grain in St. Louis was postponed until 1863.
The subject of bridging the Mississippi at Rock Island, which had been under discussion for several years, was brought before the Hon. I. M. Love, judge of the District Court of the United States, who decided at the April term of the court in 1860 " that that portion of the railroad bridge across the Mississippi River at or near Davenport, within the
1 " Thoughts about St. Louis," by John Hogan, pp. 6 and 7.
2 Ibid.
1129
RIVER COMMERCE OF SAINT LOUIS.
State of Iowa, being part of the bridge commonly called the Rock Island bridge, and which is part of the Missis- sippi and Missouri Railroad, is a common and public nuisance, and a matcrial impediment and obstruction to the navigation of said river by steamboats and other craft," and ordercd it to be removed. This action of the court was approved by the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, and the connecting of the railroad systems east with those west of the Mississippi was postponed until a period of more enlightened ideas with regard to transportation had arrived.
In consequence of low water during 1860, freighits on the upper Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois ruled very high, and there was an increase in marine dis- asters, reaching as high as two hundred and ninety- nine boats, with a loss of life amounting to two hun- dred and fifty-four.
The arrivals and departures of vessels at St. Louis during 1859 and 1860 were:
1859.
1860.
Upper Mississippi
1,501
1,524
Lower Mississippi
616
767
Missouri
396
269
Illinois ..
679
544
Ohio ...
367
277
Tennessee
58
31
Cumberland
31
35
Arkansas ..
7
Barges, canal- and flat-boats.
1,397
1,724
Total
5,045
5,178
Departures.
5,104
5,218
Tonnage.
768,905
844,039
During the period of the civil war (1861-65) there was almost complete stagnation in the river trade and a general paralysis of the industrics and commerce of St. Louis. The condition of affairs, industrial as well as political, during the great crisis of the nation's his- tory, is fully set forth in the chapter on the civil war. The following, however, is a copy of circular instruc- tions issued by C. G. Memminger, Secretary of the Treasury of the Southern Confederacy, in March, 1861, relating to the commerce of the Mississippi. These instructions related to importations front places north of the then so-called Confederate States. Vessels descending the river were required to come to at Nor- folk, or Nelson's Landing, on the Mississippi, and the master was to report the arrival to the collector, exhibit- ing duplicate manifests of the whole cargo and declaring the name of the vessel, name of master, where from, the port of destination, and a full and particular de- scription of the cargo. A custom-house officer was required to board vessels and demand the manifests mentioned. These manifests were to be certified by the collector or boarding officer, and one of them re- turned to the master. The manifest returned by the custom-house officer was to be sent to the collector of
the port of final destination. If there were on board and intended for delivery at points other than ports of entry or delivery goods not subject to duty they could be landed, provided the master gave to the first revenue officer a schedule in duplicate of the articles, describing them, quantity and value, name of con- signee, and place where to be landed. On one of these schedules, directed to be returned to the master, the officer was to indorse a landing permit. The in- structions were in part as follows :
" Masters of flat-hoats, with coal bulk intended for points as ahove, must give under oath to the collector at Norfolk a schedule in duplicate, setting forth name of boat, owner, master, where from, quality, quantity, and value, and the fact of its heing intended to be landed at places other than ports of entry or delivery. On these schedules the collector will estimate thio duties payable ; and on payment of the duties at Norfolk, will indorsc on the original schedule (to be returned to the master) a certificate of payment and permit to land the goods.
"Should any portion of the cargo of vessels arriving as afore- said, composed of dutiahle or free articles, be destined to ports. of entry or delivery other than the port of final destination, per- mission may be obtained to land the same under the following regulations :
"Tho master shall present to the revenue officer at Norfolk a schedule in tr plicate of the goods, describing them by marks and numbers, numbers of packages and contents, correspond- ing with the description in the general manifest of the vessel, also stating the consignee and name of the port of destination of the merchandise.
"Should the merchandise be intended to be landed at more than one intermediate port, then separate schedules of the goods destined for each port to be made out in triplicate, with all the particulars hefore required, shall be presented ; and the revenue officers to certify on each of the schedules the fact of presentation, and also on the original to indorse his permission for the vessel to land at the port or ports designated the goods described in said schedule. The original shall be then returned to the master or commander.
" On the arrival of the vessel at an intermediate port, the master or commander is to present to revenue officer the origi- nal schedule, and will receive a general permit to land the goods upon their being duly entered and special landing per- mits issued, as now provided by law for the landing of imported merchandise. Should the vessel arrive out of business hours, or should circumstances compel it, the master is permitted to deposit the goods either in a bonded warehouse or the custody of a revenue officer, and shall receive a receipt containing all the particulars of the schedule, and the original schedule shall be delivered to the person with whom the merchandise is de- posited, and by him delivered over to the collector or chicf revenue officer as soon as the opening of the custom-house will admit.
" On the arrival of the vessel at the port of final destination, the master or commander shall make due entry at the custom-house by delivering his original manifest, together with all schedules indorsed with the permits to land at intermediate ports, and the receipts of officers to whom any goods may have been de- livered, or any other documents showing the disposition of any portion of the cargo; and thic residue of the cargo shall be landed on permits similar to those provided by law for the land- ing of imported merchandise; and the total cargo, as shown by the original manifest, shall be delivered at this port, with the
1130
HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.
exception of such as is shown by the documents presented at the time of entry to havo been landed elsewhere, under the penalties now provided by law for discrepancies existing in the cargocs of vessels arriving from foreign ports.
" In order to relieve vessels in this branch of importing trade from embarrassments, all goods imported therein remaining un- claimed, or for which no entry shall be made or permit granted within twenty-four hours after arrival, may be taken possession of by the collector and deposited in a bonded warehouse, on a general permit to be issued by him for that purpose.
" To afford further facilities in tho event of vessels in this trado arriving at tho port of final destination before the open- ing or after the closing of the custom-houso for the day, and a necessity exists for discharging the cargo, it shall bo law- ful to deposit the samo or any part thereof, at the risk and ex- penso of said vessel, on the levee, in the charge of the inspec- tion service of the customs, or in any bonded warehouse at the port, such portion of said cargo as may be practicable, tho master or commander of the vessel obtaining for the goods so deposited a receipt from the inspection officer on the Levee, or the custom officer in charge of the warehouse, which receipt shall be delivered to the collector of customs as soon thereafter as the business hours of the custom-house at said port will permit.
" Any goods, wares, or merchandise imported as aforcsaid may be entered at the port of destination on the presentation to the collector of the bill or bills of lading, together with the other documents now required by law on the entry of imported mer- chandise, before and in anticipation of the arrival of the im- porting vessel, and tho necessary permits for the landing shall issue on the completion of theso entries.
" And on the presentation of these permits to the surveyor, it shall be his duty, and is hereby required of him (if the vessel by which tho goods are imported shall have arrived at the port), to detail an inspector of the customs to superintend the landing of tho merchandise described therein, and such landing is author- ized before entry has been made by the importing vessel at the custom-house when the interest of commerce or circumstances attending such arrival shall render it necessary. It must, how- ever, be distinctly understood that it is unlawful to discharge any portion of tho cargoes of these vessels except under the supervision and inspection of the customs officer.
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