old school house

A photo of an old school house that was built in 1869.  One of several photos I have taken in the new neighborhood I live.  I am very happy to be surrounded by all these lovely vintage homes & buildings!


I recently re-located to the city of St. Peters Missouri (about 30 miles West of St. Louis).  My neighborhood is referred to as "Old Town" as this is the original part of the city with buildings dating back to the late 1800's. 

St. Peters was founded by French traders in the late 18th Century, and grew into a prosperous farming community with the addition of German immigrants from 1830 to 1850. St. Peters incorporated as a town in 1910.  With construction of Interstate 70 in 1954 many wondered what would become of this sleepy little farm town but by 1970 the population had grown to only 486 people!  But the mid to late 70s saw a boom in development on the South side of the highway and by 1980 the population had increased by over 3,100%!!   The current population is a little over 52,000. 

What I really like is the fact that the highway for the most part cut off "Old Town" from the newer part of the city and pretty much has left my neighborhood and all it's old buildings and homes suspended in time.  The old Wabash Station is long gone but many buildings and homes from the late 1860s and early 1900s remain