THE WRITINGS OF LOUIS SCHMIDT
See also The New Writings of Louis Schmidt 2015
Louis Schmidt was born on Brock Ave. and lived there all his life until just a
couple of months ago when he retired to Branson, Missouri. I had the delight to meet
Louis just a couple of days before he left. I was getting started on my research and
he turned over everything for me to read and copy. I was able to make xerox copies of
much of his material, scan a few photos and talk with him. Then, just before our last
meeting ended, he allowed me to copy the numerous essays he'd written from his notes.
I will be encorporating much of Louis' material into my own essays as times goes on.
Louis did write his essays in all capital letters, so, in using them in other essays I will eventually have
to transpose them into regular form. Howeve, I wanted all serious readers to have the chance
to read what Louis himself has written, an awesome amount of material. It is contained in the
files below.
Corbett notes: There is a good deal of repetition in the miscellaneous topics files and some of the
main topic files. However, I haven't had time to carefully edit through and see what is an exact duplicate
and where Louis has added material. So at this time I present all these files as he gave them to me.
Some day I hope to have them edited by me or some volunteer where we delete exact duplicate material.
For now, you get to read some things twice, even three times. No big deal. Repetition is often an
aid to memory!
Bob Corbett, November 1999,
- The Gratiot League Square Louis Schmidt
situates the time period and historical situation of the huge land grant (Gratiot League Square) given
to Charles Gratiot. Schmidt follows the division of the land until one arrives at the area of
Cheltenham/Dogtown.
- Clay Mines and Factories in Cheltenham/Dogtown and then all of St. Louis Louis Schmidt provides
a list of all the clay mines in St. Louis including those in Cheltenham/Dogtown. He also provides
a list of the factories, most of them in Cheltenham.
- First set of miscellaneous notes
Topics addressed in this file in the order they appear: William Sublette; early Cheltenham; Gratiot;
St. Louis U. High and Walsh Stadium; Forest Park Highlands; West End Heights Amusement Center;
The Arena; Forest Park University for Women; 1895 Streetcar on Oakland; Riding stables;
Deaconess Hospital; Origins of Cheltenham and Sulphur Springs; Beginnings of St. James Church;
Tamm/Clayton (Dry Hill); Gratiot's Well; Louisville Railroad; Coal mines; Merchants in this area
in 1937; Mines of Cheltenham; Demise of the beautiful River des Peres.
- Second set of miscellaneous notes The topics
covered are the neighborhoods of West Cheltenham with the mines and clay factories; Benton, The Glades,
Franz Park, Tamm and Manchester with Muegge family; the Civil War raid on Muegge's store;
St. Louis Perfume Company; Schools and Protestant Churches; The Valley of the River Des Peres; and Scullin Steel.
- Third set of miscellaneous notes These notes
contain material on: Oakland Avenue; West End Heights Amusement Center; St. Louis U. High and Walsh Stadium;
Changes in Forest Park; Deaconess Hospital; the riding stables and Richmond Heights.
- Forest Park
- Bill Sublette and his propety in Cheltenham These are
notes about William Sublette taken from the main book written about him. Schmidt selects passages that
are concerned about the property he owned in the Cheltenham area and the development of both
Sulphur Springs and the racetrack that was there.
- William Sublette: Death, Will and Legacy
- The Confederate Raid on Dogtown in the Civil War
During the Civil War, on September 29, 1864
there was a Confederate raid on the Federal Post Office at Muegge's Store at the corner of
Dale and Manchester in Dogtown. Louis Schmidt not only reports on the story, but speculates about
the larger ramifications of Confederate activity in Missouri at that period.
- Maplewood and Richmond Heights
- The Hill and Surrounding Areas
- Sources, Resources and Research Methods
Bob Corbett
bcorbett@netcom.com