MAP OF GRATIOT LEAGUE SQUARE

Using contemporary (2005 from Yahoo.com

Some problems in figuring the Gratiot League Square

Bob Corbett
August 2005

In 1798 Charles Gratiot had a land grant confirmed by the Spanish government of Louisiana for a square league of land, which has become known in St. Louis history as the Gratiot League Square. A league is very close to 3 miles on a side, and if it were indeed a league square it would thus be three miles on a side.

Stardard views are that the boundaries were:

• The easternly boundary was Kingshighway.
• The westernly boundary was Big Bend.
• The northernly boundary was about 1/3 to the middle of Forest Park.
• The southernly boundary was Pernod Ave.

First of all note that I say "easternly" and "westernly" and so on, rather than east, west, north, south. This is because the boundaries of the Gratiot League Square were not perfectly square with the map.

Take a look at the contemporary map below which I took off Yahoo.com. You will note that the square, if it is a square, was tilted a bit toward the north east. No matter. A square, if it is a square, is a square, not matter how it lies in the east / west / north / south lines.

Today a friend and I drove the westerly portion, from Kingshighway and Oakland straight out to Big Bend and that is almost exactly 3 miles.

Then we drove from Big Bend and Clayton Road south toward Webster Groves. This is a bit trickly, since we didn't really know how far we had to go, since Clayton Road was not the CORNER of the league square, but along the southernly, westernly portion. But, we got to where Big Bend actually begins one of it's major BENDS, and turns web. That was at Big Bend and Shrewsbury Ave. and was just 2.3 miles. That actually works well for two reasons:

• As best we can figure, the crossing point of the northerly border is about the middle of Forest Park (see second map below) and that would just about make up that missing .7 a mile.
• The southernly border is said to be about Pernod. But, that line, a fair straight street on the may, would intersect Big Bend (were it still running through) at EXACTLY the right place.

First, here is the current actual map of this area, with the "off-centered" square.

Then I present that map above, cut down to just the specifications of the Gratiot League Square, or what I am proposing might be.

What I have done above is first TURN the regular map so it is on a level plane. Then given I am fair sure the Big Bend / Kingshighway / Pernod part work, I then MEASURED the distance on the easterly/westerly plane and marked that off, which is just about in the very middle of Forest Park.

On the map just above:

• The left boundary (yellow line) is Big Bend Blvd.
• The top boundary is the middle of Forest Park.
• The right boundary is Kingshighway, the yellow line.
• The bottom boundary is Pernod, running right at the northern edge of Tillis Park, where we went to check it out this morning.

I know Lou Schmidt, a reader of this mailing list, has done lots of work on the Gratiot League Square, and perhaps others of you have as well. What do you think of my second map's proposal for the boundaries of the Gratiot League Square?

Bob Corbett