Clement Delor de Treget, a Frenchman, founded Carondelet in 1767 and named the village in honor of Baron Francis Louis de Carondelet, the Spanish governor of the Louisiana Territory. Due to its prime location at the confluence of the River Des Peres and the Mississippi River, Carondelet attracted a wide array of industries and a diverse population where racial lines were often blurred and ethnic groups peacefully coexisted. The community has
contributed greatly to American history from the site of construction of the Civil War ironclad boats to the location of the American kindergarten...

In 1904, from a plot of land that would soon become University City, eccentric publisher Edwin Gardner Lewis shone the beam of what he claimed was the world's largest searchlight over the World's Fair in nearby St. Louis. Several years later, he claimed an even greater possession: a city, created around his publishing complex, complete with his own mayoral office, wide boulevards, and beautiful residences. The story of University City is one of urban wonder: from the city's "Hilltop Neighbor" and namesake, Washington University, to the diversity showcased in today's University City. The...