Old Courthouse

Whilst purchasing our tickets for the tram ride to the top of The Arch, we also bought tickets for a riverboat tour on the Mississippi. We had an hour or so between finishing at The Arch & our riverboat tour so we thought the we would take a quick look at The Old Courthouse which is also part of The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

When St Louis City founders decided that government business should have a central location, the original courthouse in St. Louis was constructed in 1828. Within approximately ten years the successful fur trade increased St Louis' population to the point where the original courthouse was now too small. Between 1839-1862 a new courthouse was built incorporating the original courthouse in the east wing, but the continued increase in population meant that in 1851 the original courthouse was demolished & a new east wing was built. After completion of the new east wing, the small wooden dome in the center of the courthouse was replaced by a wrought & cast iron dome in 1860. The top of the dome was 192 feet high & was, at the time, St Louis' tallest building.

The Old Courthouse dome interior displays four murals by Carl Wimar. These show significant events in St Louis history & comprise explorer Hernando de Soto discovering the Mississippi River, Pierre Laclede & Auguste Chouteau founding St Louis, the British attack on St Louis during the Revolutionary War, & Cochetopa Pass, through which St. Louisans proposed to build a railroad line run to San Francisco.

The Old Courthouse was the St Louis County Courthouse until 1877, & when the county & city separated it continued to act as St Louis City Courthouse until 1930. The Supreme Court of Missouri operated in the south wing of the Old Courthouse from 1856-1876, & the museum of the Missouri Historical Society was located in the building basement for a short time. The National Park Service has operated the Old Courthouse as a museum since 1943.