Ballwin Historical Commission

29/10/2024

Recently, the German Culture Center at the University of Missouri—St. Louis honored Larry Marsh and celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Missouri Germans Consortium Executive Director Dorris Keeven Fra…

20/10/2024

Concerned about losing access to the port of New Orleans, in 1803 President Thomas Jefferson sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to Paris to attempt to buy the city from France, authorizing them to offer France up to $10 million for it.

Meanwhile, Napoleon had concluded that it wasn’t worth the cost for France to try to hold onto its vast North American territory. So when Monroe and Livingstone arrived to commence negotiations, they was astonished when France offered to sell the United States not just New Orleans, but the entire Louisiana Territory. The American commissioners did not have authority to negotiate any such deal, but when France offered the entire territory for only $15 million (only $5 million more than they were prepared to offer for New Orleans alone), the deal was too good to turn down. On April 30, 1803 they signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, by which the United States would acquire 828,000 square miles of land, at a price of three cents per acre (about sixty cents per acre in current dollars). The deal would double the size of the United States. “This is the noblest work of our whole lives,” Livingston remarked.

When the commissioners returned to the United States with the remarkable treaty, Jefferson was amazed and delighted. But the road to ratification was anything but smooth. There were very serious objections to the constitutionality of the treaty and there was also the inconvenient fact that the United States didn’t actually have $15 million. But in the end, the proponents of the purchase prevailed, the U.S. borrowed the money from British financiers, and on October 20, 1803 (two hundred twenty-one years ago today) the Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty—one of the best real estate bargains in history. “From this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank,” Livingston said.

06/07/2024

Rebecca, Ross' wife, is a member of Ballwin Historical Commission, and Ross was a great supporter of our activities. He will be missed.

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Ward 4 Alderman Ross Bullington. Ross was elected as Alderman in 2015 and has been a dedicated public servant ever since. He will be greatly missed by all.

27/05/2024

22/05/2024

18/05/2024

May 18, 2024 is "Armed Forces Day". This is always celebrated on the third Saturday in May. Since there are three days that show our appreciation for those who serve in the military, it's important to note the differences.
--Armed Forces Day is for those who are CURRENTLY SERVING in the military.
--Veterans Day, which always occurs on November 11th, is for those who HAVE SERVED in the military but who are no longer on either active duty or have "reserve" status.
--Memorial Day, which occurs on the final Monday in May, commemorates those who DIED during their time serving in the military.

30/01/2024

Multiple award-winning cinematographer Nate Carroll has produced a short (five-minute-long) documentary about the mission and work of the Ballwin Historical Commission, which is an official commission of the City of Ballwin. Check it out, and give Nate and the members of the Ballwin Historical Commission your thoughts about activities you'd like to see happen in 2024.

Videographer Nate Carroll produced this video about the Ballwin Historical Commission as a project for Full Sail University.