28 November 2011
Webster History and Three Generations
Webster Groves, Missouri is my hometown where a lot of my family still lives and have lived there their whole lives. Webster Groves is in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri. It is ten miles southwest of St. Louis. Up until 1802, Webster Groves was known as the Dry Ridge to Missouri, Osage, and Dakota Indians and fur trappers. Webster was part of the Louisiana Territory in the early 1800s and was changing from the Spanish to French ownership. They had a system of land grants to help promote immigration. During the earlier times of the Spanish rule, officials gave some land to the English as a check against the English. In 1802, Gregorie Sarpy was given 6,002 acres by Charles de Hautte Delassus. Delassus was the last Spanish Lieutenant governor. The land grant given to Sarpy covered a major part of what is now known as Webster Groves. Webster Groves is located on the Pacific Railroad line. That is what led it to become a suburb. During the late 19th century, St. Louis had a problem with overcrowding, congestion, and unhealthy conditions in St. Louis. This is the reason many urban residents were convinced to leave the city and move to Webster Groves, where people would be guaranteed a safer place to live and also a quieter place to live.
Some of the perks of living in Webster Groves is that it is close to many of St. Louis’ main tourist attractions like Six Flags, the City Museum, Science Center, Art Museum, the Zoo, Sculpture Park, Ted Drewes, Imo’s, Forest Park, the Fox Theatre, History Museum, the Arch, Bush Stadium, the Muny, the Magic House, malls, and more. Most of these places are free to get in and are only about twenty minutes away maximum. Webster has a lot of places to go to as well such as the Aquatic Center, ice skating rink, tennis courts, skate park, the track, local restaurants, local shopping centers, many churches and schools, the fitness center, the gazebo where they often host movies projected on a screen at, and so much more. Webster is a great place to raise a family and there is so much you can take your family out to do without having to go far or paying a lot of money. A lot of places like the Aquatic Center or ice rink is meant for Webster residents. Outside guests can go if they are with a Webster resident but will have to pay more to get in.
I interviewed three people who grew up in Webster and have lived there their entire lives. My grandma, mom, and my sister. Three separate generations with three different life styles in the same city of Webster Groves. My grandma Sue grew was born in 1941 and lived in a house with her mom, dad, sister, and brother. When she was in her early teens, the city took her house to put a highway that went right in the middle of Webster Groves. They built a new house close to where the original house was but they lost a lot of their backyard space and now the highway is right behind her old house. When she was eighteen she got married and they moved into a house right across the street from where she grew up. Her sister still lives in their old house so they live right across the street from each other. Their weren’t as many houses in the neighborhood so a lot of people had more yard space and were able to keep animals like horses and sheep. “My neighbors had horses and they were just beautiful to look at growing up. You cant have animals like that anymore in Webster. You can have goats and chickens now if you get a permit from the city.” As she got older, more houses were built and more restaurants started opening. A lot of houses in Webster Groves are century homes now and every house looks different. My grandma’s neighbors house is built sideways to the road, because the street was not there when the house was built. She went to Nerinx for high school which is a private catholic school located in Webster Groves.
My mom was born in 1964 and grew up in the same house her whole life. As she was growing up, her dad added an addition to her house making it a four bedroom home. When she was growing up there, Webster was more established and had more homes and parks. Although Webster Groves High School was there since 1889, she did not attend the public school and went to a private catholic school like her mom. “I love Webster, it’s close to my family and my husbands family and it’s a really close community.
Becky was born in 1989 and grew up in a house on the outer part of Webster Groves. She went to Webster public schools her whole life. She worked at a pizza place in downtown Webster; Old Orchard called Racanellis. “I liked growing up in Webster. My favorite time of year is the fourth of July. They have their own parade, fireworks shows, carnival and other random things going on. It’s a great place to go hangout with your friends and get out of the house awhile. During the summer, I love to go to the Webster pool. They recently added a mini water park there. It’s just a really nice place to be.” Their has been other additions to Webster Groves as Becky grew up too. They redid the track, added a gym to the high school and are currently adding a four story addition to it, they added a skate park, put an addition to Nerinx and have opened up some new restaurants like Deweys, a pizza place, a café and hookah bar, Webster’s first Mexican restaurant and some other random stores. “Another great thing about Webster Groves is it is close to so many places like the malls, zoo, museums, the science center, the Arch, Six Flags, Bush Stadium; theirs just a lot to do and everything is like ten to fifteen minutes away.”
Overall, Webster is a great place to live and grow up. There is a lot of history in Webster and a lot of old buildings and houses. Webster has multiple parks and is a very clean and beautiful place to live in. Most houses are century homes and none are alike. My grandma, mom, and sister all recommend living and raising a family in Webster and don’t want to move out of Webster ever. It is a close knit community that has a little over twenty thousand residents. It is close to other St. Louis tourists attractions but Webster also likes to hold events throughout the year of their own. Webster has gone through many changes throughout the years including new restaurants, a highway, more houses, parks, etc. If you ever drive through Missouri, I recommend stopping through Webster and go shopping in some of the little shops in downtown Webster or just driving around to look at the old, unique homes and see what all Webster really has to offer.
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