Outskirts Press, INC.

Original History Using Unique Sources

The residents of Kirkwood, Missouri were eyewitnesses to a number of demographic and economic changes between 1890 and 1940. Kirkwood was the first suburban town established along the Missouri-Pacific railroad outside St. Louis and existed as St. Louis County’s only incorporated town for 43 years. As such, it experienced pre-Civil War conflicts between slave owners and German immigrants, the financial panic of 1873 and the ensuing economic catastrophe. Competition for survival against the five new railroad towns founded in the immediate aftermath of the great Panic drove Kirkwood to strengthen its ability to attract new residents at a time when St. Louis was becoming the fourth largest city in America. The town served as a window to the social transformation that overtook the Midwest between 1853 and 1940. Although many of the changes in Kirkwood were social and political, inventions involving mass communication also had a huge impact on advertising and cultural values of middle-class people. Advances in radio technology allowed families to enjoy listening to news and entertainment together, but this national sensation also deepened the social isolation of recent immigrants and racial minorities who could not afford to purchase a set. Finally, the Great Depression, which had a unique effect on every community, was deeply damaging to St. Louis city and every town in the county. The reaction of people to war, inventions, and economic crises were the source of the most meaningful changes in the St. Louis area during the twentieth century.