The United States of America has 41 cities that are called free cities or independent cities. The majority of these (39 in all) are in Virginia. St. Louis, Missouri is considered a free city, which means it doesn’t form part of another general-purpose local government.
St. Louis was founded in 1763 by two French traders and is named after King Louis IX of France. In 1800, after the French were defeated in the Seven Years War, the land was secretly transferred back to France and Napoleon Bonaparte then sold it to the United States in 1803. It seceded from St. Louis County in 1876 to become an independent city. The first World’s Fair and Olympic Games in the Western hemisphere took place in St. Louis in 1904.
A few of the famous people from St. Louis are singer Chuck Berry, know for “Johnny Be Good”, Nobel Prize winning author T.S. Eliot and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Yogi Berra, the New York Yankee catcher who won 10 World Series, Roy Wilkins, leader of the NAACP, Daniel Boone, explorer and politician, Miles Davis, famous musician, Phyllis Diller, comedienne, Scot Joplin, musician, Tina Turner, Grammy winning singer, and many, many more.
The St. Louis Cardinals, founded in 1882, are one of the most famous and certainly oldest Major League Baseball teams in the entire league.
When visiting St. Louis, one cannot leave without going through the famous Butterfly House, home to thousands of butterflies in free flight, or the Gateway Arch, the 630 foot tallest manmade monument. The St. Louis Walk of Fame has engraved names of 110 St. Louisians and Blueberry Hill Restaurant, famous for its hamburgers, is also filled with pop culture memorabilia, a photo booth and live music.
The attractions and historical sites are so numerous that to see them all requires multiple visits.
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