of the rich mineral and agricultural resources of
the county.

St. Leonards, Md., Calvert co. On the W. side
of Chesapeake Bay, about 10 miles N. W. of
Drumpoint, and 55 from Annapolis.

St. Louis County, Mo., c. h. at St Louis. This
county is bounded by Missouri River N. W., Mis-
sissippi E., Merrimae S., and Franklin co. W.

St. Louis, Mo. City, and seat of justice of St.
Louis co. On the W. bank of the Mississippi
River, 18 miles below the mouth of the Missouri.
130 miles E. from Jefferson City, the capital of
the state, and 1101 miles, by the course of the
river, N. from New Orleans. Population in 1810,
1600; in 1820, 4598; in 1830, 6694; in 1840,
16,469; in 1850, 82,774. St. Louis is the com-
mercial metropolis of Missouri, and was formerly
the seat of government. It was first settled in
1764, but during its subjection to the French and
Spanish colonial governments, remained a mere
village. The site is a most eligible one, being
elevated many feet above the floods in the Mis-
sissippi, and favorable in that, as well as other
respects, to the salubrity of the place. It rises
from the river by two bottoms, or plains; the
first, which is alluvial, being 20 feet above the
highest water, and the second, which is a lime-
stone bank, ascending 40 feet higher than the
first, to the level of the adjacent country, sweep-
ing away towards the western horizon as far as
the eye can reach. The ascent from the river to
the first of these terraces is somewhat abrupt;
but the second acclivity is more gradual, carry-
ihg the observer into the finest part of the city,
from which is enjoyed a beautiful prospect of
the river, the lower sections of the city itself, and
the wide surrounding country.

The situation of St. Louis, in respect to its ad-
vantages for becoming a great commercial place,
is unsurpassed, perhaps, by that of any other in-
land city in the whole world. Being located not
far from the geographical centre of the Mississippi
Valley, and almost at the very focus towards which
its great navigable rivers, the Mississippi, Mis-
souri, Ohio, and Illinois, converge their courses,
it is not to be doubted that, as the resources of
this immense region are more and more largely
developed, this must become a mart of wealth
and commerce scarcely inferior to any in the
United States. Its trade already exceeds that
of any other place on the Mississippi, except
New Orleans. The steamboats, which ply from
this place in every direction, seem almost num-
berless. A great number of these and of all de-
scriptions of river craft, bound to every point on
the navigable waters of the Mississippi Valley,
are seen at all times in its harbor. This is also
a great depot and point of departure for the
American fur trade, and for the rich lead mines
of the Upper Mississippi; and here hunters,
trappers, miners, adventurers, and emigrants,
of all characters and languages, meet in the
prosecution of their various objects, and hence
scatter towards the most distant parts of the
great west.

The city was originally laid out on the first
bank, consisting of three narrow streets parallel
with the course of the river; but after its more
rapid growth commenced, under the auspices of
an American population, it soon extended itself
to the upper plain by the grading of several
streets back of the original plot. These are wide
and airy, and are crossed at right angles by
about 20 other streets ascending directly from
the river. N. and S. of the more compact por-
tion of the city, which is built up now about 2
miles on the river, extensive suburbs have been
laid out on the same general plan. Front Street,
on the river bank, is built up on the side oppo-
site the landing, with a range of stone ware-
houses, four stories high, which make an im-
posing appearance, and are the seat of a heavy
business. The first street back of this is the
principal seat of the wholesale dry goods busi-
ness. The city is generally well built, the more
recent portions being chiefly of brick, which are
made in abundance in the immediate vicinity.
Stone also for building is quarried from the
limestone strata on the spot. Many of the resi-
dences, particularly in the upper parts of the city,
are of costly and beautiful architecture, and are
surrounded by ornamental yards and gardens.

Many of the public buildings are elegant and
finely situated. The Court House stands in a
public square, ne;!r the centre of the city. The
City Hall is on a square reserved for the purpose
at the foot of Market Street, the basement
being occupied as a market. The edifice is a
splendid structure of brick. The First Presby-
terian Church, a large and handsome building,
occupies a beautiful site upon the high ground of
the city, where it is surrounded with ornamental
trees. The Unitarian Church is a large and taste-
ful building. The Roman Catholic Cathedral is
a spacious edifice, 136 feet long by 58 feet wide,
with a massive Doric portico in front. The walls
are 20 feet in height, above which rises a square
tower, to the height of 40 feet, sustaining am
octagonal spire, surmounted with a gilt cross.
In the steeple of this church is a chime of bells,
the largest of which weighs 2600 pounds. The
several religious denominations in St. Louis
have as many as 15 or 16 churches. There are
a number of literary and benevolent institu-
tions, whose labors and influence are important.
Among these are the Orphan Asylum, under the
direction of Protestant ladies, and the Roman
Catholic Asylum for Orphans, conducted by the
Sisters of Charity. The Western Academy of
Sciences is established here, and has an exten-.
sive museum of natural history, mineralogy, &c.
Besides this, there is a museum of Indian an-
tiquities, fossil remains, and other curious relics.
The medical department of the University of St.
Louis has a building for its laboratory and lectures
in the city. The university building itself is 4
miles N. of the city. (See Colleges.) Within the
southern limits of St. Louis is the arsenal estab-
lished here by the United States; also a few
miles below are the Jefferson United States Bar-
racks, capable of accommodating about 700 men-.

St. Louis is supplied with water by the opera-
tion of a steam engine, raising it from the Mis-
sissippi into a reservoir, upon the summit of one
of those ancient mounds for which this part of the
country is remarkable. Thence it is distributed
in iron pipes over the city. The streets, churches,
stores, and dwellings, to some extent, are lighted
with gas.

St. Louis was first settled by a company of
merchants, to whom the French director general
of Louisiana had granted the exclusive privilege
of trading with the Indians on the Missouri.
They built a large house and four stores here,
which in 1770 had increased to 40 houses, and a
small French garrison for their defence. In 1780