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John Berry Meachum, husband of Mary Meachum. He and his wife were both freed persons engaged in the efforts of the Underground Railroad through their church, home, and school. A pastor and founder of the oldest black church in Missouri he was also a skilled carpenter. A trade he taught to those he assisted, a skill that afforded him income to help free enslaved people by buying their freedom. As an educator he operated a school which taught both free and enslaved black students. When the state of Missouri banned all education for blacks in 1847 he circumvented the law by teaching classes on a steamboat on the Mississippi River. The efforts of John and Mary Meachum are today celebrated with the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing.
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While a merchant in St. Louis Shaw began buying enslaved people in the 1820s with the earliest existing record being that of Peach in 1828. 1850 census records indicate Shaw owned nine enslaved people and by 1853 that number had grown to eleven, 1860 census records show him with eight enslaved people. Their names were not listed in either the 1850 or 1860 U.S. Census. Please see the historical timeline section for more information on this subject. Image is for reference.
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Reynold's Political Map of the United States from 1850.
1850 |
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Johnson's and Ward's 1866 map of the United States by Johnson and Ward. Shows the United States immediately after the American Civil War (1861-1865). Some western states are still territories at the time of this map.
1866 |
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Lithograph showing the "parterre." with the Museum and Observatory in the background. A parterre is a garden consisting of an ornamental arrangement of flower beds. Today this space is occupied by the lily pools in front of the Climatron; view is the to the south. The small pine tree in the middle would eventually become the first location for the sculpture "Juno."
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The Garden held its first floral display shows in the 1890s at the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall. These early shows featured Chrysanthemums and would later move to Garden grounds in 1905. Located at Olive and 13th Street the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall operated between 1883-1907 and was demolished to make way for the St. Louis Central Library which stands today at the downtown location.
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The Garden held its first floral display shows in the 1890s at the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall. These early shows featured Chrysanthemums and would later move to Garden grounds in 1905. Located at Olive and 13th Street the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall operated between 1883-1907 and was demolished to make way for the St. Louis Central Library which stands today at the downtown location.
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1860 Census of the United States statistics of slave states.
1860 |
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Newspaper account of the capture and arrest of Mary Meachum and enslaved persons during attempted crossing of the Mississippi River to freedom on May 21, 1855. Account from the Louisiana newspaper, Thibodaux Minervera. See IMAGE 0151.
1855 |
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Italian Garden with Juno, Pergola in background circa late 1940s.
1851 |
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