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St. Louis Mercantile Library

DESCRIPTION: The Mercantile Library is the oldest library west of the Mississippi. It was established in 1846 by civic leaders and philanthropists and today it remains, as it was when it began, a subscription library. Its emphasis is on the history of Western Expansion.

Besides being a research library with more than 300,000 books, 350,000 historical photographs, 1,000,000 manuscripts and 10,000,000 news clipping files, the Mercantile Library is a museum as well with notable paintings and sculptures by local and internationally-known artists.

Typical patrons include college students and faculty members, railroad and waterway historians, genealogists, and art historians.

ADDRESS: 8001 Natural Bridge Rd., Normandy, MO 63121

LOCATION: The University of Missouri St. Louis campus in northwest St. Louis County

PHONE NUMBER: 314- 516-7240

WEB SITE: www.umsl.edu/mercantile

GETTING THERE: From downtown, take I-70 west to Exit 241B (Lucas & Hunt Rd.). Turn left on Lucas & Hunt and then right on Natural Bridge. The Mercantile Library is located on the University of Missouri at St. Louis campus in the same building as the Thomas Jefferson library.

HOURS: Mon .-Thurs., 8 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sat., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., 1-9 p.m. Times vary especially around holidays and during the summer. Call to confirm hours.

ADMISSION: Free

HIGHLIGHTS: The library contains several collections including:

  • The Core Collection with 210,000 volumes.
  • The Barriger Collection which is one of the country's largest collection of American railroad history.
  • The Pott Waterways Collection with 2,500 books and pictorials which focus on river and inland waterways history.
  • The entire clipping and photo file of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
  • A Western Americana collection with valuable items on the geography of the West and descriptions of it state by state.
  • Agricultural collections with materials related to the cattle industry, early Western agricultural periodicals and other primary printed sources.
  • The papers of Robert Campbell, an early St. Louis fur trader, and single items by Auguste Chouteau, one of the founders of St. Louis; Daniel Bissell, an early St. Louis general and others.

WHAT'S NEW: The library features changing exhibits of photographs and works of art.

WHAT'S COOL: Among the works of art on display at the Library is a stunning sculpture by expatriate American sculptress Harriet Hosmer of Beatrice Cenci, a 16th century Italian woman who was executed for patricide. Hosmer studied anatomy in St. Louis during the early 1850's before moving to Europe.

ANNUAL SPECIAL EVENTS: Pott Waterways National Inland Waterways Library hosts a riverboat cruise each summer.

LECTURE SERIES: The Mercantile Library sponsors a monthly luncheon/lecture series featuring outstanding speakers on topics of historical interest. Visitors have the option of attending the lecture free if they do not wish to have lunch.

HISTORY: The library was established in 1846 by civic leaders and philanthropists and predates public libraries. It is the oldest library west of the Mississippi. When it was founded, it was located downtown and remained on virtually the same site from its beginning although it was in different buildings. The library provided a quiet place for respite from the hustle and bustle of the city, a place where patrons could sit and read or merely relax in a quiet setting. Companies often gave employees a subscription as a benefit of employment so they could come in to read newspapers from other parts of the country or books during their time away from work. In 1998, after more than 150 years downtown, the library moved to the campus of the University of Missouri at St. Louis.

HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBILITY: The library and the exhibits are accessible. The atrium is not.

GIFT SHOP: The Library has for sale books that it publishes and it hopes to sell more items through a web site it is planning.

WHERE TO GET LUNCH: The Underground, the campus food court, offers a number of food choices.

WHAT'S NEARBY: Lambert St. Louis International Airport and Calvary and Bellefontaine Cemeteries are nearby.

PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: Amy Kessler, coordinator, 314-516-6740, KesslerA@msx.umsl.edu; Bette Gorden, curator of the Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library, 314-516-7247, bgorden@umsl.edu; or Greg Ames, curator of the John W. Barriger III Railroad Library, 314-516-7253, gpames@umsl.edu.

 

Readers should call 1-800-916-0040 to request a free copy of the Official St. Louis Visitor Guide or point, click and explore St. Louis at www.explorestlouis.com