ARTIST: Dan Zettwoch
We've provided a glimpse into every St. Louis County municipality, or at least every one we could find.
Here's our non-exhaustive, but quite fun, guide to as many municipalities as we could find in St. Louis county, even if said municipality only has 12 people.
Home to one million people and divided into more than 80 municipal cities, St. Louis County is a bizarre and beguiling place. It does not contain the city that bears its name but does suck resources from it. The county’s police and fire districts seem randomly assigned, leaving some areas overserved and some underserved.
One municipality has 12 people. Another consists of 13 blocks and has 13 officers to police it. Even native St. Louisans often don’t know what municipality they’re standing in. While driving on I-170 north of Page, you pass a sign indicating you are now in Charlack, followed quickly by another saying Sycamore Hills and then, moments later, Charlack again.
How many municipalities are there in St. Louis County? We’ve listed more than 90 here, but that includes townships, census-designated places and villages. Each resource we’ve seen lists a different number, and we’re willing to bet almost nobody knows, considering the frequency with which municipalities incorporate, disincorporate or merge.
Sure, there is a lot of politics (and racism) behind the designations of these municipalities. But at its best, the county’s fever for a fiefdom is about building a community where leadership is accessible and where rules can be personalized to citizens’ needs (although it’s not entirely clear why Glendale residents dislike overnight street parking). If people want to take outsized pride in niche aspects of their identity, they should go for it, even if no one else cares about the Kirkwood-Webster rivalry.
So in this spirit of chaos, confusion and inefficiency — but also love for our big, sprawling mess — we have provided a glimpse into every St. Louis County municipality, or at least every one we could find.
Written by Cheryl Baehr, Rosalind Early, Daniel Hill, Jenna Jones, Ryan Krull, Jaime Lees, Chris Naffziger, Jessica Rogen, Jeff Smith and Ben Westhoff
