By Joe Wilson, Better Together Research Fellow
Research fellows at Better Together spent time compiling a list of the dates of incorporation for every municipality in the County. After scouring the Internet and going to the Missouri History Museum’s Archives and St. Louis County Libraries, we have compiled the full list of birthdays. These dates stretch from the very early days of the region to within the last two decades.
There are three municipalities with birthdays in the month of March: Northwoods (Mar. 15, 1939), Normandy (Mar. 30, 1945), and Dellwood (Mar. 16, 1951). Normandy and Northwoods hug the south side of I-70 east of I-170, and Dellwood is in North St. Louis County, just south of I-270.
Normandy and Dellwood both have populations of around 5,000, while Northwoods is slightly smaller at about 4,200 people. Normandy is the largest geographically at 1.85 sq. mi., followed by Dellwood at 1.04 sq. mi. and Northwoods at 0.71 sq. mi.
This research was interesting – and it was light lifting compared to some of the work we do. But it also highlights something very important: the regional focus of Better Together. As a region, we have to know where we came from and the circumstances surrounding the birth of our multitude of municipalities. How our communities were formed is an important factor in understanding how we work as a region now and how we can achieve more in the future.
Current Study: General Administration