Streets in the Clifton Area

ARGUS PLACE (E-W) Ward 24, Precinct 12. (Clifton Heights)

ARSENAL STREET (E-W). Beginning as Arsenal Road, running westward from the St. Louis Arsenal on the riverfront, this street received its present name in 1881. That same year, the section of the street from Michigan to Grand was also named Arsenal to replace Susquehanna Street, named after a river in Pennsylvania. From the 1850s onward, Arsenal has been a major east west route through south St. Louis. (Benton Park) (Clifton) (Compton Hill) (The Hill) (Marquette-Cherokee) (Oak Hill) (Oakland) (Shaw)

BENNETT COURT (N-S). Named for its subdivision, Bennett Court, in 1907. The name Bennett is derived from "Benedict" and like it means "blessed." (Clifton)

BOWMAN AVENUE (N-S). Located in the Clifton Heights subdivision of 1885, it was named for a prominent land owner in the area. The English origin is literally the man who fought with or made a bow. (Clifton)

CLIFTON AVENUE (N-S). Originally appeared in the Clifton Heights Subdivision of 1885. The name Clifton Heights appeared earlier as a town in Delaware County southeastern Pennsylvania. Like most places named Clifton, this one had some cliffs in the area. Clifton is a popular American place name applied to more than a dozen towns in as many states, including Clifton City in Cooper County, Missouri. (Clifton) (Southwest)

CLIFTON HILLS DRIVE (E-W). Named after the subdivision in the 1953 subdivision of Clifton Hills. (Clifton)

CLIFTON PARK TERRACE (E-W). Also named for the Clifton Hills subdivision. (Clifton)


COLLETTA DRIVE (E-W). A frequent alternative spelling of Colette, the French pet form of "Nicolette. It came into existence in the Clifton Hills Subdivision of 1953. The name gained popularity because of the work of the French novelist Sidonie Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954). (Clifton)

COLUMBIA AVENUE (E-W). As one name of the United States of America, Columbia is a popular American place name. Its use originated the poem, "American Liberty," written in 1775 by Philip Freneau inspired when he heard of the Battle of Lexington when Boston still lay under siege. Freneau's lines ran,

What madness, Heaven, has made Britannia frown?
Who plans or schemes to pull Columbia down?

Then, lest his allusion not be understood, Freneau added a footnote which read, "Columbia, America sometimes so callled from Columbus, the first discoverer." In Missouri Columbia became the county seat of Boone County in 1819. Columbia Avenue was originally platted in the 1871 subdivision of St. Louis Heights. Sections of this street were known as Magnolia and Manchester avenues until 1881. (Clifton) (The Hill)

CUBA COURT, NORTH AND SOUTH (E and W). Platted in the 1924 subdivision of Cuba's addition. The country of Cuba experienced enormous popularity during the 1920s, part of the general tourist discovery associated with land booms in Florida, Cuba and Central America generally. (Clifton)

EITMAN AVENUE (E-W). The German "Eit" is descended from "Eid", meaning fire, burn or hearth. Appeared in Eitman's Addition of 1890 and named for the family of the developer. (Clifton)

ELIZABETH AVENUE (E-W). Originally appeared on St. Louis street maps in 1878 in the subdivisions of property of Gabriel Jones and others. Elizabeth traces its origin to the Hebrew Elisheba, "possibly `oath of God' or `God is satisfaction/perfection'." In the Biblical Old Testemant, the Book of Exodus, Elizabeth was the wife of Aaron. (Clifton)

ESTHER AVENUE (N-S). Originates in the Persian word for star, meaning the planet Venus. It also is a Biblical Old Testement name. Showed up in Campbell's Subdivision of 1889. (Clifton)

GREGG AVENUE (N-S). Platted in Laclede J. Howard's Subdivision of 1909 to honor Cecil D. Gregg, president of a local coffee company. (Oakland)

GREGG PLACE (N-S). Named for a landowner in the vicinity in the Clifton Heights Subdivision of 1885, William H. Gregg, President of the Southern White Lead Co. (Clifton)

HAMPTON AVENUE (N-S). Recognizes an urban district in Middlesex County, England. The name first appeared on St. Louis maps in 1913 when the thoroughfare known as Sulphur Avenue between Bancroft and Loughborough was renamed Hampton. The section between Oakland and Manchester avenues was named Billon Avenue until 1921. (Clifton) (The Hill) (Oakland) (Southwest)

HOFFMAN AVENUE (E-W). Appearing in the 1910 subdivision of Ivanhoe Place and named for Samuel E. Hoffman, vice-president of the Mississippi Valley Trust Company. (Clifton)

IVANHOE AVENUE (N-S). Originally Lake Avenue in the 1871 Christy Subdivision in Gratiot League Square. It retained that name until 1881 when it was renamed to honor Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe. (Clifton) (Southwest)

KNOX AVENUE and COURT (N-S). Honored Samuel Knox, a prominent St. Louis lawyer of the period, when it was opened in the Ritter Place Subdivision of 1887. (Clifton)


KNOX INDUSTRIAL COURT (E-W). Named for its entrance off Knox Avenue in the 1963 Knox Industrial Subdivision. (Clifton)

MAGNOLIA AVENUE (E-W). West of Grand Boulevard, Magnolia Avenue was one of several streets named by Henry Shaw as an indication of his interest in botanical subjects. The section of this street that runs between Gravois Avenue and Grand was called Rappahannock until 1893. (Clifton) (Compton Hill) (The Hill) (Oakland) (Shaw)

MARMADUKE AVENUE (E-W). Appearing in the Breezy Heights Subdivision of 1885, the street commemorates John S. Marmaduke, then governor of Missouri. (Clifton)


McCUNE AVENUE (E-W). When he laid out the Octavius C. McCune Subdivision of 1886, the developer named this street for himself. (Clifton)

ODELL STREET (E-W). Honors Henry R. Odell, superintendent of the St. Louis Bagging and Rope Factory at Fourtheenth and Papin streets. It was laid out in the 1871 subdivision of St. Louis Heights. (Clifton) (The Hill) (Oakland)

REBER PLACE (E-W). A veneration of Samuel Reber, a lawyer who was a judge in the Court of Common Pleas, in the 1871 subdivision of St. Louis Heights. (Clifton) (The Hill)

SIMPSON AVENUE (E-W). In the Clifton Heights Subdivision of 1885, it honored Dr. Robert Simpson, an early St. Louis postmaster and army officer. (Clifton)

SIMPSON TERRACE (E-W). Ward 24, Precinct 12, Census Tract 1036. (Clifton Heights)

SOUTHWEST AVENUE (E-W). From Kingshighway to the city limits was known as Old Manchester Road until 1917, when it was renamed as Southwest Avenue. (Clifton) (The Hill) (Oakland)

SULPHUR AVENUE (N-S). Developed from a road leading to a sulphur spring in David W. Graham's Sulphur Spring tract. Until 1882, from Wilson to Manchester avenues, it was known as Cheltenham Avenue. (Clifton) (The Hill) (Oakland) (Southwest

TAMM AVENUE (N-S). Honors Jacob Tamm, an early farmer and land owner in the Glades Tract, where the name of Tamm Road appeared on the 1856 map. It was changed to Tamm Avenue in 1893. (Clifton) (Oakland) (Southwest)

WATSON ROAD (N-S). Named for Wesley Watson, a prominent early land owner in the area southwest of St. Louis in the 19th century and signer of an 1845 petition to lay out the road. (Southwest)

WILSON AVENUE (E-W). Venerated George W. Wilson, an importer and dealer in hardware and cutlery, when it appeared in the 1868 subdivision of Fairmont Heights. (Clifton) (The Hill)

Clifton History Page Questions/Comments Contact: clifton.history@gmail.com

Thank you George!  It's amazing all the history one can find in just a small part of the city.  Is this a hobby or do you have any plans to publish your endeavors?  I'll be your first customer.  Standing on my front porch on Hoffman Ave. and looking across the street and upward its amazing the steep incline some of these streets have.  Thanks again.

There were a lot of Mines in the area.



Here is a list of some of the Underground Coal and Clay Mines in the City of St. Louis

Most of the City of St. Louis rests upon sandstone and extensive solution limestone. In general, the limestone formations extend from the Mississippi bluffs west to Kingshighway Boulevard, and further west in some areas. These limestone formations contain many caves and sinkholes. Over the years, many of these sinkholes were filled in; some were used as landfills as the city expanded. Some sinkholes lead into underground springs, resulting in the formation of sinkhole ponds. Clifton Park Lake in the Clifton Heights neighborhood is one notable example. Carondelet Park also contains many sinkholes. Also, the development of clay mines and coal mines in South City resulted in occasional cave-ins and sinkage, because of the relative instability of limestone when it is undermined. The portion of the city west of Kingshighway and generally north of River des Peres, as well as the Baden and North Pointe areas, rest upon the more stable sandstone. The lower River des Peres valley in the Patch neighborhood and the lowlands near the Mississippi River east of Hall Street in the North Riverfront area rest upon alluvial deposits formed from frequent
flooding.

Clifton History Page Questions/Comments Contact: clifton.history@gmail.com

GC,
If you want more information, PM me your address, I'll see what else I can find on it.

thanks George - this is awesome information to finally know! 

No problem, as soon as I have time I have a lot of new stuff I just got from Josh to add.
I'm trying to complete the Clifton Heights History Trail for The St Louis Track Club before Winter.