African American Lives in St. Louis, 1763-1865

<p> The African American presence in St. Louis began in 1763 with the arrival of several free men of color who accompanied Pierre Laclede from New Orleans to set up a fur trading fort on the Mississippi. Within a few decades, the fort had become a prosperous commercial center whose proximity to the western frontier attracted a cosmopolitan community.</p><p> African Americans in St. Louis--both slave and free--enjoyed greater autonomy and opportunity than those in urban areas of