ADDRESS: 1720 Market Street, Saint Louis, Missouri, 61355
TITLE: The Struggle for Statehood
ARTIST: Edward Millman
MEDIUM: (mural)
STATUS: The mural resides on the wall in the lobby.
YEAR: 1942
Welcome to part 9 of a 10 part series featuring the Saint Louis main post office. For the past 8 days we have been showcasing the murals inside this mammoth building. Since there are over 9 murals I’ve decided to highlight them each individually. Today’s mural is titled “The Struggle for Statehood” and was done by Edward Millman.
The group of men at the left symbolizes the struggle for statehood. These men, John Rice Jones, David Banon, Henry Dodge Alexander McNair and Edward Bates were among the most prominent members of the Constitutional Convention,” which resulted in the “Missouri Compromise” and led the way to Missouri statehood in 1820.
To the right of the convention group is a portrait of Joseph Charles, founder of the Missouri Gazette, the first newspaper west of the Mississippi River. In the center is a stagecoach bringing bags of mail to St. Louis in 1825, thus furnishing the Gazette with a “regular line of intelligence.” To the right of the stagecoach is a group kneeling in prayer, depicting the coming of the church into pioneer Missouri and the important role it played in development of the Missouri frontier.
Tune in tomorrow for our last series including the smaller east and west entrance murals. Thanks for following along, please comment and share below.
Thanks,
David W. Gates Jr.
Sources
- Personal visit on 8/10/2012 by David W. Gates Jr.
- United States Postal Service
- (affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz.
