St. Charles Rock Road

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St. Charles Rock Road is the current name of what was the first road to traverse present-day St. Louis County, Missouri between St. Louis and St. Charles. For most of its length it is also known as Route 180.

Its present-day origin is in Wellston, starting at Salzman Avenue where Martin Luther King Drive ends. It proceeds northwest past several cemeteries, crosses under I-170 within St. John, then continues through Breckenridge Hills and St. Ann. As it enters Bridgeton, it crosses under I-70 and becomes Route 115 when it crosses I-270. From I-270 it continues northwest towards the banks of the Missouri River, ending opposite St. Charles at Missouri Bottom Road.

[edit] History

In the 1760s, St. Louis (on the Mississippi River and St. Charles (on the Missouri) were the two major European settlements in the lower Missouri River Valley. A path between the two came to be known as King’s Highway, a name used in colonial times by the Spanish and then the French for many frequently used roads. The southeastern end of the road became known as St. Charles Street.

In 1819, St. Charles Road was established as a post road and stagecoach road; by 1837 it became a turnpike. The road furnished access to the Santa Fe Trail and Oregon Trail for the many westbound wagon trains that were outfitted in St. Louis.

After passage of the Missouri Plank Road Law in 1851, it became an oak plank road. In 1865, St. Charles Road was rebuilt with macadam and renamed St. Charles Rock Road. In 1921, it became the first concrete state highway in St. Louis County.

In 1953, St. Charles Rock Road was completed as a divided two-lane highway along much of its length.