Above: Arthur Landsbury walking the streets of Wellston, 1920s (collection of Bonnie Burrows)

Welcome to The Wellston Loop, a site and blog dedicated to preserving the history of a unique St. Louis community.

Wellston, Missouri – with recorded beginnings as early as 1837 – has been significant to the St. Louis area as a major transportation hub, shopping district, and industrial area. The Hodiamont streetcar line had its terminus at the Wellston Loop and made its final run to the Loop in 1966 – the last trip of any St. Louis streetcar.

From its origins in the late 19th century as a popular country and resort area for well-to-do St. Louisans to its height in the 20th century as a shopping, transportation, and business center for the working and middle classes, from its decline in the 1960s and ’70s to its recent selection as an Enterprise Zone, Wellston has been a changing and colorful area.

For most Wellstonians, even former residents who no longer live in the community, Wellston is a “state of mind.”

“To be a citizen of Wellston is one thing, but to be a real ‘Wellstonian’ is quite another,” said a 1969 Globe-Democrat article. “Wellston indeed, is as much a state of mind as it is a city. You can live outside its official boundaries . . . and still share in the esprit de corps that has bound tried and true Wellstonians together since Easton avenue was little more than a stagecoach line.”

Start your journey on The St. Charles Road.