Old Courthouse!

What Is the Old Courthouse?

Part of Gateway Arch National Park, this was St. Louis’ original courthouse and the site of two important legal cases that went to the Supreme Court!

What Makes It Historical?

With land set aside in 1816 by Judge John Baptiste Charles Lucas and Auguste Chouteau (co-founder of St. Louis), this historic courthouse went up in four stages! The first was designed in Federal style by the firm of Laveille & Morton, who also designed the Old Cathedral. Within 10 years of Missouri statehood, St. Louis needed a bigger courthouse, so in 1839, Henry Singleton turned the old courthouse into the east wing of a new, four-winged, Greek Revival style building. This was later remodeled by Robert S. Mitchell in 1851 and William Rumbold in 1864!

It was during the Mitchell remodel that one of history’s most infamous Civil Rights cases kicked off right here at the St. Louis Courthouse. From foundation until 1861, the sale of enslaved folks took place in the probate courts here, and one such person, Dred Scott, filed suit against his enslavement! Since his owner, Dr. John Emerson, had taken him into free states multiple times, Mr. Scott argued that he and his wife could not legally remain enslaved. The Supreme Court disagreed, not with his argument, but with the very idea that an enslaved person, as a non-citizen, could file suit in court. The decision in 1857’s Dred Scott v. Sandford case was one of the catalysts leading into the Civil War!

A similar travesty kicked off here in 1872 when Virginia Minor went on trial for voting in a local election. In her case, Minor v. Happersett, the Supreme Court ruled that, since the Constitution didn’t guarantee federal voting rights, Missouri’s state-level, male-only suffrage was legal.

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
Volunteer at Gateway Arch National Park!
Become a member of the Gateway Arch Park Foundation!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!