Preface
As a city grows, it develops problems that require solutions in order to grow further. St. Louis has seen its share of public health challenges caused by rapid growth and industrialization. The first was the recurrent cholera that plagued the area from the 1840s through the 1860s. The second was the dust problem I write about below. Successful treating of this problem exposed the third – fouled air from burning oil and coal during the 1920s and 30s.
As limestone was so plentiful, and didn’t become as muddy as soil, crushed or gravel limestone initially replaced the dirt of local streets.
But the weight of countless horses and mules, pulling heavy wagons laden with the commerce of a burgeoning city, ground the limestone into a white powdery dust that sometimes lay inches deep on city streets.