Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

1894..................

ARRIVAL OF THE KATY
Katy Trail State Park was once the rail bed of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad (MKT or Katy). Under the name of the Missouri, Kansas & Eastern, tracks were built between Franklin and Machens in 1892-93 to enable passengers to reach St. Louis. The first Katy train rolled through St. Charles on April 1, 1894. Once the new segment opened, a passenger could ride "The Katy" from St. Louis to Galveston, Texas.

In 1921, thieves stole $110,000 from the St. Charles Katy depot in one of the largest station and mail robberies in U.S. history. After World War II, highway travel became more popular than rail travel. The Katy's ridership slowed until passenger service was discontinued in 1956. By the 1970's, the Katy railroad was too small to compete with larger rail companies. On April 11, 1986, the last Katy train rode the tracks to St. Louis.
[Top Photo: During the 1903 flood, boxcars were placed on the Katy tracks to keep the wooden ties from floating up and destroying the tracks.
John J. Buse, Jr. Collection, 1860-1931, Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia, Mo.
Middle Photo: In 1899, the Katy Railroad stretched from Texas to Missouri (map).
Courtesy of St. Louis Mercantile Library, University of Missouri-St. Louis.]

TROLLEYS TO INTERSTATES
In 1904, the St. Charles Bridge Co. constructed a trolley and vehicle bridge across the Missouri River. This bridge was the first iron non-railroad bridge to cross the Missouri River. Automobile travel numbered the days of the railroad and the trolley. One of the first automobile routes to cross the United States, highway 40 (US-40), crossed the Missouri River in St. Charles using the 1904 bridge. The first interstate highway, interstate 70, began in St. Charles in 1956.
[Bottom Photo: The first trolley crosses over the 1904 trolley and car bridge.
John J. Buse, Jr., Collection, 1860-1931, Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia.]

REBIRTH OF ST. CHARLES
Around 1960, St. Charles began a movement to preserve its historic district. Visionaries began restoring the First State Capitol and other historic buildings on Main Street, leading St. Charles to become home to one of the first historic districts in the nation. Today, over 100 historic buildings are within St. Charles historic districts.

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