A Lemp Suicide 95 Years Ago Today

Late last month Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich committed suicide at his home in Clayton.  His was not the first local suicide among those who, by outside appearances, had a lot going fir them.

Foe example, the Lemp family:

In 1870 Lemp was by far the largest brewery in St. Louis and the Lemp family symbolized the city’s wealth and power. Lemp beer controlled the lion’s share of the St. Louis market, a position it held until Prohibition. In 1892 the brewery was incorporated as the William J. Lemp Brewing Co. In 1897 two of the brewing industry’s titans toasted each other when William Lemp’s daughter, Hilda, married Gustav Pabst of the noted Milwaukee brewing family. (Lemp Mansion)

The suicides began in 1904 with the head of the family, William Sr:

Lemp, 68, shot himself on the morning of Feb. 13, 1904, in his second-floor bedroom of the family mansion at 3322 South 13th Street (now DeMenil Place), next to his brewery covering 13 blocks. Lemp had never gotten over the sudden death in 1901 of his son, Frederick, brewery superintendent, from a heart ailment. His depression deepened. When he didn’t emerge from the room that morning, no one took much notice. (Post-Dispatch)

His son, William Jr., took over the brewery. Sales declined and, in 1919, the brewery shut down because of Prohibition.

The next suicide I’ve seen listed as March 19th and as March 20th — 1920:

The second in the series of Lemp family suicides was that of Elsa Lemp, daughter of William Lemp (who killed himself in the Lemp Mansion in February 1904) and the younger sister of Billy Lemp, who took over the brewery. She had married Thomas Wright, President of the More-Jones Brass and Metal Company, in 1910 and divorced him in 1919. She was granted the divorce on the same day she filed the request, but almost immediately turned around and remarried him on March 8, 1920. Just a few weeks later, Elsa told her new-old husband that she wanted a quiet night to herself. The following morning, he heard a sharp crack and ran into the bedroom to find she had shot herself. When Billy Lemp arrived at the scene, he was remarked as commenting only “that’s the Lemps for you.” (STL250 via Facebook)

Wow, clearly Elsa, 37, was conflicted. Granted a divorce on the day filed? Remarried less than a year later only to kill yourself 11/12 days later! Her daughter died during birth in 1914.

Here’s the home where the couple lived:

I have the following questions about this house:

• Who built it in 1901? Her husband Thomas Wright?
• Or did the couple buy the fairly new home after getting married in 1910?
• How long did Thomas Wright live in the house after Elsa’s death?

I searched the 1940 Census and found him living nearby at 46 Portland Place with a new wife, Cora, her son, 24 year-old William O’Fallon, and three servants: Dora Six, Emma Light, and Esther Siegerit. This house was 11 years newer, built in 1912; a bit smaller at just under 5,000 sq ft — still large.

Elsa was the youngest of her siblings, she’d just turned 21 when her father committed suicide in 1904. Her brother William, 55, shot himself in the family mansion in 1922 — not long after selling the brewery property. Another brother, Charles, also shot himself in the mansion in 1949 — he was 77 and the last family member to live in the family mansion.  Her sister Hilda Lemp Pabst died, presumably of natural causes, in 1951 at age 74.  The last Lemp sibling, Edwin, died in 1970 at age 90.

Edwin Lemp owned 200 acres adjacent to the Meramec River where he began building his 11,000 sq ft home, Cragwold, in 1911:

Edwin Lemp was born in 1880 and grew up during the time that the American conservation movement was at its height. Being a well educated man, he would have been familiar with the conservation issues of the time and most likely read many of the essays written on the topic. With Lemp’s well-known love of nature and animals, it would be easy to assume that he most likely shared many of the same conservation views as Olmsted, Burroughs, Powell, Muir, and Theodore Roosevelt. Lemp’s well-known love of nature and animals can be traced back to his childhood, when he kept canaries and parrots. As an adult, Lemp’s love of nature would lead him to discover the place where he would build his estate.

About the same time his brother William Jr built the Alswel estate nearby. Neither Charles or Edwin married, Edwin was gay and presumably Charles was as well.

Many Lemps are interred at the Lemp mausoleum in Bellefontaine Cemetery.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Population May Drop Below 300K In 2020 Census

We’re at the midpoint between the 2010 & 2020 Census, in six years we’ll have the results of the 2020 Census. St. Louis’ population peaked in the 1950 Census — dropping in the following 6. Here’s a quick look:

I think these figures are a reflection of what was happening in the city & region in each decade.  In the 50s you had the start of Urban Renewal Programs clearing out older neighborhoods, end of restrictive covenants/white flight, and initial highway construction in the city, in St. Louis County new subdivisions sprang up to accommodate the middle classes fleeing the city. This continued in the 60s & 70s. In the 80s & 90s it there wasn’t the big Urban Renewal or highways — decay was allowed to take hold in many areas. Now you began to see Black flight as middle class African-Americans left the city, largely for North County.

This continued in the 2000s but downtown and its perimeter areas we saw a boom in loft conversions and the addition of other new housing units in the central city. A result of the 2000s building boom, we saw the 2010 Census loss drop below 10%, as the city finally offered a little of the urban/walkable neighborhoods a segment of the general public desires. To be sure, most of the market likes suburbia.

For decades the city tried to remake itself into the suburban ideal — but this failed to appeal to those seeking suburbia as well as those seeking urban/walkable lifestyles.  Some, sadly, think the city should continue down the suburbanization path — even though we have decades of huge losses to show that strategy is a total failure. Just as urbanists aren’t drawn to places like New Town St. Charles, suburbanites aren’t drawn to our city version of suburbia. Both are compromises that attract a small segment.  The only strategy to limit losses in the city is urbanization.

The last 5 years we haven’t been doing much to add units in existing urban/walkable neighborhoods nor have we worked to turn more in the urban/walkable direction. This is why I think we’ll see another loss in 2020. If we lose another 28,895 people that would represent a 9% loss, and put us at 290,399. A loss of 19,294 would put us at 300,000 — this would be a 6% loss. I think our loss will be between 20,000-25,000.

North St. Louis County will see middle class blacks & whites leave in large numbers, but see an influx of lower income blacks from North city for newer housing. Of course this is all speculation at this point, the count will start in 5 years and we’ll know the results in 6.  Ward boundaries will be redrawn based on these numbers — down to 14 from 28 based on a charter change approved a few years ago. We still have five years to take action.

In the Sunday Poll more than half also think we’ll see a loss, while nearly 40% think we’ll see a gain.    Here are the results:

Q: St. Louis’ 2010 population was 8.3% less than 2000 — the smallest decline since the 1950 peak. What change will the 2020 Census reveal?

1. Less than 5% LOSS 10 27.78%]
2. Less than 1% GAIN 7 19.44%]
3. Less than 10% LOSS 4 11.11%]
4. TIE: 3 [8.33%]
   1. Less than 5% GAIN
   2. Greater than 10% LOSS
5. TIE: 2 [5.56%]
   1. Less than 1% LOSS
   2. Less than 10% GAIN
   3. Greater than 10% GAIN
   4. Unchanged
6. Unsure/No Answer 1 [2.78%]

My curiosity is if the Wards/Census tracks that had gains in 2010 can hold onto those in 2020.

— Steve Patterson

Contractor Thought The Public Sidewalk Was A Good Location For Construction Signs

Recently, while taking 14th Street, I noticed construction signs limiting the width of the too-narrow public sidewalk — the East side between Olive & Locust — adjacent to the main library.

I posted one image to Facebook & Twitter with the caption: “14th street sidewalk almost completely blocked by temp road sign #ADA” A response on Twitter suggested I tweet this to the CSB (aka Citizens Service Bureau). Instead I emailed two people at the Streets Dept, copying two from the Office on the Disabled.  Streets quickly identified the culprit — hired contractor Intren — working for Ameren.

Temporary signs are a necessity, but so is the sidewalk next to the main library used by 5 MetroBus routes. The sidewalk is too narrow for the pedestrian volume but the historic library landscaping and the street width prevents it from being widened.  Once again, people unaware/unconcerned about pedestrians.

— Steve Patterson

Will the Urban League’s New Ferguson Center Be Urban or Suburban?

This afternoon the Urban League is going to give more details about something they released on Friday, a new center at the site of the burn-out QuikTrip on West Florissant in Ferguson:

On Friday, the Urban League said the center would be “an important extension of its services in North County to further the League’s mission of empowering communities and changing lives.”

The center will “expand the Urban League’s work to broaden access to education/job training, employment and economic self-reliance for residents of the St. Louis metro area,” the League said in a news release.

A news conference is set for Monday afternoon to announce details, which the Urban League would not provide Friday. (Post-Dispatch)

Job training is needed in Ferguson, a better-trained workforce will benefit the entire region.

St  Louis County records list the property as being 1.14 acres with irregular borders. This afternoon we might see preliminary ideas for the planned building. Hopefully the Urban League is planning to build the structure out at the street corner, close to the public sidewalk. My fear is they’ll set a building at the back, behind parking. The latter would send the wrong message to a community with many who use sidewalks and public transit. Since they’ll be starting with a cleared site I’m hopeful, I applaud the effort but remain cautious until I see specifics.

The press conference will be held 3pm at the Urban League’s non-walkable St. Louis County Operations Center at 8960 Jennings Station Road. To be fair, it’s located in a rented former grocery store built in 1967.

— Steve Patterson.

Sunday Poll: What Change In Population Will The 2020 Census Reveal?

In 1962 something happened nobody 100 — even 50 — years earlier would’ve predicted:

St. Louis County overtakes St. Louis City in population

The American Statistical Association’s St. Louis Chapter Metropolitan Census Committee listed the population of St. Louis County as 762,000, and the population of St. Louis City at 740,000. For the first time in history, the population of St. Louis County exceeded that of St. Louis City. The recent creation of the Interstate Highway System would drastically change the lives of American cities forever, with St. Louis taking a particularly extreme stance as those with means fled outwards from the center. St. Louis County’s population had begun rising steadily around the turn of the century, but in the post-World War II years, it jumped with shocking speed. From 1950 to 1960, the population of St. Louis County jumped from 406,349 to 703,532. Meanwhile, St. Louis City had experienced its first population loss in history in the 1960 census. Dark days were still ahead… from 1970 – 1980, St. Louis City would lose 27% of its population. (STL250 via Facebook)

The above text isn’t totally correct — the 1940 Census showed a net loss of less than 1%, followed by a 5% increase in 1950. St. Louis County has had losses in only two Census counts: a 90%+ plus in 1880 after the city succeeded and a 1.7% decline in 2010.

Here’s today’s poll question: St. Louis’ 2010 population was 8.3% less than 2000 — the smallest decline since the 1950 peak. What change will the 2020 Census reveal?

The poll, as always, is at the top of the right sidebar on desktops — mobile users can switch to the desktop view at the bottom of their browser.

— Steve Patterson