Little Jerusalem - Carr Square OPS

The Jewish Voice St. Louis, Missouri June 15, 1906 - Page 7 -- Shields school, about eleven hundred of whose fourteen hundred pupils are Jewish children, will have its closing exercises this Friday morning, at the Jewish Educational Alliance Building, corner Ninth and Carr streets. Following is the June class, the motto of which is that of New St. Louis: "To the Front:" Misses Anna Cohen, Jessie Ellsworth, Ethel Graber, Cecile Kellner, Darothy Liebert, Leah Oxenhandler, Mary Piatt and Harriett Rothman, and Masters Herbert I Berger, Thomas Buchman, Joseph W Johnson, Abe Katz, Louis Lehr, Max Levitt, Ben Mable, Louis Oxenhandler, Walter A. Pearce,  Joseph Roman, Joseph Rothman, John V. Urquhart and Harry Yoffe. Only three of the entire class are non-Jews. Following will be the program this morning: Chorus: Pupils of Rooms 1, 2 and 3 recitation; The Wreck of the Hesperus, Anna Cohen; recitation, Smiting the Rock, Abe Katz; essay, "Some good things of to-day, Joseph Rothman;

My focus is on the residents of Little Jerusalem in 1900. Newspaper stories mentioning The Eighth Street Yard appear frequently between 1890-1895. But the story of The Eighth Street Yard may be connected to the story of Little Jerusalem. What was the Eighth Street Yard?  St. Louis Globe Democrat, November 14, 1892 The Turbulent Eighth Street Yard. The police of the Third District are constantly annoyed by rows between whites and blacks in what is known as the Eighth Street Yard. This yard, which covers nearly a half block, is situate on Eighth street, between Carr and Biddle. Officers McCrea and Kavanaugh, who patrol the vicinity, are constantly suppressing outbreaks between women and their consorts, and not a week passes unmarked by a cutting or shooting in that neighborhood. Arrests are a daily occurrence. St Louis Post Dispatch, January 6, 1895 People who imagine that policemen have nothing to do but stay up twelve hours should spend a night with a blue-coat on a lively down-town be

Despite the conditions they lived in, there was candy for the children. Today a newspaper wouldn't have to describe a particular candy confection one of the candy shops introduces.  It should be noted that this is a good 8 years before this candy confection is said to have been invented in New Jersey . So maybe the origin story needs to be rewritten.   The St Louis Republic  St. Louis, Missouri  05 Nov 1900,  Page 7  CANDY SHOPS CUT PRICES.  Commercial War Is Agitating Little Jerusalem.  There is a commercial war on in the neighborhood of Seventh, Carr and Biddle streets. The results, so far, are cheaper confections for the children of Shields School and a complaint to the police.   Michael Novack has a candy store at No. 1127 North Seventh Street. Until seven months ago he had a monopoly of the candy business In the neighborhood; his store overflowed with students, bargains and prosperity. But seven months ago Charles Weismann and his wife rented the place at No. 1123 North Seven

 Below I include some images taken from Housing Conditions in St. Louis, Civic League of St. Louis, 1908. I have written a few times about the community on the Family History blog TransylvanianDutch . The first three entries focus on the report published by the Civic League of St. Louis, and the other four transcribe newspaper articles providing a glimpse into the lives of the residents. St, Louis City, 1908 Returning to St. Louis City, 1908 Local Reaction to 1908 Report A Concert in Carr Park - August 10, 1902 An August Night in the Slums, 1896 Little Jerusalem, St. Louis, 1900 Nightshirt Parade in Little Jerusalem - 1900

Reading  Housing Conditions in St. Louis  (Civic League of St. Louis, 1908) one cannot escape being disturbed by the conditions in which the residents lived. This was the point of the report and work was done to make improvements afterwards. Though one mighty question the amount of work. Decades later the infamous Pruitt-Igoe housing project would be built in the area.  Most of my paternal great grandparents grew up in this neighborhood so I have a personal interest. I’ve developed a desire to research the neighborhood of my ancestors - identify the residents and research their descendants. This strays a little from what I’ve seen described as a One Place Study. Most One Place Studies seem to focus on one neighborhood across time. I’m interested in starting in the neighborhood at one specific time and researching what happened to the families - most of whom likely left the neighborhood as soon as they were able.  Though while I intend to research the descendants, I’m not likely to writ

The Carr Square Neighborhood was defined by 7th and 14th streets, and Lucas and O'Fallon. (Source: Housing Conditions in St. Louis , Civic League of St. Louis, 1908.) Little Jerusalem was defined loosely by 6th & 11th streets, and Carr & Lucas. A map of the intersecting area today: The red box is Carr Square and the blue box Little Jerusalem. Carr Square was a mix of ethnicities, and the residents didn’t neatly divide themselves into isolated areas. Similar boundaries are often used to define “Kerry Patch,” and likely other ethnic communities.