St. Louis
St. Louis is the second-largest city in Missouri, and sits on the western bank of the Mississippi River, which forms the state line between Illinois and Missouri. The Missouri River merges with the Mississippi River 15 river miles north of Downtown St. Louis, forming the fourth-longest river system in the world. In 2019, the estimated population of St. Louis City was 300,576, and of the bi-state metropolitan area, 2,804,724. Greater St. Louis is the... Show more largest metropolitan area in Missouri, second-largest in Illinois, seventh-largest in the Great Lakes Megalopolis, and 22nd-largest in the United States. Before European settlement, the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture. St. Louis was founded on February 14, 1764 by French fur traders Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent, Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau and named after Louis IX of France. In 1764, following France's...