Historic St Charles Missouri

St. Charles was the beginning site for many travelers in the westward expansion. Today Frontier Park on the banks of the Missouri is the site of a monument to two of the early explorers (Lewis & Clark). Frontier park is also the starting point for the popular Katy Trail, which has 230 miles of hiking/bicycling trails.


Lewis and Clark Monument by mbgphoto

The Old Main Street in St. Charles features brick paved streets, gas lights and many unique shops and restaurants in restored buildings from the 1800's. I love to wander along the street, stopping to browse at all of the wonderful shops. If you are looking for a special gift, downtown St. Charles is the place to go. On a recent visit I enjoyed seeing a needlework shop, a quilt shop, a shop with beautiful stained glass designs and several shops with artistic jewelry.

Historic St. Charles by mbgphoto

The photo above depicts an entry in the Fete de Glace ice carving competition that is held each January on North Main street in St. Charles. I attended this years event and found the ice carving to be amazing. In the morning competition teams of two carvers were each challenged to create an ice sculpture out of 5 blocks of ice. Visitors would then vote on their favorites. This is just one of the many events during the year that brings people to historic downtown St. Charles.

Some of the other events include : Art exhibits, a concert series, a farmers market, Music in the street, the Lewis &Clark Heritage Days, Irish Fest, July 4th Celebration, Litlle Festival of the Hills (craft festival), Family Bike Ride, Trick or Treat on Main and Christmas Traditions. For information on these events go to Rendezvous in St Charles

Up the hill from Main Street you will find many churches. This is a photo of the steeple of Immanuel Lutheran Church.