Elmwood Park

Elmwood Park Origins 

When the Elmwood Park community developed in the 1890s, some of the first people to purchase property here included families who had formerly been enslaved on farms in this area. Elmwood Park soon became a predominantly Black, self-sufficient community that was home to grocers, taverns, places of worship, and Elmwood Park School. Residents had easy access to downtown jobs, commuting from Elmwood Park to St. Louis City by streetcar. 

Annexation 

In 1950, Olivette annexed the southern portion of Elmwood Park. Along with several other Black communities in the St. Louis region in the mid-twentieth century, Elmwood Park was targeted for demolition and redevelopment of its buildings including 170 homes. Residents of the strong, proud, and stable Elmwood Park community were forcibly removed in the name of urban renewal at that time. A grand jury later concluded that this project was an “evasion of responsibility” that destroyed a stable and longstanding community in one of the few areas in the St. Louis region where Black people were allowed to buy, own, and rent property. 

Elmwood Park Today 

Only remnants of the original Elmwood Park community remain, but the story of the mistreatment of its residents will not be forgotten or erased. Elmwood Park residents lost their homes, their community, and their livelihoods in the name of progress for some but not others. The memory of Elmwood Park as a thriving, self-reliant Black community lives on today.