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More Information on Hill of Barns

Home > Circa 1804 > St. Louis: City Along The River > Block 86
 


Map of St. Louis in 1796 showing Common Fields and Property Owners for Charles M. Stanlsy, Balmoral Cigars. Engraving by St. Louis Poster Advertising Company, ca. 1910.
Courtesy of Missouri Historical Society

Information on the hill of barns and the common fields:

At the top of the hill behind the town (today's Broadway) stood the Coteau des Granges (Hill of Barns), structures used for sheltering livestock and storing hay and grain. The common fields (commune) ran from St. Louis south to the River des Peres, seven miles away. The common-field of each resident was one arpent (.85 acre) wide and forty arpens long, containing about 34 acres. Very few villagers owned or required more land than this for their needs. The elders of the village determined the seasons for the various agricultural operations.

The commons was a large pasture field for the use of all. Each morning and evening a proportion of the population or their slaves went out to work the fields and came back into town as the day ended. The only plows were all wood in construction. The only vehicles were two-wheeled carts, built light and drawn by horses. Principal crops for the village were corn, wheat, tobacco, rye, buckwheat, flax, cotton, oats, barley, and beans. In ordinary years the fields produced enough to feed the village, but sometimes imports were necessary.