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BHistory
History · Ladue

Ladue dates to 1936, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns · #101 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 11 buildings. Below: maps from 1933 on and the census since 1940.

1936founded
6on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ladue began

When was Ladue founded?

1936

Ladue dates its founding to 1936 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 3,981 in 19402020 census: 8,98990 years

How historic is Ladue?

B

More historic than 57% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ladue’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ladue is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #101 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ladue’s overall grade.
Founding era1936, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194021.4% of homes (±5.0) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register6 listings, 17 historic buildings, 19.0 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 57%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 59%

Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ladue’s 19.0 sits above most of its state (81% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 17 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1936.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Ladue’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Ladue are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.Old housesHalf of Ladue’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ladue’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ladue’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

6 historic places in Ladue

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
17
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Samuel Plant House
Samuel Plant HouseRudolph and Dorothy C. Czufin House, built 1951Harry Hammerman HousePrice SchoolTilles, Rosalie, ParkGeorge M. Park House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Modern Movement2
Georgian Revival1
Samuel Plant HouseGeorgian Revival
Rudolph and Dorothy C. Czufin HouseModern Movement · Built 1951
Harry Hammerman HouseModern Movement
All 6 listings
Price SchoolBuilding · listed 1985Tilles, Rosalie, ParkDistrict · listed 2018George M. Park HouseBuilding · listed 2023

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Ladue came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ladue.

Read it all →

The historical anecdotes contained in this section were derived from the 2011 book Ladue Found, written by Charlene Bry, former editor and owner of The Ladue News.

Ladue began as a farming community and St. Louis County suburb. After St. Louis City ejected St. Louis County in 1876, Ladue was known as ranges 4 and 5 of "Township 45", with Clayton being the political hub. Original Township 45 farming families included the Dennys, Dwyers, Conways, McCutcheons, McKnights (all Irish), Litzsinger, von Schraders, Spoedes, Luedloffs, Muellers, Seiberts (all German), LaDues (French), Warsons, Lays, Barnes, Prices, and Watsons (all English), according to a 1868 Pitzman map of St. Louis, as well as 1878 and 1909 maps of St. Louis County.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ladue, 1904 to 1951

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Born hereHoward Elliott is born here
  3. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1936
    FoundingLadue is established
  5. 1951BuiltRudolph and Dorothy C. Czufin House is built
By decade

Ladue, decade by decade

Today13 recent
Ladue, Missouri2018Ladue, MissouriLHWHS2018LHWHSStrip Mall in2013Strip Mall inLadue Market2013Ladue MarketBusch's Grove2013Busch's GroveBusch's Grove (2)2013Busch's Grove (2)Fair Oaks Estates2011Fair Oaks EstatesDromara2011Dromara4 Oakleigh20114 Oakleigh4 Fair Oaks20114 Fair Oaks28 Clermont201128 Clermont16 Picardy201116 PicardyJohnBurroughsSchool photo2010JohnBurroughsSchool photo
On the map

Ladue on the map, 1933 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ladue. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Ladue on the 1933 USGS mapLadue on the 1940 USGS mapLadue on the 1954 USGS mapLadue on the 1968 USGS mapLadue on the 1974 USGS mapLadue on the 1993 USGS map1933Creve Coeur sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ladue.

People over time

Ladue, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019401960198020002020Peak: 10,306

Between 3,981 and 10,306 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ladue’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

University City16 historic placesA−Richmond Heights4 historic placesA+Rock Hill1 historic placeBHuntleighIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWarson WoodsIts storyC−Clayton10 historic placesAFrontenac1 historic placeD

Questions about Ladue’s history

What year was Ladue founded?

In 1936, according to Wikidata. the census of 1940 counted 3,981 people here.

How does Ladue rank for history?

Ladue is more historic than 57% of U.S. towns, #101 of 247 in Missouri. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Ladue?

6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Samuel Plant House (listed 1984, the first), and 1 historic district, the Tilles, Rosalie, Park, with 11 contributing buildings. 17 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Ladue?

21% of Ladue’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1955.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.