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C−History
History · St. Ann

St. Ann dates to 1948, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns · #199 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Most of St. Ann was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Its Register listing is the Bank of St. Ann. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1933 on, and the census since 1950.

1948founded
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Eich2004 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How St. Ann began

When was St. Ann founded?

1948

St. Ann dates its founding to 1948 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1950.

First census: 4,557 in 19502020 census: 13,01978 years

How historic is St. Ann?

C−

More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1954.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives St. Ann’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Ann is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #199 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Ann’s overall grade.
Founding era1948, from Wikipedia: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19407.9% of homes (±4.0) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 0.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 22%
NewerOlder
Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 20%

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 St. Ann’s 0.8 sits near the middle of its state (48% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). Two sources give 1948.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 St. Ann’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 18,215 in 1970; 13,019 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of St. Ann’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start St. Ann’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAirway drive in sign, Saint Ann, Missou…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

St. Ann, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,0001960198020002020Peak: 18,215

Peaked at 18,215 in 1970; 13,019 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

The story

How St. Ann came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of St. Ann.

Read it all →

The city was established in 1948 but began to develop six years before it was granted the petition of incorporation. Charles F. Vatterott, the developer and builder of most of the residential and commercial properties in St. Ann, started the community as a housing project for families of workers employed in nearby defense plants. It was one of the few defense housing projects in the country to develop into a permanent town. The original homesite was dedicated in honor of Saint Ann, the mother of the Virgin Mary.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

St. Ann, 1933 to 1988

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1933On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1948
    FoundingSt. Ann is established
  4. 1954Post officeThe Saint Ann post office opens
  5. 1962Born herePete Weber is born here
  6. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 18,215
  7. 1988In the archiveAirway drive in sign, Saint Ann, Missouri
By decade

St. Ann, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Airway drive in sign, Saint Ann, Missouri1988Airway drive in sign, Saint Ann, Missouri
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
Stix, Baer and Fuller Department Store at Northwest Plaza (1980)2022Stix, Baer and Fuller Department Store at Northwest P…St. Ann Entrance From St. Charles Rock Road East Bound - September 20222022St. Ann Entrance From St. Charles Rock Road East Boun…Former Sears Store at Northwest Plaza (2002)2022Former Sears Store at Northwest Plaza (2002)Late June 1 0442010Late June 1 044MOMap-doton-St. Ann2004MOMap-doton-St. AnnNorthwest Plaza (2002)2002Northwest Plaza (2002)
On the map

St. Ann on the map, 1933 to 1993

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

St. Ann on the 1933 USGS mapSt. Ann on the 1940 USGS mapSt. Ann on the 1954 USGS mapSt. Ann on the 1968 USGS mapSt. Ann on the 1974 USGS mapSt. Ann 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 St. Ann.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Airway drive in sign, Saint Ann, Missouri
Retake this viewAirway drive in sign, Saint Ann, Missouri, 1988

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on St. Ann’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in St. Ann

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2020
Bank of St. Ann
Bank of St. Ann
Buildings
All 1 listings
Bank of St. AnnBuilding · listed 2020

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Ann

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bridgeton1 historic placeB−Breckenridge HillsIts storyB−

Questions about St. Ann’s history

What year was St. Ann founded?

In 1948, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. St. Ann’s post office opened in 1954, and the census of 1950 counted 4,557 people here.

How does St. Ann rank for history?

St. Ann is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns, #199 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 St. Ann?

One place: the Bank of St. Ann (listed 2020).

How old are the homes in St. Ann?

8% of St. Ann’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1957.

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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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.