Brief History of Soulard

On February 10, 1841: Julia Soulard begins giving land to the City of St. Louis for use as a public market.

The history of Soulard and the oldest public market west of the Mississippi dates to the late 1700s. That’s when Antoine Soulard married Julia Cerre. Cerre’s father was given a massive plot of land by Spain, which he in turn gave it to his son-in-law. The plot of land included the area in south St. Louis where the market was held.

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 put the ownership of the plot into question. A decades-long legal dispute finally recognized Julia as the owner of the land as her husband had died in the meantime. However, in 1841 Julia donated two city blocks of the land to the city with the provision that it would be home to a farmer’s market. That’s what it remains today as the Soulard Market.

Soulard and Mardi Gras

The area is known today as the home of one of the largest Mardi Gras celebrations in the world. That part of the story reportedly dates to 1979. The story begins with five men who were bored during a cold St. Louis winter. Hilary Clements, Bob Brinkmann, James Rabbitt, Bill Stubbs, and Bill Coleman were simply trying to find a way to liven things up. They came up with the idea to have their own Mardi Gras celebration. They started their party in the building at 1017 Russell Boulevard in Soulard, which is where Johnny’s Restaurant and Bar now stands. The group led a walk to McGurk’s Irish Pub at 12th and Russell blowing horns with plenty of alcohol flowing. Now, decades later, millions of people have made their way down to Soulard to celebrate Mardi Gras, St. Louis style.

Soulard History is alive and well south of downtown St. Louis!