St. Louis, Oregon - People-Named Places on Waymarking.com

The Place: St. Louis is a small community in the French Prairie area of the mid-Willamette Valley, located about two miles west of the town of Gervais. The community grew up around the Roman Catholic church that was established here by Father Vercruisse in the mid 1840s. In 1880, the present church building was erected, today the oldest wooden Catholic church in western Oregon. The 1,028 pound bell was installed in the church tower in 1885. Adjacent to the church is an old parish house. The St. Louis cemetery, just west of the church, is one of the oldest pioneer cemeteries in the state.

The Person: The community of St. Louis was named by the Catholic founders for Saint Louis, also known as King Louis IX of France. Louis was born in 1214 and reigned as King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. As the only canonized King of France, there are many other places named after him, including St. Louis, Missouri and San Luis Potosi in Mexico. Louis was a particularly zealous and devout Catholic, leading the 7th and 8th Crusades to the Holy Land and expanding the Inquisition in France.

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