St. Louis, Oregon
Posted by: 
ddtfamily
N 45° 07.399 W 122° 56.549
10T E 504523 N 4996651
No Gateway Arch or Cardinals baseball, but Saint Louis, Oregon, has an interesting history of its own
Waymark Code: WMHCM9
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 06/24/2013
Views: 4
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.
Like it's famous Missouri namesake, St. Louis, Oregon was named by its Catholic founders for Saint Louis, also known as King Louis IX of France. King 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 San Luis Potosi in Mexico and San Luis, Colorado. Saint 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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