Pagedale, MO

Pagedale is an inner-ring St. Louis County city built out of former farmland, orchards, and hunting ground just west of St. Louis. Page Avenue arrived as a road across the old large landholdings; by the late 1890s, streets were being laid out, and the Terminal Railroad's 1903 line cut through the former Chapman Farm. The Dinky Electric Streetcar then made the area easier to reach, carrying people from the city through Ferguson Avenue and opening the farmland to homes.

Pagedale's story also includes who could live where. Whitney Avenue became a major street for African American homeowners and professionals, while gates and other barriers had been used to keep Whitney residents from reaching Page Avenue. Greek families were also part of the city's older mix. Today Pagedale is served by Normandy Schools Collaborative and Normandy High School, with City Hall and the Pagedale Community Association on Ferguson Avenue. The city is small, but its streets carry a big St. Louis story: orchards becoming subdivisions, streetcars shaping growth, and residents pushing back against the boundaries built into the map.