Wellston is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in St. Louis County,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, United States, along the northwest border of the city of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. The population was 2,313 at the 2010 census.

History

Wellston was incorporated as a city in 1909. Due to "government difficulties" the city was dissolved three years later, becoming an unincorporated place in Central Township, only to be reestablished as a city in 1949. The city was named for

Erastus Wells Erastus Wells (December 2, 1823 – October 2, 1893) was a 19th-century politician and businessman from Missouri. Wells was born in Jefferson County, New York, and was the only son of Otis Wells, a descendant of Hugh Welles, an early colonis ...

. During the early 1900s, the Wagner Electric Company, a manufacturer of small motors for appliances and

transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

s, began development along Plymouth Avenue in Wellston, growing to occupy the entire block and providing 4,500 jobs during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. North of the Wagner site, ABEX Corporation built a steel foundry that began operation in 1923. In 1982 ABEX moved out of its Wellston location; the next year, the Wagner Electric Company closed its doors. After closure, it took 22 years, and millions of dollars in tax credits and development grants, for the St. Louis County Economic Council to demolish five buildings and clean up of the Wagner

brownfield land Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...

along the MetroLink so that it could be made marketable as the Plymouth Industrial Park.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Transportation

Wellston has a few major roads within its boundaries, including

Missouri Route 180 Route 180 is a highway in the St. Louis, Missouri area. Its western terminus is at Interstate 270 (I-270) in Bridgeton, running east into the western neighborhoods of St. Louis to its eastern terminus at Kingshighway Boulevard, the border of ...

Missouri Route 340 Missouri Route 340 (also called Clarkson Road or Olive Boulevard) is a Missouri state highway in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Its western terminus is Route 100 (Manchester Road) in Ellisville, and its eastern terminus is at an intersectio ...

, and SR-D. Wellston station is the main St. Louis MetroLink station for Wellston, featuring 243

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

spaces. It is located at 6402 Plymouth Avenue and serves an average of 1,569 passengers daily. Rock Road station is a MetroLink station on the edge of Wellston, featuring 183 park and ride spaces and averaging 2,408 passengers daily. Rock Road Station is located at 7019 St. Charles Rock Road, a major connecting highway between St. Louis City and northwest St. Louis County.

Education

The vast majority of the municipality in the

Normandy Schools Collaborative Normandy Schools Collaborative (formerly the Normandy School District) is a Public school (government funded), public school district serving 23 municipalities in northern St. Louis County, Missouri. The district operates one comprehensive high ...

school district.
Text list
/ref> The comprehensive high school of the district is Normandy High School, located in Wellston. A small piece is in the University City School District. The comprehensive high school of that district is University City High School. Formerly most of Wellston was in the Wellston School District. The Wellston School District was disbanded effective 2010 and absorbed by the Normandy district.

Demographics

Wellston is one of the 10 poorest cities in Missouri (2010).

2020 census

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,313 people, 785 households, and 540 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 999 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 2.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 95.4%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.4% of the population. There were 785 households, of which 47.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 14.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 47.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.2% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.62. The median age in the city was 26.2 years. 37% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 19.6% were from 45 to 64; and 8.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.9% male and 55.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,460 people, 779 households, and 578 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 961 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.07%

, 6.30%

, 0.45% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.37% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population. There were 779 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.3% were

living together, 44.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.08 and the average family size was 3.64. In the city the population was spread out, with 35.7% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $18,596, and the median income for a family was $20,625. Males had a median income of $21,264 versus $18,917 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $6,262. About 59.2% of families and 68.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 70.1% of those under age 18 and 78.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Ben McLemore Ben Edward McLemore IIIKeegan, TomRising above: Ben Mclemore elevates above adversity ''Lawrence Journal-World'', December 5, 2012. (born February 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli of the ...

(born 1993),

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player Eugene Deal (born 1963) Public Figure Published Author

References

{{authority control Cities in St. Louis County, Missouri Cities in Missouri