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The St. Louis Post Office contains the largest set of murals of any post office in the country, painted in 1941-1942 by the Chicago artists Edward Millman and Mitchell Siporin. The text quoted below is taken from plaques that accompany the artwork in the post office.
Pre Civil War Missouri (Edward Millman)
This mural suggests some of the important political trends in the historical pattern of the state.
On the left Justice Taney is shown handing down the decision invalidating the Missouri Compromise on slavery in the Dred Scott case. This case originated in the Old Court House in St. Louis.
In the center Senator Thomas Hart Benton is portrayed making one of his famous stump speeches. During recess of Congress he delivered his speeches to the various communities of Missouri. Benton was one of the first senators from Missouri and for thirty years thereafter represented the state in Washington. His tremendous influence in shaping policies for the country during the Jacksonian era was of great importance.
On the right is symbolized an episode of pre-Civil War Missouri, showing the violence and struggle of that era.
The Civil War (Mitchell Siporin)
The first figures at the left symbolize the militant abolitionist movement directly preceding the war.
In the foreground of the center, Union and Confederate soldiers are engaged in combat. The figures in the immediate background of this conflict are portraits of two of the prominent confederate leaders of Missouri, Governor Claiborne Jackson and General Jo Shelby. The encampment in front of which they are standing is Camp Jackson, the St. Louis encampment.
To the right the prominent Union generals of Missouri are portrayed: Franz Sigle, Nathaniel Lyon and Frank P. Blair.
In the background to the left of this group an army postman and a wounded soldier with news from home are depicted.
Early Commerce and Trade (Edward Millman)
This mural portrays the extremely important role of Missouri in our early national life. The commerce and trade originating in the Missouri Territory was a vital factor in the development of the frontiers west of the Mississippi.
To the left is a Missouri pack train on the Santa Fe Trail.
In the center a group of fur trappers unload their skins.
To the right Manuel Lisa, the most noted of the early fur traders in Missouri, is buying furs from trappers on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
The Post War Period -- Reconstruction (Mitchell Siporin)
At the left of this mural the famous "Order Number Eleven" is portrayed. This proclamation ordered all those living in Jackson, Cass and Bates counties to leave their home in fifteen days. In the background is the wreckage of a locomotive, a symbol of the destruction of the war.
In the center the Reconstruction is symbolized by the two figures of railroad workers.
The last group at the right are portraits of eminent Missourians of the 80's and 90's. Those portrayed are Mark Twain, Caleb Bingham, the painter Carl Schurz, the statesman James S Rollis, "Father" of the University of Missouri, and Joseph Pulitzer, the publisher.
The River (Edward Millman)
This mural portrays a typical group of river men who plied the Mississippi in flat boats when river traffic was at its height.
While the cargo was loaded their music could be heard all along the levee.
Discovery and Colonization (Mitchell Siporin)
The first group in this mural portrays the early lead-mining activity at Ste. Genevieve, the first settlement in Missouri. The original mining operations were known as "Renault's Diggings." Negroes and Indians working the mine are supervised by a French colonial entrepreneur.
In the center of this mural, an early French voyageur is shown trading furs with the Indians.
The last grouping of this mural is a portrayal of the landing of the first colonizers at the site of St. Louis. The portraits in this group are those of Pierre LaClede, Madame Chouteau, and Auguste Chouteau. The priest at the side of the cross is offering his benedictions to the little group of hardy colonizers.
The Struggle for Statehood (Edward Millman)
The struggle for statehood is symbolized by John Rice Jones, David Barton, Henry Dodge, Alexander McNair and Edward Bates. These men were among the most prominent members of the constitutional convention which resulted in the "Missouri Compromise" and led the way to Missouri statehood in 1820.
To the right of the convention group is a portrait of Joseph Charless, founder of the Missouri Gazette, first newpaper west of the Mississippi River.
The stage coach bringing bags of mail to St. Louis in 1825 furnishes the Missouri Gazetter with "a regular line of intelligence."
To the right of the stage coach is a group of [people] kneeling in prayer depicting the coming of the church into pioneer Missouri and the important role it played in the development of the Missouri frontier.
George Rogers Clark and Daniel Boone (Mitchell Siporin)
In the left hand group of this mural the defense of Saint Louis against the British attack of 1780 is portrayed. The center portrait highlights George Rogers Clark with his men. The last group depicts the migration of Daniel Boone and his family from Kentucky into Missouri. Daniel Boone's portrait is the center figure.
The Territory of Missouri (Mitchell Siporin)
This panel begins with the first United States Post Office established in St. Louis in 1804. Colonel Rufus Easton, the first Postmaster, is portrayed receiving bags of mail from across the river. Arriving on the same flatboats are settlers and their slaves from Virginia and Kentucky.