Crystal City, Missouri

Crystal City, Missouri
Country	United States
State	Missouri
Settled	1871
Population	4,855 (2010 census)
Area (sq mi)	4.57 mi²
Current mayor	Thomas V. Schilly

Crystal City is a city lying along the Mississippi River in Jefferson County, Missouri, about 30 miles south of St. Louis. It had a population of 4,855 at the 2010 census.

History[edit]

The Crystal City area has been permanently settled since about 1803, when American pioneer Charley Conners erected a log cabin on the site. However, it did not become important until the 1860s, when geologists examined the soil at the mouth of Plattin Creek and found that it contained high levels of silica, which made it highly valuable for glass-making.^[1] A Detroit entrepreneur, Ebenezer Ward, founded the American Plate Glass Company in 1871--shortly thereafter purchased by the Crystal Plate Glass Company in St. Louis--which purchased the land and built several large furnaces for processing the sand into glass. The completion of a railroad link to St. Louis facilitated the factory's development, and in 1895 it became part of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, which updated and electrified its equipment. For some time thereafter, this was the largest plate glass plant in the world.^[2]

The community that developed around the factory to house and service its employees was initially known as "New Detroit," after Ebenezer Ward's hometown; however, the workers themselves favored the name "Crystal City," in honor of either the Crystal Plate Glass Company or the sand crystals themselves, and this name eventually stuck.^[3] It was a "company town," meaning that it was wholly owned by the factory, until 1906, when the company began allowing the sale of lots to residents; it was then incorporated in 1911, by which time it had a permanent population of about 1,200.^[4] The company continued to be a major presence in the town, though, taking responsibility for the construction of many of its churches and public buildings.

The local factory (officially known as "Crystal City Works Nine") continued to be a vitally-important glassmaking center through much of the 20th century, producing important components for American military aircraft during World War II. Beginning in 1965, it switched to the production of "float glass," which maintained its operations for another generation; in 1990, however, the factory was finally shut down and much of its equipment salvaged. Relatively few of its facilities are still in existence today. In recent years, there has been some discussion of building an iron-ore smelter on the site, but concerns of environmental pollution have aroused controversy on the subject.

Geography[edit]

Crystal City is located mostly along the east side of U.S. Routes 61-67 in east-central Jefferson County. Its exact coordinates are 38°13’18”N 90°22’57”W. It is directly adjacent to the cities of Herculaneum to the north and Festus to the west; it and Festus are so closely intermingled that they are sometimes referred to as the "Twin Cities." As the first partially-urbanized area encountered by northbound travelers in Jefferson County, the Festus-Crystal City area represents the southern limit of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Most of Crystal City sits atop a low plateau that overlooks the west bank of the Mississippi River. Plattin Creek, whose sandy soil provided the material for glass-making operations, forms part of its southern boundary as it empties into the Mississippi. The town has a total area of 4.57 square miles, and an average elevation of 443 feet.^[5]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Crystal City had a total of 4,855 inhabitants, grouped into 1,894 households, with a population density of 1,064.7 people per square mile. This figure represented a significant increase from the 2000 census, when Crystal City had a population of 4,247. 93.16% of the inhabitants were White, 3.67% were African-American, 0.37% were Native American, 0.64% were Asian, 0.02% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.29% were from some other race, and 1.85% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.01% of the population.

The median age in Crystal City was 37.1 years, with 25.7% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 7.8% between 18 and 24 years old, 25.9% between 25 and 44, 24.2% between 45 and 64, and 16.5% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 47.6% male, 52.4% female.^[6]

According to the 2018 American Community Survey, Crystal City had a median household income of $51,898, and a median family income of $62,841. The unemployment rate was 8.2%. The per capita income was $25,631. About 16.3% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 19.4% of people under the age of 18 and 15.4% of people 65 years old or older.^[7]

Government[edit]

Crystal City has a mayor-council form of government, being overseen by a mayor and a city council of eight aldermen, two from each of its four wards, plus a city treasurer.^[8] Aldermen are typically elected for two-year terms, while the mayor serves a term of four years. The current mayor is Thomas Schilly, last elected in April 2018.^[9]

Education[edit]

The city is practically coterminous with the district of Crystal City 47 Public Schools, a PK-12 institution with a total enrollment of about 550 students and 114 faculty and staff.^[10] Its mascot is the Hornets, and the school colors are red and black.^[11]

Notable People[edit]

• Bill Bradley (1943-), former NBA player, Democratic senator from New Jersey and brief presidential candidate in 2000 election, born in Crystal City
• Margaret B. Kelly (1935-), Republican politician and former Missouri state auditor, born in Crystal City
• Danny Kladis (1917-2009), 1950s auto racer in Indianapolis 500 and Formula 1 World Championship, born in Crystal City
• Dan LaRose (1939-2019), NFL player 1961-1966, born and raised in Crystal City
• Paul William "Tom" Santschi (1880-1931), silent film actor and director, born in Crystal City

References[edit]