St. Paddy’s Day in Dogtown

Note: This is one of the original “Facebook posts” from March 2012. This was one of the early “history finds” that were posted on Facebook. These posts eventually led to this creation of this blog. I hope to expand on these posts in the near future with more information, more pictures, and of course… a drink.

Dogtown is traditionally known as the Irish neighborhood of St. Louis. Actually, according to Census records, the Germans have always been the dominant minority in Dogtown. But the Irish had St. James the Greater Parish, which was staffed with missionary priests straight from Ireland. These priests taught the uneducated miners and brick makers in the neighborhood how to behave. As a result, the neighborhood became Irish culturally, but not ethnically. The famous Dogtown St. Paddy Day parade came in 1986, when the Hibernians decided to move it from Clayton, which had insisted the parade always be held on a Saturday.

Dogtown Parade

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