The SCHS Mission Statement
The primary purpose of the Sappington-Concord Historical Society is to research, collect, and preserve historical records and artifacts with an emphasis on the Sappington-Concord area of South St. Louis County in the state of Missouri, then to share those collections and information through displays, publications and presentations in any medium or event, including educational opportunities for both adults and children. We strive to share the joy and insight of history with as many people as possible and to touch them in a way that brings the joy and insights of history to them personally.
* Section 3 of the SCHS by-laws as to the purpose of the Society are quoted in full at the bottom of this page.
In five short words, the mission of SCHS is to:
• Research
• Collect
• Educate
• Share
• Preserve
As it works out in actual activities conducted by SCHS over the years, we have been most active in three areas:
• Honoring veterans
• Educating students (and adults)
• Preserving stories, documents, artifacts, structures and landscapes
The SCHS Invitation
If you enjoy history, fun, and good fellowship, we invite you to join us. Whether you live in the Sappington-Concord area, or just have some connection to the area, we would love to have you as a member! Join us today! We will all make history together! For information by email, go to the Contact page. Or call for more information: Stephen Hanpeter 314-918-1617.
Membership
Membership is open to all who are interested in the Sappington-Concord area or history in general. Joining the Sappington-Concord Historical Society is as easy as 1, 2, 3;
1. Print the Membership form
2. Fill in the information requested on the form.
3. Mail the form, along with your check made payable to the Sappington-Concord Historical Society, to:
Sue Steinnerd
Sappington-Concord Historical Society
P.O. Box 270538
St. Louis, MO 63127-0538
We would love having you as a member and you will love being part of the fun, learning about our local history and adding to what we all know!
Governance
The Society is governed by a board of five officers, four directors, and the immediate past president. The officers and directors are elected annually by the general membership at the October general membership meeting. The SCHS board is a working board, all board members being members of SCHS. The board is sworn in at the first general meeting of the year in January, traditionally by Lindbergh Schools Superintendent, Dr. Jim Simpson.
Board member listing
Officers and Directors for the year 2019 are:
• President and SCHS web site, Facebook
manager – James Crooks
• Vice President – Terry Rupp
• Treasurer – Ray Steinnerd
• Recording Secretary and Membership Coordinator – Sue Steinnerd
• Corresponding Secretary –
• Director – Esley Hamilton
• Director – Marilyn Fleming
• Director – Jennine Cook
• Director – Diane Wagner
• Immediate Past president – Stephen Hanpeter
Board meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at the Ross A Wagner Historical Center. Meetings are open to SCHS members. Please contact Stephen Hanpeter to let him know you are coming. See Contact page.
The Sappington-Concord Area
The Sappington-Concord area of South St. Louis County is a large part of the area served by the Lindbergh Schools. The Sappington-Concord area is at the core of the Lindbergh School district. The northern edge of the Lindbergh Schools area takes in Crestwood School and the Thomas Sappington house* in Crestwood which is across the street from Crestwood School. The Sappington family were early settlers in the new Louisiana Purchase Territory and are the namesake of the Sappington area which grew to the south of their original homestead. The Concord area stretches to the south of the Sappington area and was settled later. Overall, the Sappington-Concord area is central to the area of the Lindbergh Schools.
Google map of Sappington
Google map of Concord
Description of Concord area
Description of the Sappington area
Map of Lindbergh School district
* See photos of Sappington House taken at the SCHS Meet -at-the-Site Tour to the Sappington House in 2012.
The SCHS By-Laws define the area as:
1.020. Area of concern. The primary area of concern and interest of the Society shall be the Sappington and Concord areas of St. Louis County, Missouri, and specifically described as follows: starting at the intersection of Watson Road and the Missouri-Pacific Railroad tracks (now Grant Trail), follow the tracks generally in a southeast direction to interstate highway 55, southwest to the Meramec River, northwest to highway 44, northeast to Watson Road and back to the point of beginning at the Missouri-Pacific Railroad tracks.
SCHS History
SCHS was founded in 1992 out of an initiative of the local school district, the Lindbergh Schools, and Dr. Jim Sandfort, the Superintendent of Lindbergh Schools at the time. His aim was for the students in the school district to learn about their local history. The SCHS has had more than 25 years of proud service to the Sappington-Concord area and the surrounding region.
Events and Programs
To learn more about SCHS events and programs, see Events.
Website
The SCHS website is maintained by the current SCHS president, Stephen Hanpeter. For questions, comments or additions, please contact him at schs.webmanager@gmail.com.
Website Photos
Each page of the website has a small slideshow of photos playing in the upper right sidebar of the page. These photos are from the SCHS green book, Sappington-Concord: A History. The photos have no captions on the website. To find out more about the photos, you may see the book in the reference section of St. Louis County library system and find the caption there. Each photo on the website has a serial number for easy reference. You can find it by mousing over the lower part of the slideshow window. The present slideshow is titled, Fun Shots. To see larger versions of the photos, go to the Photos page.
The photos are taken from the previous website where they appeared randomly across all pages on the site. On this new website, the photos are grouped into sets of a certain theme. The themes are as follows:
Fun shots (playing now)
Kids
Portraits
Groups (of people)
Houses I
Houses II
Businesses
Farms
Transportation
School
Pets and animals
To see another set of photos, send your request to schs.webmanager@gmail.com and make clear in the subject line that you are requesting a particular slideshow theme be played.
SCHS by-laws, section 3
*SCHS by-laws, section 3, state the following about the purposes of the Society (SCHS)
3.010. Charter purposes. The exclusive purposes for which the Society is organized are: (1) to operate exclusively for education purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under 1954 IRC * 501 (c)(3); (2) to engage in any and all lawful activities incidental to the foregoing purposes, except as restricted herein; and (3) in particular, subject to the restrictions herein, to engage in all activities and programs relating to a historical society.
The specific purposes of this Society shall be to bring together those people interested in history, and especially in the history of the Sappington and Concord areas of St. Louis County, Missouri.
The Society’s major function will be to discover and collect any material which may help to establish or illustrate the history of the area: its exploration, settlement, development and activities in peace and in war; its progress in population, wealth, education, arts, science, agriculture, manufactures, trade and transportation. It will collect printed material such as histories, genealogies, biographies, descriptions, gazetteers, directories, newspapers, pamphlets, catalogs, circulars, handbills, programs and posters; manuscript material such as letters, diaries, journals, memoranda, reminiscences, rosters, service records, account books, charts, surveys and field books; and museum material such as pictures, photographs, paintings, portraits, scenes, aboriginal relics and other objects illustrative of life, conditions, events and activities of the past and the present.
The Society shall endeavor to preserve and restore buildings of historical significance in the Sappington and Concord areas. To this end, the Society may endeavor to purchase or lease such properties and use them exclusively for the purposes of the Society.
See the Home page for more general information on the SCHS.
Sappington-Concord Historical Society…
…join us and we’ll make history together!
Go to Joining page.
