The History of the St. Louis Municipal Bath House

It’s difficult to overstate the malodorous condition of St. Louis in the late 19th century. If you lived in this city 125 years ago, you probably reeked. The people around you reeked. Even the air you breathed and the water you drank reeked. Being one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the country, St. Louis was congested, filthy, and fetid. The air was filled with soot, streets were filled with horse manure, and noxious fumes wafted from inadequate methods of waste disposal.

For the common citizen, the process of getting clean in that environment was difficult and it happened rarely. To use a washtub such as the one visitors can see on display at the Campbell House Museum, several trips to a water source were needed to get it filled. Water was lukewarm at best, especially if the bather wasn’t first in line. On bath days, families shared the same tub and the same water.