#250: St. Louis County Courthouse

WOO-HOO! (in Homer Simpson mode) Cake #250!!! It still hasn't sunk in yet that I have now visited the first 250 cake locations. Unbelievable. I can't believe it. I've traveled far and away and close-together places, and here I am. But of course - this doesn't necessarily mean that I am done. At the moment there are 251 cakes, plus 2 that still need to be put out. The one that I missed, which likely will be #251, is Six Flags. I'll explain more about that in my future post.

So why did I choose the St. Louis County Courthouse as my grand milestone cake? Not very many reasons, but if you recall, this was one of my 'skipped' cakes. But not intentional. The other four cakes in Clayton were in my first ten. At the time all I had was the list on me and no app or map. I was mostly going by the city the cake was in, which is how I got those Clayton cakes. A few days later, when discovering the map...I noticed I pretty much walked by the cake location without noticing! So, needless to say, I was a bit bummed. Since May I have not any urge to go back to the hustle-and-bustle of Clayton. Well...until now. I'm still wondering why this has a St. Louis address when this is located in downtown Clayton.

Now....here are the facts about St. Louis County and its courthouse, as well as its adjacent Police Department.

• St. Louis County is the largest populated county in Missouri - just 2,000 short of 1 million!
• County seat is Clayton
• The county does NOT include the city of St. Louis, which is independent
• The St. Louis County Circuit Court was established in 1815.
• The city of St. Louis separated itself from the county in 1877.
• The St. Louis County Police Department (which is also by the cake) was created in 1955.
• And, for the record, the city of Clayton is named after Ralph Clayton, who donated land for this courthouse.

Another thing that might interest you - and surprise as well, the largest populated suburban cities in St. Louis County:

1. Florissant
2. Chesterfield
3. Wildwood
4. University City
5. Ballwin

Remember, if I were to include the entire 'caking' region, most of those cities would be knocked off the list and be replaced with O'Fallon (MO), St. Charles and Belleville.

Did you know...there is a St. Louis County in Minnesota?

The courthouse building

A dedication to Buzz Westfall

And....the cake, which is located in (kind of) a hidden area. It's got an American and St. Louis flag theme. Very fitting, I'll say. This happens to be one of Rich Brooks' many cakes. He was very thrilled that one of his was my 250th.

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Official website

7900 Carondelet Avenue, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63105  (it is actually located in downtown Clayton)
Cake artist: Rich Brooks

#224: Franklin County Courthouse

I'm not sure what to put here since it's pretty much self-explanatory...but I'll start by saying - Franklin County was named after one of the country's founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. There is a unique statue of Franklin outside the courthouse (see below). The county was established in 1818. The county itself is one of the largest in the St. Louis area, let alone Missouri.


As for the city of Union, it was established in 1825 and the court was met for the first time two years after. Franklin County has had four courthouses. The current one was built in 1923, as it replaced a log-cabin type of building that was built in 1849. In 1969, the courthouse was robbed as the criminals bombed parts of the place; it was renovated the following year.

Union, MO's welcome sign

Front of the courthouse

Here's lookin' at you kid

You can come sit with me if you want, I don't mind

The cake

Franklin County, MO Official website

15 S. Church, UNION, MO, 63084
Cake artist: Paul LeFlam

#210: St. Charles County Courthouse

Just by looking at the picture, yeah it was bright out that day! Still, the cake has some very cool colors and all.

• Started to be built in 1900, cornerstone laid out the following year, but in 1903 was put on hold because of flooding from the Missouri River.
• The land was called 'Clerks Hill' before the courthouse was built, as there were two government clerks offices atop the hill
• This was not the first location of the courthouse. The first was built at the corner of Madison and Main Streets in St. Charles
• In 1876, the original courthouse was damaged by a tornado, prompting local government leaders to move to a new location.
• Several historical markers are found outside the building. Most notably are some plaques surrounding the statue of St. Carlos Borromeo, which detail how St. Charles and the county developed.

Statue of Saint Carlos (or Charles) Borromeo, the city's namesake

Two artists, Zack Farmer and Erica Kaiser, decorated this colorful cake:

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Official website for St. Charles County Government

100 N. 3rd St., ST. CHARLES, MO, 63301
Cake artists: Zack Farmer and Erica Kaiser

#201: Warren County Courthouse

This cake was one of the farthest from me, at nearly 70 miles! But luckily, it was straight-up interstate highway from Glen Carbon. Warrenton was the first stop on my 'Missouri River'-side journey. When my oldest sister attended Mizzou in Columbia several years ago, I knew we were getting closer to home on the way back via I-70 (Warrenton is the midway point between Glen Carbon and Columbia, MO).

The city of Warrenton, named after General Joseph Warren, was founded in 1835. Its nickname is 'City of all seasons'. Despite of its 'far-out' location, it is considered part of the St. Louis Metropolitan area. This cake is the only one located in Warren County, MO. The city makes most of its external revenue from I-70 travelers.

Facts about the Warren County Courthouse:

This historcal Daniel Boone marker is found outside the courthouse

• Its current building was dedicated in 1998. 
• The former building (built in 1870), which was added to the National Register of Historic Places, was demolished in 1995. 
• It was demolished due to years of outdating, starting in the 1960s because of new Missouri laws in courthouses about juries. In addition, the building and its offices were showing signs of wear. 



This veterans memorial marker is found outside the Warren County Courthouse

• 
  

  

  Close look at the Warren County Courthouse sign

  

  Frontal view of the Warren County Courthouse

  

  A street view of downtown Warrenton, MO (taken from across the courthouse)

  The cake, which focuses on 'the four seasons', which is very fitting:

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake

Warren County, Missouri's Official website
Official website

104 West Main St., WARRENTON, MO, 63383
Cake artist: Patty Spellman

#117: Monroe County Courthouse

The second cake that represents Monroe County, Illinois is at its courthouse, located in its county seat, Waterloo. Monroe County, named after the fourth President of the United States, is known for being part of 'Little Egypt'. Harrisonville was its original county seat (the town was named for then-future President William Henry Harrison who invested in the land). Despite of being a quiet, sleepy river county, Monroe County has quite a history. Many people haven't forgotten about the floods, most notably, the Great Flood of 1993, which affected many of its towns. Valmeyer, which had been a victim of several floods, had to relocate to a higher point.

Front of the courthouse building

Right side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Interestingly, the cake spotlights just about every community and village that graces upon Monroe County. On the cake: Maeystown, Waterloo (its county seat), New Hanover, Columbia (its largest city), Fults, Hecker, Valmeyer and Wartburg. Some unincorporated communities and villages are missing, but I believe this pretty much rounds it out.

Monroe County Wikipedia link
Monroe County's Official website

100 South Main St., WATERLOO, IL, 62298
Cake artist: Not listed at the moment

#113: Madison County Courthouse

I was more than thrilled when I first found out there was going to be another cake in my hometown! One of the cakes closest to me is located at the heart of Madison County's seat, Edwardsville. Edwardsville is the third oldest city in Illinois, established in 1818 (same year Illinois entered the union). It is named after Ninian Edwards, who was governor of the Illinois territory. Edwardsville is home to many parks, one of the most notable public school districts in Illinois, as well as SIUE (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville).

• Madison County, IL's 2013 estimated population: 267, 225
• Madison Co.'s first courthouse was in a log cabin at the north end of Edwardsville in 1813.
• Starting in 1857, the courthouse has been located on Main Street. 
• Abraham Lincoln was once an attorney at the courthouse in 1814, and spoke at the 1857 courthouse in 1858.
• The current building was built in 1915. (It is currently undergoing renovations so they can celebrate its 100th anniversary next year)

The other sides of the cake:

Right side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Madison County Circuit Clerk's website
City of Edwardsville website
Madison County government website

155 North Main Street, EDWARDSVILLE, IL, 62025
Cake artist: Nicole Cooper

#86: Clinton County Courthouse

To most Missourians, this would be the 'holy grail' or the farthest one of them all for them. It's far for me too, but since I made trips to Southern Illinois this year, this cake happened to be along the way there. The cake is approximately 50 miles east of St. Louis.

Clinton County is one of the farthest eastern parts of the St. Louis Metro area. It was formed in 1824 by refitting Bond, Fayette and Washington counties. Carlyle, formed in 1818, became its county seat. It nearly became Illinois' second state capital in 1824, but lost to one vote to Vandalia (it eventually became Springfield). Carlyle was settled on the Kaskaskia River. It is home of Illinois' largest man-made lake, Carlyle Lake, which is very popular for fisherman and for people who just love to hang out on the boat. The lake, which started out as a dam in 1958, was dedicated in 1967.

Front of the courthouse

Behind the courthouse is Clinton County's memorial for war veterans

Cake sides, here we go:

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake

Official website for Clinton County, IL
Official website for Clinton County's County Clerk

850 Fairfax Street, CARLYLE, IL, 62231
Cake artist: Paul LaFlam