St Charles Main St Painterly

Down the street you can see a car driving down Main St. in St. Charles, Missouri. This area is known as Historical Downtown St. Charles. This is a photo I took and turned into a digital painting. St. Charles is a suburb of St. Louis, MO and it sits along the Missouri River. Founded in about 1769 as Les Petites Côtes, or "The Little Shores", by Louis Blanchette, a French-Canadian fur trader, when the area was nominally ruled by Spain following the Seven Years' War, it is the 3rd oldest city in Missouri. It has also played a significant role in the United States' westward expansion as a river port and starting point of the Boone's Lick Road to the Boonslick.

St. Louis was settled primarily by French-speaking colonists from Canada in its early days and was considered the last "civilized" stop by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804, which was exploring the western territory after the US made the Louisiana Purchase. The city served as the first Missouri capital from 1821 to 1826, and is the site of the Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne shrine. (some info from wikipedia)