Sold on the Steps of Justice

Auctions were once common on the steps of the Old Courthouse, where the court organized property sales when people went bankrupt or died without a will. Between 1839 and 1862, the court sold more than 500 enslaved men, women, and children there. Although slavery divided people, such auctions were common at courthouses throughout Missouri. Missouri outlawed slavery in early 1865, just a few months before the Civil War ended.

East St. Louis, Illinois · United States