Sunday, June 27, 2004
Carthage-on-Mississippi Mayor Disputes Census Loss
St. Louis Continues Drop
More than 2000 years ago, Carthage had risen to prominence on the Mediterranean Sea, with more than 500,000 people. Then it was sacked and salted into oblivion by the Romans, with resulting 100 percent loss of population. More than 100 years ago, St. Louis had risen to prominence among cities west of the Alleghenies. It peaked in 1950 and has now lost more than 60 percent of its population. This is less than Carthage, but the actual number lost, more than 500,000 is virtually the same.
It has been a long, steep slide for Carthage-on-the-Mississippi. In 1870, St. Louis was the fourth largest city in the nation. Actually, it should be considered third, because one of the larger cities was Brooklyn, which began its career of forgotten-ness when it was forcibly merged into New York by the state legislature in 1898. The Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Gleason’s Honeymooner’s television series kept the name from disappearing, but by 1960 they were gone.
More than 2000 years ago, Carthage had risen to prominence on the Mediterranean Sea, with more than 500,000 people. Then it was sacked and salted into oblivion by the Romans, with resulting 100 percent loss of population. More than 100 years ago, St. Louis had risen to prominence among cities west of the Alleghenies. It peaked in 1950 and has now lost more than 60 percent of its population. This is less than Carthage, but the actual number lost, more than 500,000 is virtually the same.
It has been a long, steep slide for Carthage-on-the-Mississippi. In 1870, St. Louis was the fourth largest city in the nation. Actually, it should be considered third, because one of the larger cities was Brooklyn, which began its career of forgotten-ness when it was forcibly merged into New York by the state legislature in 1898. The Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Gleason’s Honeymooner’s television series kept the name from disappearing, but by 1960 they were gone.
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