WENTZVILLE


Wentzville is a city located in St. Charles County, Missouri. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 13,825. The city is the home of a General Motors Truck Group van assembly plant.

The city has a total area of 14.4 mi. All of it is land, except for 0.07%, which is water.

Wentzville was founded in 1855 as a depot on the Northern Missouri Railroad. It was named after Erasmus Livingston Wentz, a railroad engineer for the line. The land was obtained from William M. Allen, who laid out the town. Wentzville was not incorporated until 1872.

During the American Civil War, the city was the site of a series of skirmishes along the railroad from July 15 to July 17, 1861. Elements of the 2nd and 8th Missouri Infantry Regiments en route to Mexico, Missouri engaged Confederate guerillas who were threatening the railroad.

Notable natives include rock and roll legend Chuck Berry. The song "Back to Wentzville" by George Thorogood is a tribute to the city of Wentzville and its native Chuck Berry.

Wentzville is located at the intersection of Interstate 70/US Route 40 and US Route 61, leading to its self-designation of "Crossroads of the Nation".

The high-school mascot for Wentzville Holt high school is the Indian, and the high-school mascot for Wentzville Timberland high school is the wolf.





Link back to the St. Charles page