Ten miles southwest of St. Louis, MissouriSaint Louis was an area known to Missouri, Osage Nation and Dakota Indians and fur trappers until 1802 as the "Dry Ridge." In the early 1800's, this region, once a part of the Louisiana Territory, was changing from Spanish to French ownership and a system of land grants was inaugurated to promote immigration. Remember that during the early period of Spanish rule, officials gave land to settlers as a check against the English.

As part of this program, in 1802 Gregorie Sarpy was granted 6,002 acres (24 km sq) by Charles de Hautte Delassus, the last Spanish Lieutenant governor. The land grant covered the major area now known as Webster Groves.

Webster Groves' location on the Pacific Railroad line led to its development as a suburb. In the late 19th century, overcrowding, congestion, and unhealthy conditions in Saint Louis prompted urban residents to leave the city for quieter, safer surroundings. In 1892 the developers of Webster Park, an early housing subdivision, promoted the new community as the "Queen Of The Suburbs," offering residents superb housing options in a country-like atmosphere, as well as a swift commute to downtown Saint Louis jobs.

As a suburban municipality, Webster Groves has its origins as five separate communities along adjacent railroad lines. Webster, Old Orchard, Webster Park, Tuxedo Park, and Selma merged in 1896 in order to implement public services and develop a unified city government. Since that time, Webster Groves' tree-lined streets and abundance of single family homes have continued to attract people to the area as a "great place to live, work and play," not solely for the wealthy commuter suburb that early developers envisioned but for families that cut across all socioeconomic boundaries. The geographic and economic diversity of Webster Groves is evident in the variety of neighborhoods and its successes is rooted in the cooperation and willingness of community members from all walks of life to work together toward common goals.

In the 1960s Webster Groves was featured in the CBS documentary 16 In Webster Groves, and its high school has, more recently, been profiled in Time (magazine)Time. The Webster Groves High School Statesmen maintain the oldest football rivalry west of the Mississippi River with the Pioneers of Kirkwood, MissouriKirkwood High School.

Webster Groves is the former home of a number of notable people, including writer Jonathan Franzen, whose novels The Twenty-Seventh City and The Corrections draw on St. Louis (thinly disguised as St. Jude in the latter book) and Webster Groves settings. Webster Groves was also the setting for the short-lived NBC television series Lucas Tanner (1974-75), which starred David Hartman (TV personality)David Hartman.

As of 2007, Gerry Welch is the mayor of Webster Groves, and the City Council consists of Councilmembers Kathy Hart, Edward Robinson, Randy Jotte, Kevin Gunn, Jeanne Kirkton, and Joan Esserman.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster_Groves%2C_Missouri