Description
Wentzville, Missouri, used to be founded in 1855 by William M. Allen, a tobacco farmer and state senator. Allen knew that the brand new railroad would run through Missouri, so he used his senatorial influence to convince railroad engineers, particularly chief engineer Erasmus Livingston Wentz, to put the tracks through his farmland and build a station with a promise to call the city after Wentz. The tobacco industry turned into a driver for Wentzville’s early growth. Since 1983, when General Motors built its plant at the outskirts of the town, the population has exploded. Yet the Wentzville historic area maintains a small-the town feeling that charms somebody who takes the time to explore.