Indulge me for a moment:

One of the perks of my job is that I’m in a unique position to track down a nugget or two of local folklore, usually learning something and very occasionally letting the hot air out of some nonsense. I have always loved debunking urban myths, or as it is known by most people, “being a goddamn soreheaded friggin’ killjoy.” Now, I am surrounded by like-minded people who go to dinner parties solely in the hope that someone will say, “Did you know that the ice cream cone was invented at the St. Louis World’s Fair?” so that, just as the other guests are starting to nod in interest, they can blurt, “Actually, that’s not true.”

Anyway, a conversation I had last weekend prompted me to do a little of this research today. The topic: why is the Dogtown neighborhood named Dogtown? I have heard the same explanation repeated for years, and for years I have thought, “mmmmmmmmThat sounds like bullshit.” There is evidence that seems to confirm the story I’ve heard, and there is evidence that confirms my suspicions. Because I’m bored, here are the two most popular tales.

1.1 I. damn igorots

Most people who care either way believe that Dogtown got its name during the 1904 World’s Fair, along with the ice cream cone, the hot dog, sliced bread, iced tea, the wheel, and fire (quip copyright 1996 Greg Vinson). During the fair, indigenous/primitive tribes from all over the world were shipped in to live in Forest Park in these little mock villages representing their cultures. Kind of like “It’s A Small World,” except with much less annoying music. One such tribe was a group from the Philippines called the Igorots. The Philippine exhibit was the hit of the fair, and the Igorots were the hit of the exhibit. They were different and exotic in ways that drove turn of the century Americans mad. They walked around half naked, they seemed to constantly be doing crazy dances, and oh yes, the Igorots were dog eaters.

Part of the point of bringing them to town was that the savages were supposed to keep on being savage for the edification and amusement of others, so the Igorots went ahead and ate their dogs. People were fascinated; people were horrified; many people believe the hot dog (which, in case you hadn’t heard, was invented at the fair) is called the “hot dog” specifically because the vendor was trying to cash in on the buzz around the Igorots.

Anyway, William Howard Taft of all people supplied them with some dogs (Taft having eaten everything else in St. Louis); they bought some dogs around town; and, according to upset residents, dogs were disappearing from the nearby neighborhood.

That, people say, is why it is called Dogtown to this day. The way you usually hear it is, “there was a native tribe [native to some other country, anyway] that ate dogs, and they made them stop eating dogs, so they snuck out and ate Dogtown’s dogs, and then they made me eat a dog.” Even if the above story is true, that abridged version you typically hear is mostly hogwash.

crazy, naked Igorots, dancin’. You know how they do. (not pictured: hundreds of dead puppies)

1.1 II. white flight begins early

Other people claim Dogtown got its name long before the World’s Fair ever even got here, and that the Igorot thing is just what people say because it’s a more interesting story. Right away I am inclined to listen to these people, these dry, colorless, less interesting people.

Anyway, they say that the name dates back to 1876. When the city bought the property they were going to turn into Forest Park, there was a mining company there. The people who worked for the mining company were mostly country folk (they were, after all, mining out in the wilderness of Missouri); when when the mine got closed and they got kicked out of Forest Park by the city, they just moved down the road a bit and built a town of shacks for themselves, their families, and the many hound dogs they had to guard their property. Over the course of the next 20 years or so, the abundance of these hound dogs and their tendency to snap at the horses merchants would drive through town led those merchants to give the neighborhood its name.

As with most things, there are entire web sites devoted to arguing about this. It’s more “Borg vs. Death Star” than Middle East Peace Crisis, but the two sides are definitely people of passion.

So, that’s someplace I can find it the next time this comes up. Thank you for your time!