New plaque will mark notorious St. Louis slave prison site near Busch Stadium episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 15, 2025 · 28 MIN

New plaque will mark notorious St. Louis slave prison site near Busch Stadium

from St. Louis on the Air

A notorious "slave pen" in the heart of St. Louis trafficked thousands of men, women and children in the years before the Civil War. In January, a new plaque will be unveiled near its original location, now a parking garage across from Ballpark Village and Busch Stadium. Kenneth Winn, a former Missouri archivist and author of the plaque’s inscription, shares the history of the slave pen and its owner Bernard Lynch. Also, reporter Rocky Kistner discusses the years-long effort to place the memorial and his own family's experience in acknowledging an ancestor's ownership of enslaved people in St. Louis.

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New plaque will mark notorious St. Louis slave prison site near Busch Stadium

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This episode was published on December 15, 2025.

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A notorious "slave pen" in the heart of St. Louis trafficked thousands of men, women and children in the years before the Civil War. In January, a new plaque will be unveiled near its original location, now a parking garage across from Ballpark...

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