The first free kindergarten in the country opens

Photo courtesy of Carondelet Historical Society

On August 26, 1873, the first free kindergarten in the country opens in Carondelet. Susan Blow taught the children in the morning at the Des Peres School, while educating the teachers in the afternoon. Within ten years, every public school in St. Louis had added kindergarten. School districts nationwide followed suit in the coming decades.

Based upon content from the book Missouri 365: This Day in Missouri History by John W. Brown, broadcaster and Missouri historian. Get your copy at Reedy Press.

Featured photo courtesy of Carondelet History Museum