Erastus Wells

Biography

Erastus Wells was a tireless innovator who saw the future of St. Louis in its streets, and he helped to build the transportation networks that allowed the city to thrive. Beginning with horse-drawn streetcars and moving toward electric traction, he worked to connect neighborhoods and to make the city more accessible to all its citizens.

His service in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1877 to 1883 provided another venue for his practical spirit. Wells supported river improvements, postal reforms, and policies that fostered commerce, always returning home eager to see that the benefits of progress reached his own community.