Louisiana Purchase Exposition Co. - 1902-1904 dated Stock Certificate

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The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as The Saint Louis World's Fair, was a World's Fair held in the U.S. city of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904. The Fair celebrated the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase (delayed one year), an event in American history having an importance secondary only to the Declaration of Independence. The territory acquired from France by this purchase embraced all the land lying between the Mississippi river and the crest of the Rocky Mountains, and its ownership by the United States made possible the extension of the nation's boundaries to the Pacific Ocean.

The Fair opened April 30, 1904, and closed December 1 the same year. Its 1,200-acre site, designed by George Kessler, was located at the present-day grounds of Forest Park, and was the largest fair to date. There were over 1,500 buildings, connected by some 75 miles of roads and walkways. It was said to be impossible to give even a hurried glance at everything in less than a week. The Palace of Agriculture alone covered some 20 acres. Exhibits were staged by 62 foreign nations, the United States government, and 43 of the 45 U.S. states. These featured industries, cities, private organizations and corporations, theater troupes, and music schools. There were also carnival-type amusements found on "The Pike." No centennial was ever so grandly celebrated, for this Exposition is without a peer in history, and a visit within its gates is an event to be always remembered with pleasure and satisfaction by young and old alike.