Old Slave Road may be renamed

ST. LOUIS -- Old Slave Road in suburban St. Louis could be getting a new name.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Historic Preservation Commission in Wildwood, Mo., is considering whether to recommend a name change.

Residents who live along the road complain that the name tends to offend people. Opponents say residents are trying to sanitize history.

Spanning just six-tenths of a mile, the private street used to be the main road to a plantation home and runs past a historic slave cemetery.

Historic Preservation Commission chairman Lynne Martin said the current name dates only from about 1979, when a developer platted the subdivision along the road.

Most of the property owners are recommending renaming it Elijah Madison Lane to recognize a former slave who fought in the Civil War.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com