A new destination for preserving and exploring St. Charles history is coming to St. Charles County. The St. Charles City-County Library (SCCCL), in partnership with St. Charles County Parks, will open a joint Heritage Center in 2026, creating a centralized hub for genealogy research, family history, and community storytelling.
This center, located at the Heritage Museum site in St. Peters, MO, will house a collection of 16,000 volumes of books, documents, and microfilm. This collection is currently housed at the SCCCL Kathryn Linnemann Branch, located on Elm Street in St. Charles.
“This creates a hub for people interested in genealogy, local history, and family history,” Library CEO John Greifzu said.
The collection includes valuable historical records, such as old phone books, newspapers on microfilm, church records, marriage records, and other materials that support in-depth research into St. Charles County’s past.
In addition to traditional research aids, the Heritage Center will feature a small sound studio designed to preserve personal histories and memories.
“Families will be able to interview their relatives and capture their stories,” Greifzu said. “Families, church groups, organizations can come in and record their history, and they can decide to either leave a copy for the public domain or just take it with them.”
The existing Heritage Museum building will undergo renovations prior to the opening of the Heritage Center, which is expected to occur in mid-to-late 2026.