Saint Louis was founded in 1763, by a French man Pierre Laclede and his Kin, Auguste Chouteau. In the late eighteenth century after the French and Indian War, Louisiana Territory in which Saint Louis was a part of belonged to Spain. At the beginning of the nineteenth century Spain handed over the Louisiana Territory to France in the Treaty of San Ildefonso. Three years into the century Thomas Jefferson bought Saint Louis. In 1817, around July, the era of the Steamboat started. This propelled the city to new heights commercially. By the Mid nineteenth century, the city was the largest west of Pittsburgh and the number two port in the United States, New York was number one. Missouri was established as a state in 1820 and Saint Louis as a city two years later. In just less than twenty years from 1840-1860, the city grew from a population of less than twenty thousand people to one hundred and sixty thousand., with immigrants from Germany and Ireland. In 1849, the city was devastated by two incidents, Cholera epidemic and a terrible fire, one which killed several thousand people and the other annihilated most parts of the city. During the Civil War which took place between 1861-1865, Saint Louis was barely took part but was tremendously affected in terms of the trade between it and the south was cut off and eventually the economy suffered. The city Boasts, like many other cities had done, of the first world's Skyscraper, the Wainwright Building, which was eleven story's and Louis Sullivan was credited with it's design. It came up in 1891. The country was the first English speaking nation to host the Olympic games in 1904. The cities population was close to one million in the middle of the twentieth century and fifty three years later it's population had fallen to about three hundred and thirty thousand. Saint Louis Boasts some of the best hotel, lodges and Inns in the country. here are a few; Courtyard by Marriott Downtown, Drury Plaza, Embassy Suites Hotel, Marriott Pavilion, Millennium Hotel, Renaissance Suites, Drury Inn Airport, Hilton Airport, Hyatt Regency, Cheshire Lodge and Courtyard by Marriott Maryville. Saint Louis has three of the four major sports franchises in the United States based in the city. They are; Saint Louis Rams (National Football League), Saint Louis Cardinals (Major League Baseball) and the Saint Louis Blues (National Hockey League). the other team based in the city is; the St. Louis Steamers (Major Indoor Soccer League).