St. Louis launched the nation west in 1804 — and Boeing’s defense HQ just came home to the same riverfront
- Lewis and Clark launched the Corps of Discovery from St. Louis in 1804
- The Gateway Arch is the tallest monument in the Western Hemisphere
- Anheuser-Busch has brewed on the same riverfront since 1852
- The Show Me State, 24th to join the Union (1821)
How Missouri’s digital economy grew
Lewis and Clark launch from St. Louis
The Corps of Discovery heads up the Missouri River in May, returning to a hero’s welcome in September 1806.
Gateway to the West, literally
St. Louis wasn’t a symbolic gateway — it was the real one. Lewis and Clark outfitted and launched the Corps of Discovery from the St. Louis area in 1804, and the city built the Gateway Arch on that same riverfront in 1965 to commemorate it. Further west, Independence became the jumping-off point for the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails, while St. Joseph launched the Pony Express in 1860 — riders changed horses every 10 to 15 miles covering the 1,900 miles to Sacramento in just ten days.
Aerospace and defense, twice-homecoming
James McDonnell founded McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis in 1939, which merged with Boeing in 1997 and kept St. Louis as Boeing’s defense and fighter-jet center until the headquarters moved to Arlington, Virginia in 2017. In February 2026, Boeing reversed that, moving its Defense, Space & Security headquarters back to St. Louis — where the company already runs F-15EX, T-7A and MQ-25 production alongside more than 18,000 regional employees.
How Missouri businesses buy websites
St. Louis and Kansas City draw the attention, but most of Missouri’s businesses are the trades and shops serving towns across the rest of the state, from the Ozarks to the northern farm belt.
Trades and home services
Missouri covers a lot of ground between its two big cities — say plainly which towns you actually serve.
Professional and B2B services
An aerospace and logistics economy rewards clarity about exactly what you do.
Shops and hospitality
Clear hours and location, readable on a phone, matter in Kansas City and St. Louis alike.
How well do you know Missouri’s digital economy?
3 quick questions. Get all 3 right and you win a 10% off discount code. Every answer is somewhere on this page.
Missouri quiz · 1 of 3
How tall is St. Louis’s Gateway Arch?
Why FastSites works here
A state that has launched expeditions, brands and now defense programs from the same riverfront for over two centuries understands the value of a strong home base. A clear one-page site, live in days, at a published price, is that same idea for a small business.