During World War I, there were three nation-wide drafts when men had to register at their local boards. St. Louis City had twenty-eight draft boards and the County had three. The World War I draft cards have been digitized and are available online at Ancestry.com, but this site is fee-based and the quality of some of the cards is not as good as what is on the original microfilms.

If you had St. Louis male ancestors who were of draft age (18–45) in 1917–1918, you will want to see if they registered for the mandatory draft. These are NOT necessarily men who served but those who registered. If your ancestor enlisted prior to the draft, he did not need to register.

To locate your ancestor’s draft card in St. Louis, determine his home address in 1916–1917 and compare that address to the draft boards listed below.

St. Louis County Library Special Collections has a guide that provides street addresses included in the various draft boards. St. Louis County Library Finding Aid. The draft board in St. Louis City usually corresponded with the City wards established by the Board of Election Commissioners. Those maps are available on a CD-ROM from St. Louis Genealogical Society.

The WWI draft card documents your ancestor’s location in 1916 or 1917. This primary document was made with the man standing in front of the registrar. The card contains the man’s signature, his birth date, and place, plus additional family information. This document may fill in some missing information on your male ancestors.

Board 1            4551 N. Broadway
Board 2            Blair Ave. & Salisbury
Board 3            1909 St. Louis Ave.
Board 4            14th & Cass Ave.
Board 5            Care of Jefferson Hotel
Board 6            125 S. 4th St.
Board 7            1328 S. Broadway
Board 8            714 Soulard St.
Board 9            18th & Shenandoah Ave.
Board 10          3373 S. 7th St.
Board 11          3548 S. Grand Ave.
Board 12          6818 Michigan Ave.
Board 13          3155 S. Grand Ave.
Board 14          Grand & Magnolia
Board 15          NW cor. Lafayette & Mississippi
Board 16           3132 Park Ave.
Board 17           3688 Olive St.
Board 18           1800 N. 23rd St.
Board 19           Jefferson Ave. & Dayton
Board 20           Grand & Franklin
Board 21           3126 N. Grand Ave.
Board 22           4103 Easton Ave.
Board 23           14 N. Newstead Ave.
Board 24           Magnolia & Clifton Ave.
Board 25           Washington Hotel
Board 26           4503 Page Ave.
Board 27           1902 N. Union Blvd.
Board 28           218 Delmar Building

St. Louis County Draft Boards

Board 1            Clayton (central part of the County)
Board 2            Ferguson (northern part of the County)
Board 3            Kirkwood (southern part of the County)