George Plant came to St. Louis in 1841, the city at that time having a population of only 30,000. He grew with the City to a condition of prosperity of which he had every reason to be proud. Among merchants, he was looked up to, and in his church he was a chief support, while in his family he was regarded as the only guide.

He was born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, March 23, 1814. He was of English and French parentage, was the third of twelve children, and was the oldest son. His father came from England in the cotton interest; he was a man of many scientific attainments, settled in Lancaster, where he erected cotton mills, and was the inventor of many important improvements in this branch of industry, which has since grown to such gigantic proportions all over the Union, but more especially in the New England States.

In such families it was customary for the sons to choose for themselves some profession, and, in accordance with his early aspirations and inclinations, George chose civil engineering, and immediately entered into a practical school of railroad building. With that spirit of enterprise, in 1835 Plant went to Kentucky, where an uncle, Daniel R. Poignand, had married and settled down, intending to make this State the scene of his labors in the practice of his profession. He soon, however, removed to Jacksonville, Illinois, and accepted the position of chief engineer on the Northern Cross Railroad, which he surveyed and built — the first railroad in that portion of the West.

In Jacksonville Mr. Plant married his first wife, Matilda W. January, sister of D. A. January and T. T. January, who came to St. Louis some time afterward, and engaged in mercantile pursuits. Mr. Plant followed, and in 1840 he established the Plant [flour] Mills, the name of the firm being George P. Plant & Co. Under his own personal supervision the business began to assume gigantic proportions. His brother, Samuel Plant, who had been a partner in the business, died in 1866. Mr. Plant then took in his son G. J., and made him a partner; and subsequently George H., son of Samuel Plant, was admitted to the business.

In 1870 Mr. Plant went to Europe, principally for his health and pleasure, but returned with an increased stock of knowledge, the result of close observation. During this trip he studied the European system of milling, the qualities of wheat, and the flour produced. He secured the government plans and reports on the boulevards and public parks of Paris, which he presented to the Mercantile Library, for public reference.

Plant had been twice married. By his first wife he had two sons, George Janvier Plant and Louis Poignand Plant. His second wife was Miss Martha S. Douthitt, daughter of the late Robert H. Douthitt, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, whom he married in 1863. His first wife died in 1859.

During his life Plant held many offices of trust and responsibility: He was president of the Merchants' Exchange, of the American Central Insurance Company, of the Millers' National Convention and of St. Luke's Hospital; he was also a director in the Merchants' Exchange, in the Bank of Commerce, in the Mutual Life Insurance Company, and in the Plant Seed Company. He was also chairman of the Meteorological Committee of the Merchants' Exchange.

--from Plant's obituary and Saint Louis: The Future City of the World; 1875

For additional information see George P. Plant.