The Archives of the St. Louis City Recorder of Deeds preserve thousands of documents that tell the story of our community, but few are as nationally significant as the deed at the center of the landmark civil rights case Shelley v. Kraemer (1948).

In our latest STL Vault episode, “JD & Ethel Shelley – A Fight for Civil Rights,” we highlight the St. Louis family whose determination to own a home helped push the United States Supreme Court to strike down the enforcement of racially restrictive housing covenants.

Who Were JD and Ethel Shelley?

JD and Ethel Shelley were an African American couple who moved to St. Louis during the Great Migration, seeking better opportunities and a stable home for their family.

In 1945, the Shelleys purchased a home in north St. Louis without being told that the property was subject to a racially restrictive covenant that purported to bar “people of the Negro or Mongolian race” from living there.

The Deed That Changed History

A white neighbor, Louis Kraemer, sued to enforce the covenant and block the Shelleys from taking possession of their home, and the Missouri Supreme Court initially sided with Kraemer.

The case eventually reached the United States Supreme Court, which held that while private parties could make such covenants, courts could not constitutionally enforce them without violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Recorder of Deeds and Civil Rights

Because racially restrictive covenants were recorded in land records, the Office of the Recorder of Deeds played a central role in documenting both the problem and the progress of fair housing.

Today, the St. Louis Recorder of Deeds continues to preserve these records to support historical research, public education, and a better understanding of how civil rights battles were often fought on paper in courthouses and recording offices.

Watch the Episode and Share the Story

STL Vault Episode 103 uses original archival material, including the Shelley property records, to bring this pivotal St. Louis story to life and connect it to ongoing conversations about housing, equity, and justice.

To explore more stories preserved in our land and vital records, visit the St. Louis Recorder of Deeds website at stlouiscityrecorder.org.