History

A Missouri town commemorates the tragic history of the Philippine Village 'human zoo'

St. Louis Public Radio | By Hiba Ahmad

Published April 22, 2025 at 4:00 AM CDT

Janna Langholz, 36, embraces Mary Talusan Lacanlale, a descendant of Capt. Pedro B. Navarro, the first Filipino conductor of the Philippine Constabulary Band, during the unveiling of a historical plaque marking the site of the Philippine Village at the 1904 World's Fair on Friday in Clayton. Langholz is an interdisciplinary artist whose work draws on archival research to honor and memorialize the Filipino and Indigenous lives lost before and during the exhibition.

Artist and researcher Janna Añonuevo Langholz led the effort to establish a marker in Clayton, Missouri, where the 1904 World's Fair put nearly 1,200 Filipino and Indigenous people on display for fair visitors. More than a dozen people died from disease, malnutrition or suicide.

A new historical marker in Clayton will now commemorate the violence of the Philippine Village during the 1904 World's Fair.

The village, which spanned nearly 40 acres of the modern-day Wydown-Skinker and DeMun neighborhoods, was once the site of a "human zoo" where nearly 1,200 Filipino and Indigenous people were displayed for fair visitors.

The people were subject to exploitation from the visitors and fairground keepers, according to Janna Añonuevo Langholz. She is an artist and researcher who has worked at the historical site for years and originally pitched the idea of placing a marker on the grounds.

"Even though it can seem impossible to fix everything in the world today, I believe this marker is proof that change can start at home," Añonuevo Langholz said during a press conference on Friday.

The historical marker was a collaboration among Añonuevo Langholz, Mayor Michelle Harris's Commemorative Landscape Task Force and the Clayton Community Foundation.

"Our city is very dedicated to sharing our history with the community, good or bad," Harris said. "We want to recognize that the city of Clayton was part of the footprint of the Philippine Village in the 1904 World's Fair, and the treatment of those individuals was horrific."

Public media is under threat. Here's how to help

Take a stand for local journalism.

Añonuevo Langholz said she has carried around a makeshift marker for years while working at the historical site and is grateful that there is now something permanent to remember the individuals displayed for entertainment in the village.

The individuals were from the Philippines, the Mbuti tribe from central Africa and the Ainu people from Japan. At least 17 people died of pneumonia, malnutrition and suicide.

According to some historians, the individuals in the village were deemed uncivilized and used as a form of propaganda to help justify the American occupation of the Philippines in the early 1900s.

The marker is located near the intersection of DeMun and Northwood Avenues in the Wydown-Skinker neighborhood.

Danny Wicentowski contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 St. Louis Public Radio