[6] The town is featured in the documentary Atomic Homefront, which covers the effects of radioactive waste stored in the nearby West Lake Landfill site.

The populated areas of the city are located between Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and St. Charles.

[7] The area has long been influenced by its proximity to important local transportation routes, dating back to Native American trails established by the Osage Nation.

[9] The first Europeans to interact with Native American peoples and settle there were associated with the area's days as part of the French Illinois Territory.

The Spanish gained colonial control in 1768 after France was defeated by Great Britain in the Seven Years' War and ceded its territory west of the Mississippi to Spain; they remained in control until 1804, when the area was transferred to the Americans in the Louisiana Purchase.

[10] Bridgeton was first platted in 1794, and named Marais des Liards (Cottonwood Swamp).

[citation needed] As the area received more and more English-speaking settlers, the village's name became Owen's Station.

Because of its location, including its proximity to a ferry across the Missouri River, Bridgeton became a stop along the way from St. Louis to St. Charles.

The city was granted a state charter in 1843; throughout the next few years it was a stop along the way for emigrants seeking the major trailheads to the Oregon and Santa Fe trails.

The Jesuits, a Catholic religious order of priests and brothers, came to Bridgeton from St. Stanislaus Seminary and St. Ferdinand Parish of Florissant, Missouri.

The order established St. Mary's Church in 1851 as a mission to serve area Catholics; it became a full parish within its first year.

The city expanded in size during the decade, growing through annexation, to 16 square miles (41 km2).

The home was later put on the National Register of Historic Places and contains the oldest surviving doctor's office in Missouri.

Levee-protected floodplains of the river, together with good access to interstate highways, rail, and the airport have translated into continued growth for Bridgeton and nearby communities, and a diversification of the city's tax base.

Proximity to Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport proved to be a mixed blessing.

It is a 476-bed, full-service, Catholic hospital and a member of SSM Health Care-St. Louis, sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary.

Opened in 1828, SSM DePaul was the first hospital west of the Mississippi River and remains one of the oldest continuously existing businesses in St. Louis.