In 1878, George Warren Brown bet his life savings that a man could get rich making shoes in St. Louis. With two partners and $12,000, he went into business. He was right.

By 1913, the Brown Shoe Co. employed 5,000 people making $10 million worth of shoes per year. The Browns — the shoe company and the old baseball team — helped make “St. Louis first in booze, first in shoes and last in the American League.”

So it was very nice to learn that Brown Shoe plans to stay in its home town well into the 21st century. After flirting with the idea of moving to Madison, Wis., the company last week announced that it will expand at its Clayton headquarters.

The company promises to build a “world-class mixed-use development” at the Maryland Avenue site. About 270 workers from its Wisconsin-based Famous Footwear division will join the 650 already in Clayton. The company hopes to hire another 230 to 430 workers over the next few years.

Lots of factors go into such business decisions. In this case, it was cheaper to move a smaller work force to St. Louis than a bigger one to Madison. But Brown Shoe’s choice also says something good about our town. We have much to offer an international company: a central location, reasonable cost of living, good roads and air service, pleasant suburbs and big-city entertainment. St. Louis can compete with any city as a place to do business.

The next challenge is to invest more in our schools and state universities to build a better future work force.

The legacy of George Warren Brown also teaches a lesson about economic development. Local officials try hard to lure businesses here from elsewhere. But much opportunity is homegrown; it comes from companies that start small in St. Louis and grow bigger.

Shoe manufacturing, once a mainstay in St. Louis, long since has moved overseas. Today, Brown Shoe mainly is an importer and retailer, with 1,400 stores and 13,000 employees around the world. Brown Shoe is a fine fit with St. Louis.