A road with a name some residents of the St. Louis County town of Wildwood find offensive will stay the same.

The Wildwood City Council voted Monday to keep the name Old Slave Road despite a petition drive by some residents who live there.

Residents sought to change the name to Elijah Madison Lane after a slave who lived on the land the street runs through.

The Wildwood Historic Preservation Commission said in February that the name recognized the history of the area and identified the major role former slaves had in the growth of the region both before and after the Civil War.

The road runs near Old Slave Cemetery, where more than 60 former slaves are buried.