It became one of the 12 original companies listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896 and remains the eighth oldest stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

Despite its recent transformation into Spire, the company says some things will stay the same.

The cryptic Drawer 2, the Area 51 of utility payments, will remain.

“While we changed our name to Spire, you can still write your checks to Laclede Gas and mail them to Drawer 2,” said Spire spokeswoman Jenny Gobble.

But what is Drawer 2? Is it a bottomless Mary-Poppins-bag of drawers where all the gas payments in greater St. Louis can fit?

“We don’t know if it’s a drawer or a cabinet, but a drawer is basically just a larger P.O. box,” Gobble said.

Gobble said Drawer 2 was at a bank that could securely hold all the customer payments.

Still some mysteries remain. Questions such as: “What’s in Drawer 1?” and “Where is this undisclosed bank?” were put to Spire to no avail.