The Missouri Optometric Association was formed in 1901, and St. Louis optometrists were part of the Eastern Missouri Optometric Society.
By 1922, the EMOS was meeting regularly in the offices of local optometrists, and in 1927 a regular column covering these St. Louis meeting appeared in the Optical Journal and Review.
In 1951 the St. Louis Optometric Society was chartered as a Missouri Benevolent Organization, and the SLOS moniker became official.
Over the years the society has met in a variety of locations in and around the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Today the St. Louis Optometric Society meets on a monthly basis at the Marriott West in Chesterfield, MO on the second Tuesday of the month.