Louis Schmidt
"CHELTENHAM" (FROM OAKLAND TO MANCHESTER/KINGSHIGHWAY TO TAMM)
CORRECTION) A MAP NAMED "CHELTENHAM AND ADDITIONS" IN A BOX OF 1878 PITZMAN ATLASES SHOWS THE BOUDARIES TO BE BERTHOLD TO COLUMBIA AND OLD MANCHESTER ROAD AND KINGSHIGHWAY TO TAMM. THIS GENERALLY INCLUDES THE SAME AREA AS WILLIAM SUBLETTE'S SULPHUR SPRINGS FARM. THE BOOK ABOUT HIM DOESN'T STATE EXACTLY WHERE HIS BOUNDARIES WERE, BUT DOES LIST THE ACRES BOUGHT AND SOLD WHICH TOTALED ABOUT A THOUSAND ACRES.
WILLIAM SUBLETTE DIED IN 1845 SO I THINK THE NAME CHANGE OCCURED WHEN WIBLE NAMED THE SULPHUR SPRINGS RESORT "CHELTENHAM" IN 1852. THE RAILROAD CAME THRU IN 1852, AND THE STATION WAS NAMED CHELTENHAM STATION. THE ONLY OTHER THING THAT CONFUSES ME IS, THE CHELTENHAM POST OFFICE IN THE MUEGGE STORE WAS AT DALE AND MANCHESTER. THIS WOULD CHANGE THE BOUNDARY OF CHELTENHAM, SINCE I HAVE ALREADY DECIDED THE BOUNDARY OF CHELTENHAM WAS AT TAMM. I STILL DON'T KNOW THE BOUNDARY OF BENTON.
THE GRATIOT "MANSION" WAS BUILT BY PAUL BENJAMIN (CHARLES' YOUNGEST SON) IN 1838-40 AT THE LOCATION OF 6135 VICTORIA ON 10 ACRES FRONTING ON CHELTENHAM AVE.(WEST PARK) TO A LINE WHICH WOULD NOW BE BERTHOLD, WITH CENTRE RD. (GRAHAM) ON THE WEST AND BILLON (HAMPTON) ON THE EAST. HE MOVED ONTO HIS INHERITANCE IN 1832.(WHERE HE LIVED UNTIL HE BUILT HIS HOUSE). THIS PROPERTY WAS STILL IN THE FAMILY UNTIL 1937. (MRS.BERTHA GRATIOT BLYTHE). NONE OF CHARLES GRATIOT'S SONS STAYED IN ST.LOUIS EXCEPT MAYBE PAUL B. GRATIOT WHO IN 1829-30 WAS A RESIDENT OF MICHIGAN TERRITORY AND A MEMBER OF THE FIRM OF GRATIOT AND TERRY DOING BUSINESS AT DIAMOND GROVE,IOWA COUNTY. I DON'T HAVE MUCH INFO ON HIM, BUT HE MUST HAVE COME BACK TO ST.LOUIS TO BUILD THE GRATIOT MANSION ON VICTORIA IN 1838-40.(IF THIS IS THE SAME PAUL BENJAMIN AS NOTED ABOVE).
"ST.LOUIS U.HIGH" COMPLETED AT KINGSHIGHWAY AND OAKLAND IN 1924.IT HAD STARTED IN 1818 AS PART OF ST.LOUIS UNIVERSITY,AND WAS CALLED "ST.LOUIS ACADEMY". ST.LOUIS U. HIGH MOVED NEXT TO ST. LOUIS U. STADIUM IN THE MIDDLE 1920'S. THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THE UNIVERSITY SHARED THE PLAYING FIELDS. BY 1930 THE CITY HAD IMPROVED ACCESS TO THE SCHOOL BY OPENING OAKLAND AVE WHERE FORMERLY THERE HAD BEEN ONLY STREETCAR TRACKS, FROM KINGSHIGHWAY WEST TO FOREST PARK UNIVERSITY, THUS COMPLETING THE FRAME OF ROADS AROUND THE PARK.
"WALSH STADIUM" WAS JUST WEST OF ST. LOUIS U HIGH, ABOUT WHERE THE RIVER DES PERES CROSSES OAKLAND (BUILT IN 1930 - DEMOLISHED IN THE 1950'S). ORIGINALLY ST.LOUIS U.STADIUM. IN THE 50'S THERE USED TO BE MIDGET RACERS, AND THEN STOCK CAR RACES THERE. ST.LOUIS U.HIGH HAS A SPORTS FIELD THERE NOW, AND THE NEW SCIENCE CENTER MAY TAKE UP PART OF THE AREA. IN THE 1880'S THE "OLD MAN HUT SWIMMING HOLE" WAS ON THE RIVER DES PERES SOUTH OF OAKLAND AVE. BETWEEN THE LATER WALSH STADIUM AND ST.LOUIS U HIGH, THIS WAS SO CALLED AFTER AN OLD MAN WHO LIVED THE LIFE OF A HERMIT IN A LITTLE SHACK NEARBY. AT THIS TIME THE RIVER DES PERES DIDN'T GO UNDER GROUND.
IN 1895 THE CHOUTEAU AVE. LINE OF THE LINDELL R.R.CO. WAS EXTENDED TO FOREST PARK. BY 1896 IT WAS EXTENDED ALONG THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF FOREST PARK. LATER THIS WAS CALLED THE FOREST PARK STREET CAR. I CAN STILL HEAR THE CLICKETY CLACK AS THEY USUALLY OPENED IT UP ON THE STRETCH FROM HAMPTON TO HIGH POINT.
"FOREST PARK HIGHLANDS" (PREVIOUSLY A CLAY MINE-- SEE CLAY MINES)
THIS WAS OPENED AS A BEER GARDEN (BIG PLACE ON THE HILL)IN 1896. IT OFFERED A MINSTREL SHOW, COMEDY GYMNASTS, AND "THE 20TH CENTURY COMEDIAN." THE FOLLOWING YEAR ANTON STEUVER BOUGHT THE BEER GARDEN AND CHANGED IT INTO A SUMMER GARDEN, OR, AS STEUVER ADVERTISED, AN "AL FRESCO PARK--ESPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN." STEUVER, A DEMOCRAT, HAD POLITICAL CONNECTIONS AND OTHER BUSINESS INTERESTS. HIS POSITIONS INCLUDED BREWER WITH THE HOME BREWING COMPANY (WHOSE BOTTLED AND DRAUGHT BEER WERE SOLD AT THE HIGHLANDS) AND PRESIDENT OF THE HIGHLANDS FIRE CLAY FIRE CLAY COMPANY, NEXT TO THE AMUSEMENT PARK. HE PROMOTED AN AMUSEMENT RIDE, THE SCENIC RAILWAY AND "HIGH-CLASS AND REFINED VAUDEVILLE IN THE NEW PAVILION," MANAGED BY J.D. HOPKINS. HIS FIRST PROGRAM ON MAY 23,1897 FEATURED MARIE DRESSLER, AT PRICES RANGING FROM TEN TO THIRTY CENTS. BY THE TIME OF THE WORLDS FAIR IT WAS AN AMUSEMENT CENTER. MANY A SCHOOL PICNIC WAS HELD THERE. WE RAN AND RODE AS MUCH AS WE COULD ON THE FREE RIDE PASSES, THEN SPENT WHAT LITTLE WE HAD ENDING WITH THE PENNY ARCADE.IT BECAME A FAMILY AFFAIR BY EVENING WHEN THOSE WHO WORKED CAME FOR SUPPER. IF YOU WERE LATE GETTING AND SAVING A TABLE, YOU WOULD PROBABLY HAVE ONE BY THE RACE CARS, WHICH MADE IT HARD TO HEAR ANY THING SAID. THE NIGHT FINISHED ON THE BIG DANCE FLOOR, THEN EVERYONE GATHERING AT THE BANDSTAND TO CLOSE THE NIGHT. THE HIGHLANDS BURNED TO THE GROUND IN 1963. IT HAD ALREADY DIED. WE OFTEN STOPPED BY AFTER WWII, BUT IT WAS EMPTY MOST OF THE TIME. THE ONLY THING SAVED WAS THE MERRY GO ROUND WHICH FOUND A HOME AT JEFFERSON BARRACKS. AND MAY HAVE BEEN MOVED AGAIN.(FAUST PARK). THE SITE OF THE HIGHLANDS IS NOW THE "FOREST PARK COMMUNITY COLLEGE".
"THE WEST END HEIGHTS AMUSEMENT CENTER" THE STREET CAR ALSO BROUGHT THIS AMUSEMENT CENTER. NOT SURE WHAT THIS ENTAILS, WAS LUCKY TO FIND IT. WEST END HEIGHTS WAS AN AREA(APPROX.)FROM HI- POINT ON THE EAST, WISE ON THE SOUTH, CITY LIMITS ON THE WEST, AND CLAYTON ON THE NORTH.-(FROM A 1905 PLAT MAP) I REMEMBER A POST OFFICE, AND A SMALL COMMERCIAL DISTRICT ON OAKLAND JUST INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS. THE POST OFFICE NAME SURLY WAS "WEST END HEIGHTS POST OFFICE".I'LL FIND OUT. THIS CENTER ALSO BURNED IN 1913. THE HIGH POINT THEATER AND THE CHESHIRE INN ARE NOW IN THIS LOCATION. THERE IS NO DEFINITE LOCATION OF THE AMUSEMENT CENTER. BY 1926 THE HI-POINT CORNER, ALREADY CONTAINED A MOVIE THEATER AND TWO GAS STATIONS. ONE OF THE STATIONS STOOD ON A TRIANGLE OF LAND THAT HAD BEEN OFFERED TO THE CITY AS AN ENTRANCE TO FOREST PARK.
IN 1922 AFTER THE CITY HAD IGNORED THE OFFERED SALE FOR EIGHTEEN MONTHS, THE OWNERS WITHDREW THE OFFER AND SOLD TO THE PIERCE OIL COMPANY. THIS IS NOW THE STANDARD SIGN (AMOCO).
IN THE LATE 1920'S NEW SUBDIVISIONS DEVELOPED SUCH AS SKINKER HEIGHTS ON ELLENWOOD AND HAMPTON PARK (MORE THAN A MILE WEST OF THE PARK) THIS MEANT INCREASED TRAFFIC AROUND AND THROUGH THE PARK, JUST AS COUNTY FARMERS HAD DONE IN THE EARLY 1870'S.
"THE ARENA"
ON OCT.12 1929 THE DEPRESSION WAS STARTING FOR THE FINANCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL SECTORS. BEN G. BRINKMAN WHO OWNED THE HIGHLANDS AND BACKED THE EXPOSITION OPENED A NEW BUILDING, CALLED THE ARENA, ON OPEN LAND LEFT BY THE FOREST PARK UNIVERSITY. THE BUILDING'S LAMELLA ROOF COVERED, WITHOUT A POST OR COLUMN, MORE THAN THREE ACRES, AN AREA THAT COULD SEAT 21,000 PEOPLE. IT HAD MORE FLOOR SPACE THAN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. WHEN THE ARENA OPENED , IT HELD SIMULTANEOUSLY THE NATIONAL DAIRY SHOW, THE ST.LOUIS NATIONAL HORSE SHOW, AND THE BETTER FOODS SHOW. THE ARENA SITE ALSO HAD ANOTHER OCCUPANT BESIDES COAL AND CLAY MINES WHICH LASTED FROM 1860 TO LATE 1880'S. THE ARENA DIED SATURDAY, FEB.27,1999. THE IMPLOSION TOOK ONLY 20 SECONDS FOR 200 LBS. OF DYNAMITE TO TOPPLE THE BUILDING. SO MUCH FOR ANOTHER PIECE OF HISTORY. NOW WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER OFFICE PARK, IF IT HAPPENS.
"FOREST PARK UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN" IN 1891 ANNA SNEED CAIRNS MOVED THE KIRKWOOD SEMINARY WHICH STARTED IN 1861 TO THE SITE THAT WOULD BECOME THE ARENA LATER. SHE BOUGHT SEVEN ACRES AND HER HUSBAND BUILT A BEAUTIFUL SCHOOL. THEY CALLED IT "FOREST PARK UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN" (COLLEGE OF MUSIC AND SCHOOL OF ART AND ELOCUTION). IN 1900 SHE BOUGHT MORE LAND WHICH INCREASED IT TO TWELVE ACRES.(FROM ST. LOUIS LOST).IT WAS IN THE CORNER WHERE CLAYTON INTERSECTS WITH OAKLAND. THERE USED TO BE A DEAD END STREET NAMED CAIRNS JUST A HALF BLOCK WEST OF THE INTERSECTION, WHICH MEANS HER PROPERTY COULD HAVE WENT FROM THERE PAST OAKVIEW PLACE, JUST WEST OF THE ARENA.(VERIFIED ON AN 1899 PLAT MAP) KO KOVERLY'S WAS AT THAT CORNER LATER, AND ALSO A TV TOWER. NOW CHANNEL 11 AND A FAST FOOD IS THERE. MRS.CAIRNS WAS A LEADER IN BOTH THE PROHIBITION AND WOMENS SUFFRAGE MOVEMENTS.
THE SCHOOL WAS A PREPARATORY SCHOOL AND SERVED BOTH BOARDING AND DAY STUDENTS. UNTIL THE STREETCAR LINE REACHED THE UNIVERSITY IN 1895, DAY STUDENTS TRAVELED BY HORSES AND WAGONETTES, WHICH CROSSED THE PARK HOURLY TO MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH THE STREETCAR LINE. THE STREETCAR REMAINED THE BEST WAY TO THE CAMPUS FROM THE CITY, SINCE THERE WAS NO ROAD ALONG THE PARKS SOUTHERN EDGE. WHEN THE CITY AUTHORIZED OAKLAND AVE. IN THE LATE 1890'S, THE ROAD RAN WEST FROM THE UNIVERSITY TOWARD ST.LOUIS COUNTY, NOT EAST TOWARD THE CITY. MRS. CAIRNS WAS A STRONG WILLED WOMAN AND THE BACKBONE OF THE SCHOOL, AND THE WATCH-DOG FOR THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF FOREST PARK. A LEADER IN THE FOREST PARK SOUTH NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. SHE WAS GETTING TOO OLD,(IN THE 80'S),TO KEEP IT GOING AND THE SCHOOL WENT DOWN AND IN 1926 SHE SOLD THE LAND TO A DEVELOPER. BY THE TIME SHE DIED IN 1930 THE LAND HAD BEEN DIVIDED AND SOLD. THE ARENA WAS BUILT IN 1929. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ALMOST LOCATED THERE, BUT DECIDED TO MOVE WEST OF FOREST PARK IN ORDER TO CONSOLIDATE IT'S SCATTERED DEPARTMENTS, HOUSED IN VARIOUS BUILDINGS DOWNTOWN. IN 1894 A SYNDICATE REPRESENTING WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY BOUGHT APPROX.108 ACHES OF LAND AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE PARK. THE UNIVERSITY'S MOVE WEST WAS DELAYED, HOWEVER, UNTIL AFTER 1901. THIS PLUS THE FACT, THE MAIN BUILDING WAS USED BY THE WORLDS FAIR, DELAYING THE MOVE TILL 1905. THIS WAS TRUE OF FOREST PARK UNIVERSITY. NEITHER THE NORTHERN, SOUTHERN, OR WESTERN SIDES OF THE PARK HAD ROADS.
BY 1895 THE STREETCAR LINES EXTENDED TO BOTH OF THE PARKS WESTERN CORNERS. THE CLAYTON AND FOREST PARK LINE (04) OPENED ON DEC.8,1895 RUNNING A FEW BLOCKS ALONG THE PARK FROM THE NORTHWEST CORNER BEFORE TURNING WEST TO CLAYTON. THE LINDELL LINE ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF FOREST PARK ALSO OPENED IN 1895. FORSYTH BOULEVARD WAS BUILT, A DIRT ROAD, WAS NOT OPENED FROM THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE TO THE WESTERN CITY LIMITS UNTIL 1899.
IN 1910 THE ST.LOUIS UNIVERSITY BEGAN TO USE PLAYING FIELDS AND A WOODEN STADIUM OUTSIDE THE SOUTHEASTERN CORNER OF THE PARK. BRICKYARDS DOMINATED THE NEARBY INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT ALONG THE MO PAC R/R TRACKS.
THE FOREST PARK HIGHLANDS REGULARLY ADDED NEW ATTRACTIONS. SOME LIKE THE MINIATURE TRAIN,MOVED FROM THE FAIR. IN THE THEATER, VAUDEVILLE SHOWS FEATURED SUCH PERFORMERS AS WILL ROGERS, "OKLAHOMA COWBOY, IN DIFFICULT LARIAT FEATS AND RANCHMAN COMEDY" AND THE ANNUAL BASTILLE DAY SHOW.
A GROUP OF STABLES OUTSIDE THE PARK'S SOUTHERN BOARDER ON MACKLIND ATTRACTED HORSEBACK RIDERS TO FOREST PARK IN 1928. THE MISSOURI STABLES AND THE J.E. VAN EPPES STABLES BOARDED AND RENTED HORSES. BOTH STABLES OFFERED LESSONS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FOR GROUPS. THE PRIVATE RIDING AND HUNT CLUB SERVED MEMBERS ONLY. ALMOST ALL RIDERS ARRIVED BY CAR, THEN MOUNTED AND RODE ALONG THE FOREST PARK BRIDLE PATH. EARLY MORNING WAS THE POPULAR TIME, ESPECIALLY SATURDAY FOR CHILDREN AND SUNDAY FOR ADULTS. IN 1929 THE CITY INSTALLED A STOPLIGHT TO HALT AUTO TRAFFIC ON OAKLAND. FROM HORSEBACK, RIDERS COULD CONTROL THE LIGHT, WHICH THEY HAD HELPED PAY FOR. RIDERS PRESSURED THE CITY TO KEEP THE FOREST PARK BRIDLE PATH WELL MAINTAINED AND WELL MARKED.
THE GREATEST CONFLICT BETWEEN PARK ADMINISTRATORS AND THE NEIGHBORS OCCURRED ALONG THE PARKS SOUTHERN BORDER. THE PARK THERE HAD LONG HOUSED VARIOUS DIRTY, UGLY, OR NOISY SUPPORT SERVICES SUCH AS GREEN- HOUSES AND THE MOUNTED POLICE STATION. IT WAS NO COINCIDENCE THAT THESE FACILITIES BEGAN TO CLUSTER ON THE SOUTHERN BORDER,AS THE CITY'S WEALTHIEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL CITIZENS BEGAN TO MOVE INTO THE PRIVATE PLACES NORTH OF THE PARK. THE TREND CONTINUED INTO THE 20TH CENTURY DESPITE THE EFFORTS OF SOUTH FOREST PARK RESIDENT IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, ORGANIZED BY ANNA SNEED CAIRNS AND OTHERS IN 1912. THEY PUSHED FOR A NORTH/SOUTH ROAD THROUGH THE PARK, WITHOUT SUCCESS. IN 1914 THEY DID PERSUADE THE CITY TO IMPROVE OAKLAND AVE. FROM FOREST PARK U. WEST TO SKINKER, BUT THEY COULDN'T GET IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PARK LAND THEY FACED ACROSS OAKLAND.
THE NEXT FEW YEARS BROUGHT NEW CONSTRUCTION ALONG OAKLAND WEST OF THE UNIVERSITY. APARTMENTS A FEW BLOCKS WEST, THE DEACONESS HOSPITAL IN 1928, AND THE JEWISH ORPHANS' HOME IN THE LATE 1920'S. AFTER MRS. CAIRNS DIED, IN SEPT. 1926 THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SPONSORED ANOTHER ACTIVITY IN SOUTHERN FOREST PARK INTENDED TO BOLSTER THE ECONOMY. MORE THAN 300,000 PEOPLE WENT TO THE ST. LOUIS EXPOSITION ON FORTY ACRES ALONG THE PARKS SOUTHERN EDGE. IT TOOK THREE MONTHS TO BUILD, AND WAS TO RUN FOR TWO WEEKS. THEY WERE RAINED OUT, SO EXTENDED ANOTHER WEEK BUT RAINED THEN TOO. IT LOST MONEY AND LOST SUPPORT FOR ANOTHER ONE. THE PEOPLE AROUND THE AREA SIGHED A RELIEF, ESPECIALLY THE HOSPITALS ALONG KINGSHIGHWAY FOR THE PATIENTS HAD BEEN DISTURBED BY THE "FRENCH 75" CANNON, FIRED AS PART OF THE ENTERTAINMENT.
"DEACONESS HOSPITAL"
THE DEACONESS HOSPITAL MOVED FROM MIDTOWN IN 1928 TO ITS PRESENT LOCATION. IN THE EARLY 1920'S THERE WAS A COAL MINE HERE. THE NAME OF THE MINE IS UNKNOWN. THE LAND FILL BEHIND THE ODE HOUSE ON LOUISVILLE IS FROM THE HOLE THEY DUG FOR THE BASEMENT OF DEACONESS.
"CLAYTON TAMM" - "DOG TOWN"
THIS NAME STUCK,AND HAS HAD MANY VERSIONS OF HOW IT STARTED. FROM JUST A LOT OF DOGS TO THE NATIVES OF THE PHILLIPINES EATING THE DOGS DURING THE WORLDS FAIR. THE BOOK "THE HISTORY OF CHELTENHAM AND ST.JAMES CHURCH" IN 1937 STATED THAT DOG TOWN WAS SO CALLED BY SQUATTERS WHO BUILT SHACKS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF GRAHAM AND WEST PARK AFTER THEY WERE EVICTED FROM FOREST PARK IN 1876.TODAY THE WHOLE AREA FROM HAMPTON TO McCAUSLAND AND OAKLAND TO MANCHESTER CLAIMS THE NAME DOG TOWN. THIS AREA WENT UNDER MANY NAMES."DRY HILL" "CHELTENHAM" "WEST- CHELTENHAM" "DOG TOWN" IT DEPENDED ON THE YEAR. "DRY HILL" WAS AN EARLY NAME,AND I HAVE ONLY FOUND A REFERENCE TO IT.
"CHELTENHAM" CAME FROM A MR. WIBBLE, MANAGER OF THE SULPHUR SPRINGS RESORT IN 1852. WIBBLE BORROWED THE NAME "CHELTENHAM" FROM HIS ENGLISH BIRTHPLACE. THE NAME CAUGHT ON AS THE NEW TRAIN STATION AT SULPHUR AND MANCHESTER WAS NAMED CHELTENHAM STATION. FROM THE BOOK "BILL SUBLETTE :MOUNTAIN MAN" PG. 234 STATES, IN 1848 SULPHUR SPRINGS WAS SOLD TO DAVID W.GRAHAM, WHO TWO YEARS LATER (1850) SOLD 29.99 ACRES CONTAINING THE HOUSE AND RESORT TO THOMAS ALLEN. ALLEN WAS A LEADING ST.LOUIS BUSINESS MAN AND A POWER IN THE MO.PAC R.R. THERE WAS WIBLE'S EASTERN ADDITION TO CHELTENHAM BOUNDED BY LACLEDE BRICK, SUBLETTE AVE.,MANCHESTER AND WILSON. NEXT TO THAT CHELTENHAM ADDITION BY D.A.JANUARY AND EUGENE KELLY UP TO SUBLETTE. MORE CHELTENHAM ADDITIONS BY D.A.JANUARY AT SUBLETTE, COLUMBIA,AND WILSON. THIS ALSO INCLUDED THE FAIRMONT DISTRICT WHICH WAS SOLD AND SUBDIVIDED AFTER THE DEATHS OF SOLOMON AND FRANCES IN 1857 AND THE DEATH OF YOUNG ESTHER FRANCES IN 1861. THE HEREFORDS CONSIDERED THEMSELVES LEGITIMATE HEIRS TO SULPHUR SPRINGS. IN 1869 THE LAST REMAINING PORTION (FAIRMONT) WAS SUBDIVIDED INTO ONE ACRE PLOTS. THE PREVIOUS YEAR (1868) MARY HEREFORD HAD ARRANGED FOR ALL OF THE BODIES IN THE SUBLETTE BURIAL GROUND TO BE MOVED TO A LARGE LOT IN BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY. ONE LAST ATTEMPT IN 1896 BY THE WHITLEY HEIRS (SUBLETTE'S MOTHER) FOUGHT THE WILL IN PROBATE AND LOST. SOME TRIED TO REVIVE THE CASE IN 1926 BUT WAS REFUSED. SO CAME THE END OF THE SULPHUR SPRINGS TRACT AND THE REAL HISTORY OF CHELTENHAM. THERE ISN'T A TRACE OF THE SUBLETTE LEGACY. HIS ORIGINAL HOME BURNED BEFORE 1890, AND A REPORTER MISTOOK IT FOR WILLIAMS MANSION. HIS MANSION AND THE SULPHUR SPRINGS COTTAGE WERE GONE BY THERE IS VERY LITTLE IN ST.LOUIS HISTORY BOOKS ABOUT HIM. I HAVEN'T FOUND A GOOD PICTURE OF HIM AND ONLY ONE OF HIS MANSION WHICH WAS A PAINTING BY ALFRED MUEGGE OF SULPHUR SPRINGS RESORT WITH SUBLETTE'S MANSION IN THE BACKGROUND. THE ONLY SOLID INFORMATION ON HIM IS A VERY GOOD DOCUMENTATION OF HIS LIFE IN A LITTLE PAPERBACK BOOK. "BILL SUBLETTE MOUNTAIN MAN" BY JOHN E. SUNDER UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS. DOCUMENTED BY ST.LOIS ARCHIVES. THE BOOK IS IN THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. THE CLAY INDUSTRY AND PROGRESS HAS WIPED OUR PAST CLEAN. I HAVE FOUND ONE HAND DRAWING OF THE SPRINGS BY AN OLD ITALIAN MAN IN THE BOOK "THE HILL", AND NOWHERE ELSE. "OAKLAND" I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THIS NAME CAME FROM.
"ST. JAMES CHURCH"
THE BOOK " THE HISTORY OF CHELTENHAM AND ST.JAMES CHURCH" FROM 1937, COMMEMORATING THE DIAMOND JUBILEE OF THE PARISH TELLS THE STORY VERY WELL OF THE CHURCHES HISTORY. THERE IS A VERY GOOD COPY IN THE HISTORICAL LIBRARY ON SKINKER, JUST REBOUND. YOU CAN'T REMOVE IT FROM THE LIBRARY. I WILL GIVE A FEW HIGHLIGHTS. ST. JAMES CHURCH STARTED AS A MISSION OF ST.MALACHY'S CHURCH, ST.LOUIS (CLARK AND EWING) IN THE FALL OF 1860 ON THE EAST SIDE OF TAMM. FR. JOHN O'SULLIVAN, WHO HAD BEEN AT THE PARISH OF ST. BRIDGET, WAS APPOINTED FIRST PASTOR OF ST. MALACHY. SHORTLY AFTER TAKING OVER HIS NEW ASSIGNMENT,HE TURNED HIS ATTENTION TO THE AREA KNOWN AS CHELTENHAM. HE OFFERED MASS IN A SMALL HALL, THEN THE DEDICATION OF THE FIRST CHURCH OCCURRED JAN.1,1861. FATHER O' SULLIVAN WAS A MAN OF STRONG CONVICTIONS, AN OUTSPOKEN SECESSIONIST. HE WAS NOT OPPOSED TO THE FREEING OF SLAVES BUT FEARED THAT ABOLITION WOULD PRODUCE CIVIL WAR. HIS SENTIMENTS BROUGHT HIM INTO CONFLICT WITH MILITARY AUTHORITIES. HE WAS REMOVED FROM ST. JAMES BY ARCHBISHOP KENRICK, WHO ARRAIGNED FOR HIS TRANSFER TO THE DIOCESE OF ALTON. THE CHURCH ACTUALLY STARTED ON THE EAST SIDE OF TAMM. THE FIRST DONATION OF PROPERTY WAS MADE BY HENRY GRATIOT IN 1860 (104FT.X 198FT.) ON THE EAST SIDE OF TAMM JUST ON THE NORTHERN EDGE OF HENRY'S NORTH PROPERTY LINE. A FEW YEARS LATER HE DONATED ANOTHER 100FT.X 198FT. I HAVE A 1878 MAP SHOWING THE CHURCH ON THE NORTH SIDE OF HENRY'S LINE AND THE SCHOOL ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF HIS LINE. THE NORTH SIDE BELONGED TO PAUL BENJAMIN GRATIOT,EVIDENTLY BOUGHT BY HENRY. THE LAND TOTALING ONE ACRE. I THINK LATER THE CHURCH BOUGHT PROPERTY FROM EVANS AND HOWARD FOR THE NEW SCHOOL. IN 1884 FATHER NCNAMEE ARRIVED, AND THE FIRST THING WAS TO ESTABLISH A SCHOOL. HE SECURED THE SERVICES OF A YOUNG IRISHMAN NAMED MCNAMARA AND A LADY NAMED MARY FORBES TO TEACH. HE ALSO TAUGHT. THE SCHOOL FAILED AND TO ADD TO THE DISTRESS A FEW YEARS LATER THE CHURCH BURNED TO THE GROUND IN APR.1891. NOT TO BE DISCOURAGED FATHER MCNAMEE LED TO THE BUILDING OF A NEW CHURCH EAST OF TAMM AT WADE. BECAUSE OF ILL HEALTH HE RESIGNED IN 1896. FATHER CASEY SUCCEEDED FATHER MCNAMEE. HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR FINDING THREE NUNS FOR THE SCHOOL. THREE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF SPARKILL, SISTERS LOYOLA, CATHERINE, AND LOUIS. A RESIDENCE AT 1354 TAMM AVE. WAS BOUGHT BY MRS. JOHN A. BOLAND, AND WAS GIVEN TO ST. JAMES FOR A CONVENT. THE NUNS LIVED UPSTAIRS AND THE SCHOOL OPENED DOWNSTAIRS ON SEPT.8,1902.THEY LIVED IN AND TAUGHT IN THIS SIX ROOM HOUSE UNTIL 1906 WHEN THE SCHOOL BUILDING WAS COMPLETED. A LARGE PORTION OF LAND OWNED BY MR. AND MRS. MICHAEL J. MACKEN WAS GIVEN TO THE PARISH OF ST. JAMES FOR THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH. MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM T. BOMAN, THE OWNERS OF A SMALL SITE ON WHICH THEY INTENDED TO BUILD A BUNGALOW, WAS APPROACHED BY FATHER O'CONNER WHO STATED HE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE LOT FOR ST.JAMES. ARRANGEMENTS WERE MADE TO THE SATISFACTION OF ALL. FATHER O'CONNER WAS A REMARKABLE AND GIFTED PRIEST. HE DIED IN JULY 1952. HE HAD SEEN THE FULFILLMENT OF ALL HIS DREAMS, THE NEW SCHOOL (1950), NEW CHURCH (1928), THE NEW CONVENT (1938),AND THE NEW RECTORY COMPLETED IN 1938. I HOPE I HAVE GIVEN THIS STORY JUSTICE. I HAVE SKIPPED A LOT, AND WILL LEAVE THE WHOLE CHURCH STORY TO THE CHURCH. I DO HAVE SOME PICTURES FROM THE OLD DAYS. ONE IS A PICTURE OF EVANS AND HOWARD FIRE BRICK PLANT/CHELTENHAM FROM 1896 SHOWING IN THE BACKGROUND TWO BUILDINGS WHICH MAY BE THE SECOND CHURCH AND SCHOOL. THIS PICTURE WAS IN THE MISSOURI GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. THEN I HAVE A PICTURE OF A PAINTING BY ALBERT MUEGGE OF CHELTENHAM IN 1876 LOOKING NORTH ACROSS MANCHESTER RD. FROM A HILL ALONG PRESENT DAY WILSON AVE. TAMM AVE WAS A DIRT ROAD LEADING UP THE HILL TO THE ORIGINAL ST. JAMES CHURCH. I ALSO HAVE A PICTURE AND ARTICLE OF EVANS AND HOWARD FROM A VIEW I THINK WOULD BE APPROX. FROM ST. JAMES. SO I OBTAINED PERMISSION TO GO ON THE ROOF OF THE SCHOOL TOOK A PICTURE OF THE SAME VIEW. I WAITED TOO LONG IN THE SPRING, AND THE AREA IS NOT AS CLEAR TO MANCHESTER AS IN THE OLD DAYS. NOTE- IN THE DEED CONFERRING THE PROPERTY TO THE CHURCH IN 1870, THE SITE OF THE OLD CHURCH IS DESCRIBED AS WEST CHELTENHAM AND AT THAT TIME WEST PARK WAS NAMED CHELTENHAM.
"THE WEST END"
IN 1852 THE TERRITORY BETWEEN KINGSHIGHWAY AND TAMM RD. NORTH OF MANCHESTER WAS CUT INTO LOTS OF 17 ACRES. THESE FARMS WERE DESIGNED FOR COUNTY SEATS AND WERE ATTRACTIVE BECAUSE IN FRONT WAS THE CITY AND IN THE REAR WAS THE WILDERNESS WITH ALL IT'S MYSTERY AND SEDUCTIVENESS ALMOST UNBROKEN TO THE PACIFIC COAST. COUNTY SEATS IN THE OLD DAYS INCLUDED THE HOMESTEADS OF WILLIAM SUBLETTE, THOMAS CAMPBELL, JUDGE DAVIS, JAMES M. TARRANTS, DR. ISAIAH FORBES, GRATIOT HOME, BILLON MANSION, THE GLADES FAMILY, JOHN O'GORMAN, ANTHONY S. ROBINSON (HOUSE REMODELED INTO A RESTAURANT IN FOREST PARK HIGHLANDS.) YOU MUST REMEMBER THERE WERE NO MADE STREETS IN 1878 NORTH OF MANCHESTER ROAD. THE HOMES WERE REACHED BY LANES AND DRIVEWAYS. IN DRY WEATHER CARRIAGES DROVE ACROSS PASTURES. TAMM RD. WAS A COUNTY ROAD BORDERED WITH TREES. A BRIDGE TOOK IT OVER THE RIVER DES PERES. MACKLIND WAS NAMED "ST. LOUIS RD", PIERCE AVE WAS "WASHINGTON", NEW MANCHESTER WAS "PACIFIC ROAD",OR "MARKET STREET ROAD", DALE WAS "VALLEY ROAD", TAMM AVE WAS TAMM RD.,BEFORE THAT "CHURCH RD.",AND BEFORE THAT "O'GORMAN'S LANE". CLAYTON WAS "FOX CREEK RD."
"CLAYTON TAMM INTERSECTION" -- "DRY HILL"
IN THE VICINITY OF ST. LOUIS, THERE WERE MANY SMALL COAL MINES OPERATED; THOUGH THE COAL WAS OF LOW GRADE AND THE STRATUM NOT MORE THAN TWO OR THREE FEET IN THICKNESS. THE MINES ON DRY HILL WERE OPERATED WITH PROFIT AND THE OUTPUT WAS CONSIDERABLE. SOME OF THESE MINES WERE LOCATED IN FOREST PARK BUT THE ONES BEST REMEMBERED ARE THOSE THAT WERE ON A LINE ALONG CLAYTON RD. BETWEEN RIVER DES PERES AND CHILDRESS AVE, OWNED BY WILLIAM O'THOMAS, JAKE SCHRINER, W. DILLENBERGER. JOHN O'GORMAN OPERATED A MINE EAST OF ST. JAMES. THREE EMPLOYEES WERE ASPHYXIATED THERE IN 1860'S.
IN THE 1870'S GRATIOT'S WELL WAS ON THE EAST SIDE OF GRAHAM AVE AT THE BACK OF THE LITTLE HOUSE THAT FACES CLAYTON RD. THE GRATIOTS ORCHARD RAN ALONG VICTORIA EAST OF GRAHAM AND NORTH OF WEST PARK. DOCTOR CHARLES GRATIOT'S OLD HOMESTEAD WAS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF VICTORIA, A FEW DOORS WEST OF HAMPTON (BILLON). IN THE 1880'S HE BUILT AND MOVED INTO A HOUSE AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF HAMPTON AND WEST PARK. IN THE 80'S THE HAWTHORNE, A ROADHOUSE AND GAMBLING DEN, WAS A TWO STORY BRICK BUILDING ON CLAYTON, WEST OF LOUISVILLE. IT WAS POPULAR IN THE 90'S. BEFORE THIS TIME IT WAS THE RESIDENCE OF THE LLOYD FAMILY AND IN THEIR TIME THERE WAS AN ORCHARD AT THE EAST SIDE OF THE HOUSE. THERE WAS A LITTLE SETTLEMENT AT WISE AND CHILDRESS WHERE LIVED JAMES, JERRY, AND JIM ROONEY. CHARLES EHLE'S HOME WAS APPROX. BETWEEN LOUISVILLE AND FAIRMOUNT. FELIX BOSSORTH'S BLACKSMITH SHOP WAS AT TAMM AND WISE. ON THE NORTH SIDE OF CLAYTON WAS DILLENBERGER'S. ELY'S STORE WAS AT TAMM AND CLAYTON WHICH LATER BECAME A SALOON AND COCK PIT. MR JOHNSON OPERATED A SALOON AT THIS CORNER 60 YEARS AGO(1877). ACROSS THE STREET WAS SIEGFRIED GROSCH,THE WAGON MAKER. JOHN LAGARCE'S HOUSE WAS AT TAMM AND BERTHOLD.
I THINK I'VE FOUND THE MYSTERIOUS RAILROAD THAT I HEARD WENT UP THE EAST SIDE OF LOUISVILLE FROM THE MO/PAC TRACKS. ON A MAP OF THE WORLDS FAIR, A RAILROAD ENTRANCE AT APPROX. THE INTERSECTION OF LOUISVILLE AND OAKLAND. THE MAP SHOWED THE TRACKS, LOCOMOTIVE HOUSE, AND COAL CHUTE. IT WAS CALLED "TAYLOR CITY BELT R.R.". THE TRACKS WENT ALONGSIDE VALLEY ROAD (DALE), THEN ALONG SANFORD, AND UP A LITTLE VALLEY WHICH YOU CAN RECOGNIZE ON WEST PARK WHERE IT MAKES A LOW DIP JUST EAST OF LOUISVILLE, THEN PAST CLAYTON, UNDER A WOODEN BRIDGE TO THE PARK. IT THEN WENT AROUND THE EDGE OF THE FAIR, THEN BACK TO THE ENTRANCE. MY COUSIN GEORGE ODE RECALLS THE TRACK, AND REMEMBERS PEOPLE WAVING FROM THE TRAIN WHICH WENT RIGHT BEHIND HIS HOME ON LOUISVILLE SOUTH OF WISE. HE ALSO REMEMBERS A PRESIDENT ON THE TRAIN. THE FRONT OF HIS HOME FACED THE TRACKS, AND THE BACK OF THE HOUSE NOW FACES LOUISVILLE WHICH DIDN'T EXIST THEN. A STATION WAS ON NASHVILLE (6540) AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL. IV'E BEEN TOLD THE TRACKS ARE STILL THERE.(NOT VERIFIED) AND NO MAP SHOWS THE TRACKS OUTSIDE OF THE PARK. THERE WAS A RAILROAD MAP FROM 1904 THAT LISTED ON THE MILEAGE CHART "LOUISVILLE-NASHVILLE-ST.LOUIS--.15 MI. THE ODE HOUSE IS GONE NOW, JUST A VACANT LOT WITH THE OLD LAND FILL IN THE BACK.
THE LAST COAL MINE TO BE OPERATED HAD ITS SHAFT AT CHILDRESS AND CLAYTON AND WAS OPERATED BY PETER HUMES. THIS MAY BE THE MINE THAT IS STILL CAUSING TROUBLE. ON MARCH 27,1997 A NEWS REPORT TOLD ABOUT A CAVE-IN OF A MINE SHAFT AT WEST PARK AND CHILDRESS. IT WAS ENDANGERING A HOUSE ON THE NORTH-WEST CORNER. I DROVE BY IN THE EVENING AND SAW A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE OF WEST-PARK AT THE INTERSECTION AND ONE IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE ON CHILDRESS. THEY HAD A HOLE AT THE HOUSE AND WERE PUMPING CONCRETE DOWN THE HOLE THROUGH A HOSE. I WENT BACK LATER TO SEE IT AND ASK SOME QUESTIONS. ONE OF THE MEN SAID THEY FILLED THE HOLE, AND THOUGHT IT WAS A MINE OF CLAY AND COAL. THEY DIDN'T HAVE A MAP OF THE MINES,AND WISHED THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE WORKING WITH. HE WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR I HAD A MAP OF THE GENERAL LOCATIONS OF THE MINE ENTRANCES. SOMEDAY WE WILL FIND A MAP OF THE SHAFTS. SURELY THEY DIDN'T JUST DIG SOMEWHERE AND NOT RECORD THE DIRECTIONS OF THE SHAFTS. SO - IT COULD BE EITHER PETER HUMES MINE, OR GITTENS MINE WHICH WAS WEST OF TAMM AND BETWEEN CLAYTON AND BERTHOLD ON THE SAME HILLTOP.
IN 1913 WILLIAM H. BISSICK PURCHASED THE CLAYTON ROAD PHARMACY ON THE SOUTH EAST CORNER OF CLAYTON AND TAMM FROM GUS H. HUCH, WHO HAD FORMERLY OPERATED A STORE ON THE SOUTH WEST CORNER. THAT CORNER, S/W IS WHERE GEORGE LEHMAN OPENED A HARDWARE STORE IN 1909, AND IS STILL THERE. THIS AREA IS NOW KNOWN AS DOGTOWN. PEOPLE NOT USED TO THE AREA CONSIDER DOGTOWN TO BE FROM TAMM TO MCCAUSLAND.
EARLIEST OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE OAKLAND AREA WAS THE CHELTENHAM PUBLIC SCHOOL ERECTED IN 1868 (ADDRESS-1838-40 GRAHAM). AT THAT TIME IT WAS IN ST.LOUIS COUNTY AND WAS LOCATED NEAR WHAT IS NOW GRAHAM ST. AND WEST PARK AVE. TYPICAL OF THE RURAL SCHOOLS OF IT'S TIME, IT WAS A ONE STORY FRAME BUILDING OF TWO ROOMS, WITH SEATS FOR 110 PUPILS. BY 1875 IT WAS KNOWN AS DISTRICT SCHOOL NO.3. IN 1882, AFTER ITS DISTRICT BECAME A PART OF THE CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE CHELTENHAM SCHOOL WAS REPLACED BY THE GRATIOT SCHOOL AT WHAT IS NOW 1615 HAMPTON AVENUE. THIS WAS A TWO STORY BRICK STRUCTURE, WHICH WAS ENLARGED BY TWO WINGS IN 1899 AND 1919. ITS NAMESAKE WAS CHARLES GRATIOT SR. ORIGINATOR OF GRATIOT LEAGUE SQUARE. FROM THE HISTORY OF CHELTENHAM AND ST.JAMES CHURCH
MEN AND MERCHANTS OF 1937
THE NAMES AND PLACES OF BUSINESS ONLY INCLUDE THOSE WHO LIVED IN THE PARISH BOUNDARIES.
MINES OF CHELTENHAM
BY THE LATE 1800'S THE RIVER DES PERES WAS UNUSABLE. WHAT THOMAS SCHARF HAD DESCRIBED IN 1803 AS A "ROMANTIC LITTLE STREAM" WAS, THE POST DISPATCH DESCRIBED IN 1894, "PRACTICALLY NOTHING LESS THAN A MONSTER OPEN SEWER, POISONING THE AIR WITH THE MOST DANGEROUS CORRUPTION AND MENACE TO HEALTH KNOWN, THE CORRUPTION OF SEWAGE". IT WAS ESPECIALLY BAD WHEN THE RIVER FLOODED. THE COUNTY DUMPED SEWAGE INTO THE RIVER, CAUSING THE CITY TO GET STATE FUNDS AND COUNTY MONEY TO BUILD A SEWER. THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN UNTIL THE 1920'S. IN THE EARLY DAYS THERE WAS AN ADVERTISEMENT ABOUT THE GREAT FISHING AND HUNTING. THE SULPHUR SPRINGS WAS NOTED FOR IT'S HEALING QUALITIES,BUT I THINK IT CAUSED MORE DISEASE THAN GOOD HEALTH.
THE SULPHUR SPRINGS CAME UP APPROX. WHERE THE RIVER MADE A BEND AT SULPHUR AVE. I HAVE READ SEVERAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THIS BUT HAVE ONLY ONE HAND DRAWN MAP FROM MEMORY, BUT NEVER FOUND AN OFFICIAL MAP. FROM ALL INDICATIONS IT WAS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RIVER DES PERES. THE LAKE FORMED LIKE A STRANGE LEFT HAND FACING EAST WITH THE THUMB GOING TO ELIZABETH BETWEEN SUBLETTE AND JANUARY, AND THREE FINGERS GOING ALMOST TO MACKLIND. ONE GOES ON THE NORTH SIDE OF WILSON. ONE GOES TO DAGGET, AND THE THIRD GOES TO MIDWAY BETWEEN SHAW AND PATTISON. THE ARM GOES TO SULPHUR AVE. AND THE RESORT.THERE WAS A WILSON BRIDGE OVER THE THUMB WHICH WOULD GIVE ME CAUSE TO THINK THIS WAS THE PATH FROM THE OLD SUBLETTE HOME AND GRAVE SITE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF NORTHRUP AT MACKLIND.A WALK UP MACKLIND,TURN ON WILSON AROUND THE LAKE WOULD LEAD TO SUBLETTE'S ROCK MANSION ON WILSON EAST OF SULPHUR.(1/2 MILE). HIGHWAY 44 OBLITERATES THE WHOLE PLACE. AS YOU ARE GOING WEST APPROX. AT MACKLIND, THE STREET ON THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE HIGHWAY IS PATTISON. WILSON IS A STREET ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AT HAMPTON. HOLIDAY INN MOTEL IS ON WILSON.IT'S JUST ABOUT HERE OR ON THE HIGHWAY WHERE I THINK SAT SUBLETTE'S MANSION. AS YOU ARE DRIVING WEST ON HY 44,JUST EAST OF HAMPTON, YOU CAN VISUALIZE GRATIOT'S AND LATER SUBLETTE'S VAST HOLDINGS. TO THE NORTH THE TREE LINE IS ABOUT OAKLAND, THE TREE LINE TO THE WEST IS ABOUT McCAUSLAND, AND THE TREE LINE TO THE SOUTH IS ABOUT ARSENAL. ALL JUST A PART OF GRATIOT'S LEAGUE SQUARE AND WHAT A VIEW FROM THE BLUFF AT MACKLIND. IN THE EARLY 1800'S THERE WERE NO FACTORIES,RAILROADS, JUST A BEAUTIFUL VALLEY WITH THE SMALL RIVER AND LOTS OF TREES.
| HOME | DOGTOWN |
| Bibliography | Oral history | Recorded history | Photos |
| YOUR page | External links | Walking Tour |