THE ORIGINAL HILL BENEFACTORS - 1775/1880
THE FIRST INHABITANT BESIDES THE INDIANS WAS "CHARLES GRATIOT SR." A FRENCHMAN BORN IN LAUSANNE,SWITZERLAND IN 1752. HIS PARENTS WERE FRENCH HUGUENOTS WHO HAD FLED FROM NORMANDY AT THE TIME OF THE REVOCATION OF THE EDICT OF NANTS IN 1685. AFTER HIS SCHOOLING AND TRAINING IN THE FUR TRADE HE SETTLED AT CAHOKIA,ILLINOIS IN 1777. WHEN THE BRITISH TOOK OVER THE ILLINOIS SIDE OF THE RIVER HE AND MANY OF THE FRENCH MOVED TO THE WEST SIDE. HE THEN WABECAME A SPANISH SUBJECT IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO TRADE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER. AFTER PIERRE DE LACLEDE DIED IN 1778 CHARLES GRATIOT, ALONG WITH AUGUST CHOUTEAU WERE TWO OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MEN IN EARLY ST.LOUIS.
GRATIOT WAS AWARDED A LAND GRANT FROM THE SPANISH BY CRUZAT IN 1785 AND FINALLY CONFIRMED BY GOVERNOR GAYOSO DE LEMOS IN 1798. THIS WAS ALMOST TOO LATE, FOR THE NEW GOVERNMENT IN 1804 WANTED TO VALIDATE ALL LAND GRANTS BEFORE 1800. THIS EFFORT DID NOT PASS, BUT THE GOVERNMENT WOULD NOT GIVE A BLANKET OK TO ALL LAND GRANTS. WITH THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE CAME THE LAND GRABBERS, AMERICAN AND FRENCH. GRATIOT LEAGUE SQUARE WAS APPROVED IN 1809. GRATIOT'S FARM WAS NEARLY THREE SQUARE MILES (5712 ACRES), THE LARGEST GRANT EVER MADE BY THE SPANISH NEAR THE VILLAGE.IT WAS BOUNDED ON THE EAST BY THE PRAIRIE DES NOYERS COMMON FIELD- (KINGSHIGHWAY), AND ON THE WEST TO BIG BEND. THREE QUARTERS OF FOREST PARK ON THE NORTH, AND PERNOD ON THE SOUTH.
HE MARRIED VICTOIRE CHOUTEAU SISTER OF AUGUSTE AND PIERRE JUNE 25, 1781. THEY HAD A STONE HOUSE ON THE CORNER OF MAIN AND CHESTNUT, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL OF THE PIONEER HOUSES. AT THE TIME OF THE TRANSFER OF UPPER LOUISIANA TO THE UNITED STATES,HE WAS ONE OF THE FEW FRENCHMEN IN ST.LOUIS TO APPROVE. HE SIGNED THE TRANSFER PAPERS AS ONE OF THE FOUR WITNESSES AND PART OF THE TRANSFER CEREMONIES TOOK PLACE AT HIS HOUSE ON THE CORNER OF MAIN AND CHESTNUT STREETS. THE TREATY WAS SIGNED MARCH 10,1804 ON THE PORTICO OF THE GRATIOT HOME WITH CHARLES SR. AS INTERPRETER. SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD CHARLES JR. WITNESSED THE CEREMONY. BUT THEY SOON GOT SHOCKING NEWS FROM WASHINGTON. AFTER HEARING ABOUT THE LAND GRABBING CREOLES, CONGRESS HAD SEPARATED UPPER AND LOWER LOUISIANA AT THE THIRTY-THIRD PARALLEL, THE LOWER PART TO BE THE TERRITORY OF ORLEANS. THE UPPER, FORMER SPANISH ILLINOIS AND ARKANSAS WERE LUMPED TOGETHER IN A NEW DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA TO BE GOVERNED BY OFFICERS OF THE TERRITORY OF INDIANA.
IN OCT.1804 GOV.HARRISON AND THE THREE INDIANA JUDGES ARRIVED IN ST.LOUIS WITH A SET OF LAWS FOR THE DISTRICT AND A LIST OF LOCAL APPOINTMENTS. JUDICIOUSLY, HARRISON NAMED CHARLES GRATIOT PRESIDING JUDGE AND AUGUSTE CHOUTEAU, JACQUES CLAMORGAN, DAVID DELAUNAY, AND JAMES MACKAY JUSTICES OF THE COURT OF QUARTER SESSIONS. THE SLAVE ISSUE, THE INDIAN RESETTLEMENT,AND THE LAND GRANTS WERE ARGUED AND DEFEATED. WHEN THE TOWN WAS INCORPORATED IN 1809,HE WAS ELECTED TRUSTEE.IN 1817 CHARLES SR. DIED OF A PARALYTIC STROKE AT AGE 65. EDWARD HEMPSTEAD, ONLY 38 COLLAPSED AND DIED AS THE RESULT OF A FALL FROM A HORSE A FEW WEEKS EARLIER, AND THOMAS HART BENTON KILLED CHARLES LUCAS IN A DUEL ON BLOODY ISLAND.(TWO DUELS LUCAS SHOT THROUGH THROAT THEN HEART). GRATIOT AND HEMPSTEAD WERE TWO FAVORITES AND SORELY MISSED.(TAKEN FROM "LION OF THE VALLEY" BY JAMES NEAL PRIM) VICTOIRE SURVIVED CHARLES BY 8 YRS.DIED AT SAME AGE OF 65.
HENRY'S INHERITANCE OF G/L/S WAS 1927 FT.WIDE. ON A LINE WITH SHAW AND GLADES ON THE SOUTH / VALLEY RD.(DALE) ON THE NORTH. JOHN PIERRE INHERITED 1254 FT. SOUTH OF HENRY. ON A LINE WITH SHAW AND GLADES ON THE NORTH / BERNARD(BISCHOFF) ON THE SOUTH. MARIE THERESE INHERITED SOUTH OF JOHN PIERRE. ON A LINE WITH BERNARD (BISCHOFF) ON THE NORTH / MANCHESTER(COLUMBIA) ON THE SOUTH.- KINGSHIGHWAY TO TAMM. COOPER ESTATE SOUTH OF MARIE THERESE. MANCHESTER(COLUMBIA) ON THE NORTH / ARSENAL ON THE SOUTH.- KINGSHIGHWAY TO TAMM. LINDELL AND SHAW OWNED FROM ARSENAL TO PERNOD AND KINGSHIGHWAY TO McCAUSLAND.
CHARLES AND VICTORE HAD THIRTEEN CHILDREN. NINE SURVIVED. HENRY AND JOHN PIERRE EVENTUALLY MOVED TO OREGON. THE LAND WAS BEING SOLD FROM THE BEGINNING. BY THE END OF THE 1850'S, VERY LITTLE OF THE LAND CARRIED THE GRATIOT NAME. SO, CHARLES GRATIOT WAS THE FIRST OWNER ON THE HILL,WHICH WAS JUST A SMALL PORTION OF "THE GRATIOT LEAGUE SQUARE". FROM THE BEGINNING HE MADE EXTENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS. A HOUSE, ORCHARD, GARDEN, MINE OF STONE COAL, A SALINE AND MILL SITE. HE HAD BUILT A COUNTRY HOME ON HIS NEW FARM IN 1790. THIS HAS BEEN HARD TO LOCATE, BUT I THINK IT WAS ON THE HILL. I FOUND A PICTURE OF IT AT THE MISSOURI HISTORICAL LIBRARY IN THE BOOK B G 7721S. THIS WAS AN EARLY FIND AND I WASN'T CAREFUL TO RECORD WHAT I WAS READING. IT MAY HAVE BEEN IN THE MICHIGAN HISTORY MAGAZINE SEPT.1920 PG.141-155 WITH THE STORY OF GEN. CHARLES GRATIOT JR. BY WILLIAM L.JENKS. THE ARTICLE HAD A DRAWING OF GEN.GRATIOT'S CHILDHOOD HOME FROM A COPY OF THE 1790 GRATIOT COUNTRY RESIDENCE. IT WAS A TWO STORY FRAME BUILDING WITH A (DOG WALK) IN THE CENTER,AND A CHIMNEY AT EACH END.
(FROM "THE FIRST AMERICAN FRONTIER" PG. 399. HENRYS OLD FARM HOUSE, BUILT IN 1810,THE FIRST HOUSE BUILT ON THE GRATIOT LEAGUE SQUARE, AND ONE OF THE EARLIEST NEAR THE VILLAGE, WHERE HE LIVED FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AFTER HIS MARRIAGE IN 1813. A WEATHER BOARDED LOG HOUSE ONE AND A HALF STORIES HIGH, FIFTY FEET LONG, BY 16 FEET DEEP, ON A STONE FOUNDATION ABOUT FOUR FEET HIGH, WITH A STONE CHIMNEY AT EACH END. THREE DOORS ON THE EAST FRONT, ONE TO EACH ROOM, WITH A SHED OVER THE STEPS TO EACH, IN PLACE OF THE GALLERY WHICH ORIGINALLY EXTENDED ALONG THE WHOLE FRONT OF FIFTY FEET. THE REAL GALLERY STILL REMAINS IN A DILAPIDATED CONDITION. IT STANDS ON HIGH GROUND OVERLOOKING THE COUNTRY IN EACH DIRECTION ABOUT THREE EIGHTS OF A MILE WEST OF KINGSHIGHWAY WHICH IS THE EAST LINE OF GRATIOT LEAGUE SQUARE, AND ONE-HUNDRED-FIFTY YARDS NORTH OF PATTISON AVE. WHICH LEADS TO IT. A DEEP WELL OF WATER STANDS ABOUT FIFTY YARDS NORTHEAST OF THE HOUSE. A PART OF THE OLD STONE FOUNDATION OF GRATIOT'S OLD MILL ARE STILL TO BE SEEN,(1881) A SHORT DISTANCE NORTH OF THE HOUSE, ON THE SLOPE OF THE HILL WHICH DESCENDS TO THE RIVER DES PERES, AND THE RUINS OF THE OLD SPRING HOUSE, IN A HOLLOW ABOUT TWO-HUNDRED YARDS EAST, AND ALSO A NUMBER OF OLD DEAD APPLE TREES IN THE ORCHARD. THE BUILDER OF THIS HOUSE DIED AT BARNUMS HOTEL, BALTIMORE IN APRIL, 1835.
IN A SARAH B. HULL SCRAPBOOK.(1891) A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE DESCRIBED WILLIAM SUBLETTE'S MANSION(MIS-NAMED)WHICH WAS THE FIRST HOMESTEAD AND ORIGINAL BURIAL PLACE OF WILLIAM SUBLETTE, AND ALSO, I THINK WAS THE OLD GRATIOT COUNTRY HOME. A DRAWING IN THE ARTICLE SHOWS THE RUINS OF THE BUILDING WITH THE CHIMNEYS STILL STANDING. THIS MATCHES TWO DRAWINGS I HAVE OF CHARLES' 1790 COUNTRY HOME, AND HENRY'S 1810 HOME. BOTH ARE THE SAME EXCEPT HENRY DOES NOT HAVE THE DOG WALK. THESE HOMES EACH ARE TWO STORY LOG HOMES (NOT SURE OF CHARLES' AS "LOG"), WITH FOUR WINDOWS ON EACH SIDE OF THE MIDDLE, AND A CHIMNEY AT EACH END. HENRY'S HAS A DOOR IN PLACE OF THE DOG WALK. THIS IS ALL SPECULATION. CAN'T PROVE YET. THE ARTICLE STATES- ON A RIDGE SOME HUNDRED RODS SOUTH OF HOWARD STATION, WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, AT THE FOOT OF WHICH FLOWS THE LITTLE TURBID RIVER DES PERES IS THE OLD HOMESTEAD AND ORIGINAL BURIAL PLACE OF WILLIAM SUBLETTE, THE NOTED FUR TRADER AND ONE OF THE MOST RENOWNED AND DARING OF THE INTREPID PIONEER LEADERS. ANOTHER SPECULATION-I THINK THE HOUSE IS SHOWN ON THE 1875 PICTORAL MAP OF ST.LOUIS. THE HOUSE ISN'T LABELED, WEST OF KINGSHIGHWAY,NORTH OF PATTISON,AND SOUTH OF RIVER DES PERES. IT FACES EAST BUT SHOWS AN ORCHARD ON THE WEST SIDE INSTEAD OF THE EAST SIDE OF THE HOUSE. THE FENCE LINE COULD BE THE FUTURE NORTHRUP. IT IS POSSIBLE THE HOUSE COULD HAVE BEEN CLOSER TO ST.LOUIS AVE. (MACKLIND), ACCORDING TO THE 1891 NEWSPAPER ARTICLE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ON TOP OF THE BLUFF WITH A GOOD VIEW IN ALL DIRECTIONS.
SUBLETTE AND ROBERT CAMPBELL CARRIED ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS AN EXTENSIVE MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENT IN ST.LOUIS FOR THE SUPPLY OF GOODS FOR THE FUR TRADE, SUBLETTE SELECTING HIS HOMESTEAD ON THE RIDGE ABOVE MENTIONED. FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS FOR REACHING THE PLACE WE WALK A SHORT DISTANCE SOUTH ON MACKLIND AVE. FROM THE RAILROAD, PASSING THE SMELTING WORKS ON THE LEFT AND CROSSING A BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER DES PERES,TURN TO THE LEFT, ASCEND A WINDING PATH UP THE SLOPE WE REACH A BROAD PLATEAU OF SEVERAL HUNDRED ACRES, FORMERLY A CORN FIELD, NOW OVERGROWN WITH WEEDS. WE SOON COME TO THE RUINS OF THE OLD SUBLETTE MANSION, WHICH WAS BUILT OF HEWN LOGS AND BURNED DOWN SOME TWO YEARS AGO, LEAVING TWO TALL, MASSIVE STONE CHIMNEYS, THAT BUTTRESSED THE GABLE ENDS, STILL STANDING, WITH THE OLD STONE SMOKE-HOUSE NEARBY UNTOUCHED BY THE FLAMES AND IN A STATE OF GOOD PRESERVATION. THE OLD ORCHARD ON THE EASTERN SIDE HAS ENTIRELY DISAPPEARED.
SUBLETTE'S ESTATE WAS BORDERED ON THE EAST BY KINGSHIGHWAY AND IS BUT A SHORT WALK TO THE FAMOUS SPRING WHERE CHARLES GRATIOT, THE ANCESTOR OF THE MISSOURI GRATIOTS, ERECTED A MANSION AND A SPRING-HOUSE IN 1777, EVERY VESTIGE OF WHICH HAS DISAPPEARED. THE SPRING STILL ISSUES OUT OF THE SIDE HILL IN A COOL, LIMPID, SILVERY STREAM. TIME WAS WHEN HERDS OF ELK AND DEER FREQUENTED THE SPOT, AND PLOWED UP WITH THEIR HOOFS THE MUDDY BOTTOM BELOW, BETWEEN THE FOUNTAIN AND THE RIVER DES PERES.
ABOUT HALF A MILE WEST OF SUBLETTE'S MANSION (OLD HOME), AND BELONGING TO HIS ESTATE, WAS ANOTHER NOTED FOUNTAIN KNOWN AS SULPHUR SPRINGS, WHICH WAS OPENED AS A PLEASURE RESORT BY MR.GRIMES OF PADUCAH KENTUCKY. IT WAS MUCH FREQUENTED BY SOUTHERN PLANTERS. SO THERE WERE TWO SPRINGS, SOMETHING THAT HASN'T COME UP BEFORE. THAT ALONG WITH GRATIOTS COUNTRY HOME LOCATION, AND THE FACT OF SUBLETTE'S ROCK MANSION BEING BUILT CLOSE TO SULPHUR SPRINGS, ON THE HILL ON WILSON EAST OF SULPHUR.
AFTER REMAINING UNDISTURBED FOR TWENTY-SIX YEARS,THE PROPERTY HAVING FALLEN INTO THE HANDS OF STRANGERS, AND TO AVOID THE ENCROACHMENTS OF NEIGHBORING MANUFACTORIES, THE FAMILY CEMETERY WAS ABANDONED AND THE BODIES REMOVED TO BELFOUNTAINE CEMETERY. ON OCT.30, 1868, THE REMAINS OF SEVEN ADULTS AND NINE CHILDREN WERE EXHUMED AND RE-INTERED IN THE ESTHER S. HEREFORD LOT. THE BODY OF MR. SUBLETTE WAS FOUND ENCLOSED IN AN OLD-FASHIONED CAST-IRON CASKET, WHICH WAS SO MUCH CEMENTED BY RUST THAT IT WAS NOT OPENED. THE OLD BURIAL PLACE ON THE SUBLETTE PREMISES IS NOW BEING UNDERMINED BY CLAY PITS FOR FIRE BRICK AND POTTERY, IN ONE OF WHICH SAND GRAY, THE LAST SURVIVING MALE SLAVE OF MR. SUBLETTE, IS NOW EMPLOYED. THE FIRE MUST HAVE BEEN IN 1889.(ARTICLE WRITTEN IN 1891 AND "BURNED DOWN SOME TWO YEARS AGO" THUS 1889.
(PUTTING THIS STORY TOGETHER WITH THE 1810 STORY OF HENRY), I THINK THIS WAS THE OLD CHARLES GRATIOT COUNTRY HOME USED BY CHARLES (1790), HENRY (1810), AND WILLIAM SUBLETTE (IN 1831). AT APPROXIMATELY THE LOCATION DESCRIBED THERE IS A RIDGE ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE FRISCO TRACKS, AND OVERLOOKING THE VALLEY IS AN AUTO BODY SHOP (SOUTHTOWN AUTO UPHOLSTERY) WHICH IS LOCATED AT 5301 NORTHRUP. THEN (PCI FILTRATION SERVICES-5323 NORTHROP).NORTHRUP DOES NOT GO THROUGH TO MACKLIND,SO I GOT PERMISSION TO SNOOP AROUND THE BACK OF PCI. THE COMPANY IS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF NORTHRUP, RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE RIDGE. NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THE OLD FAMILIAR DUMP WHICH WE MIGHT CALL A LAND FILL SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IS FILL.
I COULD SEE ABOUT 20 OR 30 FEET BELOW, A FLAT AREA BEHIND A SMALL COMPANY NAMED (JOHN BOYLE AND CO.) AT 1630 MACKLIND. I RECEIVED PERMISSION AGAIN TO LOOK AROUND BACK, AND FIRST OF ALL A SWAMPY AREA WHICH COULD BE THE SPRING, (OR MAY BE JUST DRAINAGE FROM THE HILL). THERE WAS A SEWER GRATE, BUT IT SAT TOO HIGH TO DRAIN THE LOT. I WALKED AROUND THROUGH THE WEEDS ON THIS HILLSIDE AND FOUND THE USUAL DUMP MATERIAL PLUS WHAT LOOKED LIKE CINDERS. JUST LIKE THE DUMP THAT USED TO BE UP THE STREET FROM MY HOUSE ON PLATEAU. I TOOK A FEW PICTURES AND FOR NOW CHOOSE THIS SPOT AS EITHER GRATIOTS OLD MILL ON THE SLOPE OF THE HILL WHICH DESCENDS TO THE RIVER, OR THE OLD SPRING HOUSE IN A HOLLOW ABOUT 200 YARDS EAST. THE HOUSE COULD HAVE BEEN ON THE NORTH SIDE OF NORTHRUP, "FACING EAST, BUT WITH A GOOD VIEW OF THE WHOLE VALLEY". I FOUND A 1899 PLAT MAP AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, SHOWING A BUILDING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE 5300 BLOCK OF NORTHRUP. THIS WOULD PUT IT AT THE TOP OF THE HILL OR "BLUFF" I'M GETTING CLOSER ALL THE TIME.
NEXT OWNER - "WILLIAM SUBLETTE"
(FROM THE BOOK "BILL SUBLETTE-MOUNTAIN MAN" BY JOHN E. SUNDER)
ON MARCH 10, 1831 SUBLETTE BOUGHT 446 ACRES OF LAND ON THE RIVER DES PERES, SIX MILES FROM ST.LOUIS FOR $3,000 AND A FEW WEEKS LATER ON APRIL 26 HIS ATTORNEY PURCHASED IN HIS NAME AN ADJOINING TRACT OF 333 ACRES FOR $4,000. THE TWO TRACTS TOGETHER MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS "SULPHUR SPRINGS TRACT". THE TOTAL 779 ROLLING, FERTILE ACRES WERE LOCATED IN A ROUGH TRIANGLE FORMED BY KINGSHIGHWAY, SOUTHWEST, TAMM, AND NEW MANCHESTER WHICH DIDN'T EXIST UNTIL LATER. IN 1831 THERE WERE NO ROADS, JUST TRAILS. "OLD MANCHESTER(SOUTHWEST) ORIGINALLY FOX CREEK RD. WAS THE TRAIL,ALONG WITH PATTISON THAT SUBLETTE USED TO GET TO HIS PROPERTY.
SUBLETTE WAS HOME BY THE END OF AUGUST 1833 FROM THE HANS FORK RENDEZVOUS. THE ONLY DARK CLOUD WAS THE UP-COMING DEATH OF HIS BROTHER MILTON AFTER HIS LEG WENT BAD AND HAD TO BE AMPUTATED IN FEB. 1835. WHEN NOT LOOKING AFTER MILTON, WILLIAM DEVOTED HIS TIME TO HIS FARM. ON NOV.29,1834 HE REMOVED A QUIT- CLAIM DEED WILLIAM RUSSELL HELD TO HIS LAND, AND IN DEC,18-- NEGOTIATED THREE BUILDING CONTRACTS. IN THE FIRST ONE, DATED THE 13TH HE CONTRACTED FOR FOUR LOG CABINS, EACH 14X16FT. TO BE BUILT TWO- TOGETHER AS A USUAL SLAVE CABIN AT A COST OF $400.00. SUBLETTE AGREED TO FURNISH THE PLANK FOR FLOORS, AND SHINGLES FOR THE ROOFS. THE BUILDER LINDSAY LEWIS WAS TO COMPLETE THE JOB BY MAY 1835.
IN THE SECOND CONTRACT OF DEC.23, JOHN LEWIS, POSSIBLY LINDSAY'S BROTHER PROMISED TO BUILD TWO ADDITIONAL CABINS, EACH 24X16FT. AT THE SAME COST, BY THE SAME DATE. THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTRACT, HOWEVER, ALSO DRAWN UP ON THE 23RD. WITH LINDSAY AND SAMUEL LEWIS, INVOLVED $1400 IN PAYMENT FOR A STONE AND LIME HOUSE, 55X45FT. WHICH WAS TO CONTAIN A BASEMENT, AND TWO UPPER STORIES, AND WAS TO BE COMPLETED IN SIX MONTHS.THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE WAS TO BE ARCHITECTURALLY ATTRACTIVE AND SUBSTANTIAL. IT'S 2FT. THICK OUTER WALLS ENCLOSED THREE ROOMS ON THE BASEMENT LEVEL. THERE WERE TO BE SIX FIREPLACES ON THE FIRST FLOOR, STONE CAPS OVER EACH DOOR AND WINDOW, AND AN ARCH OVER THE MAIN ENTRANCE. THIS WOULD BE SUBLETTE'S NEW HOME AT SULPHUR SPRINGS TO REPLACE HIS TEMPORARY QUARTERS THERE, AND WOULD BE A WORTHWHILE ADDITION TO THE COUNTRYSIDE.
THROUGHOUT THE SPRING AND SUMMER OF 1835, CARPENTERS WORKED STEADILY TO FINISH SUBLETTE'S NEW HOME AT SULPHUR SPRINGS. "A FLIGHT OF STAIRS FOUR FEET WIDE RUNNING FROM THE BASEMENT FLOOR TO THE GARRETT" WAS CONSTRUCTED, SHUTTERS WERE HUNG, DOOR AND WINDOW FRAMES WERE RAISED, AND VENETIAN BLINDS WERE INSTALLED. TWO MASTER CARPENTERS THOMAS HERD AND JACOB SASH, USED AS THEIR BUILDING GUIDE THE PLAN FOLLOWED IN "COL.JOHNSON'S POPULAR BRICK HOUSE ON FIFTH STREET". THEY HAD TO HURRY, HOWEVER SINCE SUBLETTE EXPECTED THEM TO BE FINISHED BY OCT.1 AT THE LATEST. SULPHUR SPRINGS WAS HIS DREAM OF ARCADIA - A DREAM COMMON IN HIS DAY. AN OLD DREAM OF A GOLDEN AGRICULTURAL AGE.
OVER THE YEARS HE TRANSFORMED HIS ACREAGE FROM A SEMI-WILDERNESS INTO A PROSPEROUS FARM AND WATERING PLACE. IN HIS OLD AGE HE HOPED TO RESIDE THERE PERMANENTLY SURROUNDED BY WELL TILLED FIELDS AND SUPERIOR LIVESTOCK. HIS ACCUMULATED FORTUNE, INCOME FROM HIS PARTNERSHIP, AND WHATEVER HE MIGHT DERIVE FROM OPERATING PART OF HIS FARM AS A WATERING PLACE WOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH, HE THOUGHT TO PROVIDE HIS EVERY COMFORT.
BY THE SUMMER OF 1835, SUBLETTE'S HOME AND SLAVE CABINS WERE NEARLY COMPLETED, AND HE MOVED INTO HIS NEW RESIDENCE. IT WAS SITUATED A FEW HUNDRED FEET FROM THE TINY RIVER DES PERES AND WAS SURROUNDED BY RICH VALLEY LANDS AND GENTLE, SLOPING HILLS. A BEAUTIFUL STAND OF NATIVE TIMBER COVERED MUCH OF THE FARM, AND BENEATH THE SOIL WAS A COMMERCIALLY MARKETABLE HORIZONTAL VEIN OF COAL TWO TO FIVE FEET THICK. A LARGE, SPARKLING MINERAL SPRING WAS LOCATED NEARBY "IN THE BED OF THE RIVER DES PERES OPPOSITE TO A HIGH BANK." THE POTENTIALS OF SULPHUR SPRINGS WERE EVIDENT: HIS MANOR HOUSE" STOOD IN THE MIDST OF A GENTLEMAN-FARMER'S DOMAIN. HIS CULTIVATED FIELDS, LARGELY LYING ALONG THE COURSE OF THE RIVER, WERE NEVER FARMED EXTENSIVELY DURING HIS LIFETIME, YET SOME OF THEM WERE WORKED EACH YEAR. CORN WAS PLANTED IN THE BOTTOM FIELD AND OATS, TIMOTHY, POTATOES, AND CABBAGE IN OTHERS. DROUGHT, EXCESSIVE WATER, AND INSECT PESTS SUCH AS THE ARMY WORM, WHICH WAS PERHAPS MOST DREADED, CAUSED PERIODIC TROUBLES, BUT HE TOOK MEASURES AGAINST THEM AND CAREFULLY SUPERVISED HIS SLAVES AND HIRED AGRICULTURAL WORKERS. SEVERAL OF THE LABORERS RESIDED AT THE FARM AS PERMANENT GARDENERS OR LIVED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
OTHER ARTISANS AND CRAFTSMEN, SOME OF WHOM TEMPORARILY LIVED AT THE FARM, PLASTERING, MINOR CARPENTERING JOBS, AND REPAIRS WERE ALWAYS NECESSARY, AND IN 1837 THEY BUILT A NEW DOUBLE LOG CABIN AND POSSIBLY A SMALL MILL.
HE BEGAN TO PLANT FRUIT TREES AS EARLY AS 1835 AND TO USE BETTER VARIETIES OF SEED. ALTHOUGH MANY OF THE TREES DID NOT GROW WELL IMMEDIATELY, HE CONSTANTLY EXPERIMENTED WITH THE BEST AVAILABLE STRAINS AND WITHIN A FEW YEARS PRODUCED AN ATTRACTIVE ORCHARD. WITH HUGH CAMPBELL'S ASSISTANCE HE PLACED SEASONAL ORDERS WITH D. AND C. LANDRETH OF PHILADELPHIA FOR FRUIT TREES, GRAINS, FLOWERS, BERRY BUSHES, AND A WIDE VARIETY OF KITCHEN-GARDEN SEEDS. BY SELECTIVITY HE BECAME ONE OF THE MOST PROGRESSIVE FARMERS IN THE COUNTRY. FARMING METHODS WERE CRUDE, BUT HE FOLLOWED WHAT UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION WAS AVAILABLE IN THE CULTIVATOR AND DEVELOPED A SUPERIOR FARM. IN 1842,ONLY FIVE YEARS AFTER JOHN DEERE CREATED AN IMPROVED STEEL PLOW, SUBLETTE PAID TO HAVE TWO OF HIS LAID WITH STEEL. THE EARLIER WOODEN AND CAST IRON TYPES WERE CUMBERSOME, TENDING TO STICK AND DRAG IN HEAVY SOIL.
WITH HIS EXPERIMENTATION WITH SEEDS AND TOOLS HE ADDED A THIRD PROJECT: STOCK RAISING AND BREEDING. THERE WERE USUALLY FIVE TO EIGHT HORSES ON THE FARM, ALSO A SMALL HERD OF PIGS, THE UNGAINLY TYPE WITH LONG LEGS AND SNOUT, SHARP BACK AND OF A ROAMING DISPOSITION. THE FIRST "APPROVED PEDIGREED SHORTHORNS" WERE BROUGHT FROM OHIO TO MISSOURI IN 1839, THEY WERE DIRECT FROM ENGLAND. STEWART IN SCOTLAND IN DECEMBER, 1839 SHIPPED SUBLETTE THE FIRST OF HIS NEW HERD: A VERY FINE SPRING BULL AND A HEIFER. BY 1842 HE OWNED 25 OF THEM, AND THE SAME YEAR RECEIVED TWO SILVER CUPS FOR THE BEST CATTLE EXHIBITED AT THE ST.LOUIS COUNTY AGRICULTURAL FAIR.
SUBLETTE WAS MORE INTERESTED IN AGRICULTURAL SECURITY RATHER THAN SPECULATION. AT TIMES HE WOULD MARKET LIVESTOCK FOR FOOD BUT WASN'T A REGULAR DEALER. VISITORS NOTED A NUMBER OF "EXOTIC" ANIMALS AT SULPHUR SPRINGS - ANIMALS HE ORDERED BROUGHT IN FROM THE MOUNTAINS FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, BUT ANIMALS THAT WERE NOT FOR SALE. HIS MENAGERIE INCLUDED BUFFALO, DEER, CRANES, WILD AND DOMESTICATED GEESE, AND EVEN SWANS. AT LEAST ONE VISITOR WAS SURPRISED BY A TAME, YOUNG FEMALE ANTELOPE WHICH FROLICKED FREELY ABOUT THE HOUSE TO THE DELIGHT OF THE HOST AND HIS GUESTS. OTHERS REFERRED TO BEARS STAKED OUT ON CHAINS-AN INTERESTING ATTRACTION-AND ALL WERE PLEASED WITH SUBLETTE'S LIVING MEMORIES OF THE MOUNTAIN TRADE.
BETWEEN 1835 AND 1842 HE SOLD OR LEASED TRACTS TO JOHN FORSTAKEN, GEORGE K. NYE, THOMAS ASBY, DR.JOHN TAGART, OWEN WILLIAMS, AND DANIEL THOMAS. FORSTAKEN PURCHASED 20 ACRES IN 1839, BUT THE FOLLOWING YEAR DEFAULTED ON HIS NOTES AND LOST THE LAND TO SUBLETTE. WILLIAM THEN RESOLD THE LAND TO NYE, AND THIS TIME THE SALE WAS VALID. ASBY LEASED A SMALL TRACT IN 1840, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING HE WOULD CULTIVATE 10 ACRES AND BUILD A LOG CABIN AND STABLE UPON THE REMAINDER. DR. TAGART BOUGHT 139.20 ACRES IN 1837 AND MET HIS NOTES ON TIME, WHILE WILLIAMS AND THOMAS HELD 15 ACRES FOR ONLY TWO YEARS.
FROM YEAR TO YEAR THE AMOUNT OF LAND HE HELD IN ST.LOUIS COUNTY VARIED ACCORDING TO PURCHASE AND SALE, BUT SULPHUR SPRINGS PROPER, ALL 779 ACRES,WAS SELDOM TOUCHED. IN FACT, IN JULY 1836 HE BOUGHT 273 ACRES OF THE REMAINING GRATIOT LANDS ADJOINING HIS FARM. HE RESOLD SEVENTY OF THEM IMMEDIATELY FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PROFIT, BUT THE NEXT YEAR ADDED A LITTLE OVER EIGHT ACRES, ALSO ORIGINALLY GRATIOT LAND IN THE NEARBY BARRIER DES NOYER TRACT.(ORIG. DEED RECORD - XPG. 276,298 AND Z PG. 176 MSS, ST.LOUIS CRDO)
DR. THOMAS HEREFORD, A RESPECTABLE ALABAMA PHYSICIAN CAME TO TOWN, AND HE WAS ANXIOUS TO NEGOTIATE FOR THE SPRINGS. ANDREW BELIEVED HE WAS JUST THE MAN FOR THE LEASE: HE HAD MONEY AND NEGROES AND THOSE WHO KNEW HIM SPOKE WELL OF HIM. WILLIAM AGREED WITH ANDREW WHEN HE MET DR. HEREFORD, AND ON SEPT. 13, 1842, LEASED HIM NINETY ACRES, INCLUDING THE RESORT BUILDINGS AND SPRINGS FOR FIVE YEARS. THE DOCTOR WAS GIVEN TIMBER RIGHTS, RIGHTS TO THE COAL BEDS, AND CONSENT TO IMPROVE THE BUILDINGS; IN RETURN SUBLETTE WAS TO RECEIVE RENT PAYABLE IN NINE INSTALLMENTS.
BEFORE ANDREW LEFT FOR THE WEST FRANCES AND WILLIAM WERE MARRIED. ON MARCH 31 1845 A SIMPLE EVENING CEREMONY WAS PERFORMED AT THE HOUSE. FRANCIS WAS FOND OF THE COUNTRY AND OF HER HUSBANDS FARM, AND SETTLED DOWN WITH HIM TO A RURAL LIFE. IN THE SPRING SUBLETTE WAS CONCERNED FOR FRANCES, HER MOTHER, AND CAMPBELL - ALL WERE ILL, BUT RECOVERED- WAS BUSY WITH MANY PROBLEMS. HIS CROPS, COAL MINES, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT, NEGROES TO BE HIRED, FUR TRADE NEEDED TO BE LOOK OVER - ALL NEEDED ATTENTION. HIS PROPERTIES ALSO NEEDED HIS TIME. WHILE WILLIAM ADDED PROPERTY IN COLE COUNTY (180 ACRES), HE SOLD PROPERTY IN ST.LOUIS COUNTY. IN MARCH 1844 WILLIAM SOLD 52 ACRES, IN JULY - 52 ACRES, IN MARCH 1845 - 6 ACRES OF HIS SULPHUR SPRINGS PLOT TO HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW MRS ESTER S. HEREFORD. HE SOLD CAMPBELL HIS INTEREST IN LOT FOURTEEN OF CHRISTY'S ADDITION.
IN DECEMBER,1844 SUBLETTE TRIED TO BECOME SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. HIS FRIENDS WROTE TO PRES. POLK, AND THEN WILLIAM WROTE IN MARCH,1845, AND IN MAY ANOTHER LETTER WAS WRITTEN. BOTH SUBLETTE AND HIS WIFE WERE IN ILL HEALTH AND UNDER DR.BEAUMONTS CARE. NO ANSWER CAME FROM POLK,SO THEY DECIDED TO GO TO THE EAST FOR THEIR HEALTH. ON JULY 14 HE, FRANCES,HER SISTER MARY HEREFORD, CAMPBELL, AND A NEGRO SERVANT LEFT ST.LOUIS ON THE STEAMBOAT "SWIFTSURE,#3" BOUND FOR CINCINNATI AND PITTSBURGH. THE HEREFORD FAMILY AGREED TO CARE FOR THE FARM, AND HIS BUSINESS FRIEND JAMES W.SMOOT CONSENTED TO COLLECT SEVERAL NOTES WHICH WERE DUE TO EXPIRE IN SUBLETTE'S ABSENCE. THEY PASSED CAIRO ON THE FIFTEENTH, MADE A SHORT STOP AT LOUISVILLE, AND REACHED CINCINNATI THE FOLLOWING DAY. CAMPBELL'S COUSIN ROBERT BUCHANAN GREETED THEM AT THE WHARF, AND THE NEXT AFTERNOON, THURSDAY, JULY 17, THEY BOARDED ANOTHER STEAMER, THE UNCLE BEN, AND CONTINUED UP THE OHIO. ACCORDING TO CAMPBELL, WILLIAM WAS IN FULL HEALTH, ALTHOUGH THEY HAD PURCHASED SUNDRIES,ICE AND MEDICINES AND C" IN CINCINNATI.
SUBLETTE WAS SERIOUSLY ILL BY THE EIGHTEENTH OR NINETEENTH, WHEN THEY REACHED PITTSBURGH. ON THE TWENTY-SECOND, WHILE STILL ABOARD THE BOAT, HE DREW UP A NEW WILL IN WHICH FRANCES WAS GIVEN THE BULK OF HIS ESTATE, INCLUDING APPROXIMATELY ONE-HALF OF SULPHUR SPRINGS. ANDREW AND SOLOMON WERE GRANTED THE REMAINDER OF THE SPRINGS PLUS SOME MINOR LAND TRACTS AND PERSONAL PROPERTY. THERESA COOK WAS BEQUEATHED A SLAVE GIRL, ANOTHER SLAVE GIRL WAS TO BE FREED WITHIN A YEAR, AND CAMPBELL WAS TO SHARE WITH FRANCES ANY "SURPLUS COMING TO MY ESTATE FROM THE BUSINESS OF SUBLETTE AND CAMPBELL" ANDREW AND CAMPBELL WERE APPOINTED EXECUTERS, BUT NOWHERE IN THE DOCUMENT WAS THERE ANY HINT, AS HAS BEEN CHARGED ,THAT SUBLETTE, IN ORDER TO KEEP FRANCES FROM RE-MARRYING,"WILLED HIS PROPERTY TO HIS WIFE ON CONDITION THAT SHE SHOULD NOT CHANGE HER NAME". (DEED RECORD U3,PG247,MSS,ST.LOUIS CRDO;RECORD OF WILLS C,PP181-82,MSS,ST.LOUIS PC)
AS SOON AS QUARTERS WERE AVAILABLE IN PITTSBURGH, THE PARTY MOVED INTO THE CITY. A DISASTROUS FIRE THE PREVIOUS APRIL HAD BURNED OVER A LARGE SECTION OF THE METROPOLITAN AREA, AND HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS WERE AT A PREMIUM. SUBLETTE WAS MOVED INTO ROOM #8 AT THE EXCHANGE HOTEL. DR.WILLIAM ADDISON, WHO RESIDED NEARBY AND WAS A WELL KNOWN MEDICAL MAN, HIGHLY RESPECTED AS A LOCAL HISTORIAN AND NATURALIST AS WELL AS A PHYSICIAN, WAS CONSULTED. THE TAINT OF CONSUMPTION TOOK IT'S TOLL, AND ON WEDNESDAY JULY 23, 1845, WILLIAM DIED, FAR FROM HIS BELOVED SULPHUR SPRINGS, FARTHER FROM THE MOUNTAINS. LATE IN THE AFTERNOON OR EARLY ON THURSDAY EVENING, CAMPBELL TOOK FRANCES AND HER SISTER TO THE LEVEE AND PLACED THEM ABOARD A STEAMER, PROBABLY THE "NORTH BEND," SCHEDULED TO LEAVE FOR ST.LOUIS IN THE MORNING. HIRED SERVANTS CARRIED WILLIAM'S REMAINS ABOARD, BUT CAMPBELL COULD NOT ACCOMPANY THEM HOME, SINCE HE HAD TO PROCEED TO PHILADELPHIA ON EMERGENCY BUSINESS AND FAMILY AFFAIRS. THE WOMEN WERE HOME BY THE SEVENTH, AND SUBLETTE'S REMAINS WERE TAKEN TO THE FARM TO BE PREPARED FOR BURIAL IN THE FAMILY PLOT.
THE DAILY MISSOURI REPUBLICAN, HIS POLITICAL ADVERSARY IN LIFE COMMENTED, "HIS DEATH IS AS UNEXPECTED AS IT WILL BE SINCERELY DEPLORED BY NUMEROUS FRIENDS ALL OVER THE STATE". CARRIAGES GATHERED AT THE CORNER OF FOURTH AND CHESTNUT EARLY IN THE MORNING ON A CLOUDY AUG.8, A SHORT DISTANCE FROM THE OLD SUBLETTE-CAMPBELL STORE. ALL "FRIENDS OF THE DECEASED" WERE INVITED TO JOIN THE FUNERAL PROCESSION TO THE FARM, WHERE SERVICES WERE TO BE HELD. THE MOURNERS MOVED SLOWLY OUT THE OLD MANCHESTER ROAD THROUGH A SLIGHT SHOWER, AND AT SULPHUR SPRINGS, WITH THE HEREFORDS, NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, AND SLAVES IN ATTENDANCE, WILLIAM WAS BURIED NEAR HIS GREAT STONE HOUSE.
SINCE ANDREW WAS IN THE WEST, CAMPBELL THEN PROCEEDED TO CARRY OUT THE BEQUESTS OF THE WILL, BUT WOULD NOT COMPLETE HIS DUTIES UNTIL 1857, SINCE THERE WERE DIFFICULTIES OVER REMAINING PARTNERSHIP ACCOUNTS, SUITS IN DEBT, AND THE KANSAS CITY LANDS. AT TIMES HE HAD SHARP DIFFERENCES OF OPINION WITH FRANCES BECAUSE SHE WAS A COMPETENT MANAGER OF HER SHARE OF SULPHUR SPRINGS AND RESENTED CAMPBELL'S KNOWLEDGE OF HER AFFAIRS.
(RECORD OF WILLS C,PG183,MSS,FILE OF ESTATE OF WILLIAM L.SUBLETTE, FILE 2052,MSS,ST.LOUIS PC.)
ANDREW SUBLETTE REACHED MISSOURI IN EARLY AUTUMN,1845. HE AIDED CAMPBELL WHENEVER POSSIBLE WITH THE ESTATE. HE WAS NOT CONTENT TO BECOME A FARMER, SO JOINED THE ARMY AND WENT TO THE MEXICAN WAR AS A CAPTAIN OF COMPANY "A" OREGON BATTALION OF THE MISSOURI MOUNTED VOLUNTEERS. HE MUSTERED OUT NOV.6,1848 AT FORT LEAVENWORTH,AND THE FOLLOWING JUNE ACCOMPANIED NAVY LT.EDWARD FITZGERALD BEALE FROM ST.LOUIS OVERLAND WITH MESSAGES TO CALIFORNIA. WHILE THERE HE WORKED THE GOLD FIELDS FOR A TIME, BUT THE WORK WAS DETRIMENTAL TO HIS PRECARIOUS HEALTH AND HE FELL ILL. GROVE COOK TOOK HIM IN AND NURSED HIM BACK TO HEALTH.
IN 1851 OR 52, ANDREW WAS IN LOS ANGELES, WHERE HE FORMED A PARTNERSHIP WITH JAMES THOMPSON TO SUPPLY WHEAT TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS IN CALIFORNIA. BEFORE THE CONTRACT COULD BE FULFILLED, HE DIED AS THE RESULT OF AN ENCOUNTER WITH A GRIZZLY BEAR WHILE HUNTING IN THE HILLS NEAR HIS HOME. SOME OF THE HEREFORDS WHO HAD BY THEN SETTLED AT LOS ANGELES ARRANGED FOR HIS BURIAL ON DEC.20,1853. THOMAS HEREFORD, AFTER THOMPSON, ANDREW'S BUSINESS PARTNER RESIGNED THE POSITION, SERVED AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE. THOMPSON HAD ESTIMATED ANDREW'S PROPERTY WAS WORTH APPROX. $5,000, BUT HEREFORD ESTIMATED THAT AFTER HE HAD PAID ALL OF ANDREW'S DEBTS SCARCELY $2,000 WOULD REMAIN, SINCE AS HE SAID IN A LETTER TO SOLOMON,"AS LONG AS HE(ANDREW) HAD MONEY EVERY ONE THAT WANTED ANY OF IT GOT IT AS YOU WELL KNEW HIS PROPENSITIES FOR CARDS." WHEN A FINAL SETTLEMENT WAS MADE EARLY IN 1857, HEREFORD INFORMED SOLOMON THAT PROPERTY VALUED AT ONLY $200 REMAINED.
SOLOMON DID NOT RETURN TO ST.LOUIS UNTIL EARLY SEPTEMBER,1846, AFTER AN ABSENCE OF THREE YEARS IN THE WEST. DURING THOSE YEARS HE ENGAGED IN THE INDIAN TRADE, FOUND HIS WAY TO CALIFORNIA, AND KEPT UP AN INTERMITTENT CORRESPONDENCE WITH HIS FAMILY. AFTER PARTING WITH WILLIAM AT LARAMIE FORK IN THE SUMMER OF 1843, SOLOMON TRAVELED SOUTH TO THE PLATT-ARKANSAS RIVER AREA, WHERE HE MET ANDREW IN 1844 AT BENT'S FORT. THEY WERE AT TAOS IN OCTOBER, THEN BACK ON THE ARKANSAS,AND IN THE SPRING OF 1845, HE WAS IN TAOS ONCE AGAIN. DURING THE SUMMER OF THAT YEAR, ANDREW SET OUT FOR ST.LOUIS, BUT SOLOMON TURNED WEST, JOINED A SMALL GROUP OF FIFTEEN ADVENTURERS, AND ON OCT.5, REACHED SUTTER'S FORT IN CALIFORNIA. HE SPENT THE NEXT SEVEN MONTHS ON THE PACIFIC COAST BETWEEN SUTTER'S DOMAIN AND LOS ANGELES, SAW GROVE COOK, TRADED IN LAND AND ANIMALS, AND MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF ON CHRISTMAS EVE, 1845, WHEN AT YERBA BUENA (SAN FRANCISCO) HE AND A GROUP OF CELEBRANTS AWAKENED A LOCAL MERCHANT AND ABUSED HIM "SHAMEFULLY."
IN MAY,1846, HE STARTED FOR ST.LOUIS BY A CIRCUITOUS ROUTE-HAPPY TO BE ON HIS WAY HOME. HE PARTITIONED BENTON FOR A JOB IN THE INDIAN SERVICE,AND WAS FINALLY COMMISSIONED OCT.21,1847,"AGENT FOR THE UNITED TRIBE OF SACS AND FOXES OF THE MISSISSIPPI." HE SCARCELY HELD THE JOB SIX MONTHS WHEN HE RESIGNED IN APRIL,1848, BECAUSE OF CONTINUAL SICKNESS.
FRANCES ,WHO HAD BEEN ILL AND DESPONDENT DURING THE WINTER OF 1847-48, PLANNED TO ACCOMPANY HER BROTHER THOMAS TO THE WEST TO SEEK BETTER HEALTH. SHE MET SOLOMON AT INDEPENDENCE HE PROPOSED AND IN SOMETHING OF A SURPRISE CEREMONY IN MAY,1848, THEY WERE MARRIED. THEY REMAINED IN INDEPENDENCE SEVERAL MONTHS. FRANCES RETURNED TO THE FARM IN THE SPRING OF 1849,ALTHOUGH SOLOMON DID NOT RETURN UNTIL THE LATE AUTUMN OR EARLY WINTER. THAT YEAR THERESA COOK DIED IN THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC IN ST.LOUIS, AND ON MAY 17, THE OLD SUBLETTE-CAMPBELL STORE WAS SWEPT AWAY IN A GREAT BUSINESS-DISTRICT FIRE. FORTUNATELY, THE INSURANCE ON THE BUILDING WAS ENOUGH TO COVER THE LOSS AND TO SETTLE ONCE AND FOR ALL THE LAST DEBTS OF THE OLD PARTNERSHIP.
SOLOMON AND FRANCES, AFTER THEIR MARRIAGE, HAD MOVED INTO NEW QUARTERS ON THE FARM-PROBABLY INTO THE HOUSE OCCUPIED BY THE HEREFORDS NEAR THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE TRACT, FACING WHAT IS NOW SHAW AVENUE. IN THE SAME YEAR, 1848, LAWYERS REPRESENTING SOLOMON,FRANCES, AND ANDREW SOLD 388 ACRES OF THE SPRINGS TRACT,INCLUDING RESORT FACILITIES AND THE STONE HOUSE, TO DAVID W. GRAHAM. TWO YEARS LATER GRAHAM RESOLD 29.99 ACRES OF THAT TRACT- ACRES CONTAINING THE HOUSE AND RESORT-TO THOMAS ALLEN. MUCH OF THE REMAINING LAND GRAHAM SUBDIVIDED.
AFTER 1849,SOLOMON AND FRANCES SPENT MOST OF THEIR TIME IN ST.LOUIS COUNTY AT THE SUBLETTE FARM. THEY LEARNED THAT CROP RAISING WAS A DIFFICULT, MANY TIMES A COSTLY BUSINESS. THEIR FAMILY OBLIGATIONS GRADUALLY INCREASED. FRANCES HAD GIVEN BIRTH TO HER FIRST CHILD,A SON, SOLOMON PERRY,JR. IN DECEMBER,1849. A DAUGHTER, ESTHER FRANCES, FOLLOWED IN OCTOBER,1853; THEN ANOTHER SON, WILLIAM HUGH.IN JUNE,1856. BOTH SONS DIED BEFORE THE AGE OF TWO AND THE SORROW OF THEIR DEATHS SERIOUSLY AFFECTED THEIR MOTHER'S HEALTH. IN AUGUST,1855, SHE MADE A WILL IN WHICH SHE LEFT ALL HER PROPERTY TO SOLOMON, EXCEPT FOR ONE HUNDRED ACRES TO GO TO HER DAUGHTER. SOLOMON DIED FIRST, ON AUGUST 31,1857, BUT FRANCES QUICKLY FOLLOWED, ON SEPTEMBER 28,1857. THE HEREFORDS AT THE FARM TOOK CHARGE OF YOUNG ESTHER FRANCES (FANNIE), WHO WAS ALSO IN POOR HEALTH AND SURVIVED ONLY UNTIL MAY 6,1861, WHEN SHE DIED AND WAS BURIED IN THE FAMILY PLOT. THE HEREFORDS CONSIDERED THEMSELVES LEGITIMATE HEIRS TO SULPHUR SPRINGS, SINCE FANNIE WAS THE LAST OF HER LINE- THE LAST OF AN ENTIRE BRANCH OF THE SUBLETTE FAMILY.
SOLOMON AND FRANCES, AFTER THEIR MARRIAGE, HAD MOVED INTO NEW QUARTERS ON THE FARM - PROBABLY INTO THE HOUSE OCCUPIED BY THE HEREFORDS NEAR THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE TRACT, FACING WHAT IS NOW SHAW AVENUE. THIS HOUSE COULD BE SHOWN ON THE PICTORAL MAP, SOUTH OF PATTISON ON A BIG LOT WEST OF KINGSHIGHWAY. THIS HOUSE IS ALSO UNLABELED.
THIS SAME YEAR, LAWYERS REPRESENTING SOLOMON,FRANCES,AND ANDREW SOLD 388 ACRES TO DAVID W. GRAHAN. TWO YEARS LATER GRAHAM RESOLD 29.99 ACRES OF THAT TRACT CONTAINING THE HOUSE AND RESORT TO THOMAS ALLEN.
ALLEN WHO WAS A LEADING ST.LOUIS BUSINESS MAN AND A POWER IN THE MISSOURI PACIFIC RAILROAD, OFFERED IN NOVEMBER,1853, TO SELL OR LEASE THE RESORT AND HOUSE EITHER AS A PRIVATE ESTATE OR AS "A SUITABLE PLACE FOR A PUBLIC RESORT, OR FOR A WATER CURE." THE RAILROAD WHICH HE REPRESENTED HAD OPENED A STATION AT CHELTENHAM QUITE CLOSE TO THE RESORT IN 1852, AND VISITORS COULD COMMUTE EASILY TO ST.LOUIS. HE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL, HOWEVER AND TWO YEARS LATER WAS STILL ADVERTISING THE RESORT.
FINALLY,ALLEN FOUND A BUYER. ON FEB.1,1858, FOR THE SUM OF $25,000--$8,000 IN CASH-HE CONVEYED THE ENTIRE TRACT AND ALL IT'S BUILDINGS TO TWO MEN WHO WERE SPOKESMEN FOR A SMALL, LOCAL FRENCH ICARIAN COMMUNITY. THE ICARIANS, DEVOTED FOLLOWERS OF ETIENNE CABET, A UTOPIAN-COMMUNIST WHO HAD DIED IN ST.LOUIS TWO YEARS BEFORE, ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES AT THE RESORT AND DISCOVERED THAT SUBLETTE'S STONE HOUSE WAS LARGE ENOUGH TO SHELTER NEARLY THE ENTIRE BROTHERHOOD. YET THEY COULD NOT MEET THE PAYMENTS ON THE PROPERTY, DISBANDED IN 1864, AND RETURNED THE ENTIRE TRACT TO ALLEN. THE FOLLOWING YEAR HE SOLD IT FOR $18,000 TO SAMUEL HUMBLETON AND JAMES GREEN OF ST.LOUIS,(LACLEDE BRICK WORKS) WHO IN TURN TRANSFERRED IT TO THEODORE KOCK.
BY 1870,THE RESORT WAS IN NEAR RUIN, AND THE RIVER DES PERES HAD TURNED INTO A TYPHOID AND MALARIA-RIDDEN SEWER. THE ICARIANS HAD SUFFERED FROM THE PESTILENTIAL WATERS, AND THE ST.LOUIS TIMES RELATED IN 1872 THAT "THE COTTAGE (RESORT) AND SPRING HAVE FALLEN INTO BAD REPUTE AND THE ODOR OF ONE IS NEARLY AS BAD AS THAT OF THE OTHER." THE SUBLETTE MANSION, ACCORDING TO THE ICARIAN REPORTS, WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE THREE YEARS LATER.(1875)
THAT PORTION OF SULPHUR SPRINGS NOT SOLD BY SOLOMON,FRANCES,AND ANDREW IN 1848 WAS THE TRACT ENGROSSED BY THE HEREFORDS AFTER LITTLE FANNIE'S DEATH IN 1861. FIVE YEARS LATER THEY SUBDIVIDED THE TRACT AND IN JUNE,1869, BEGAN TO SELL ONE ACRE BUILDING LOTS IN THE "FAIRMONT" PORTION OF THE ESTATE. MARY C.HEREFORD PARTICIPATED IN THE DEDICATION, AT WHICH REFRESHMENTS WERE SERVED TO OMNIBUS-LOADS OF PROSPECTIVE BUYERS FROM THE CITY. "FAIRMONT" WAS BOUNDED BY KINGSHIGHWAY, BISCHOFF (BERNARD),MACKLIND, AND NORTHROP.(INCORPORATED INTO THE CITY IN 1868).
THE PREVIOUS YEAR SHE HAD ARRANGED FOR THE BODIES OF THE SUBLETTE FAMILY, MICIJAH TARVER, AND SEVERAL SLAVES TO BE MOVED TO A LARGE LOT IN BELLEFONTAINE CEMETERY,WHERE A SIZABLE GRANITE SHAFT WAS ERECTED TO MARK THEIR FINAL RESTING PLACE. A BOOK WHICH I CAN'T REMEMBER STATED THERE MAY HAVE BEEN INDIAN FRIENDS BURIED THERE. THE LAST VALUABLE TRACTS OF SUBLETTE'S LANDED EMPIRE WERE BEING DISTRIBUTED WHEN THE QUESTION OF LEGAL TITLE TO THE PROPERTY WAS RAISED.
IN LATE SPRING OF 1895, A FEW DESCENDANTS OF THE WHITLEY FAMILY MET IN ST.LOUIS AND ORGANIZED AS HEIRS OF THE SUBLETTE ESTATE "THAT THEY MIGHT ALL ACT IN UNISON." THE GROUP TRIED TO SHOW THERE WAS A SURVIVING MEMBER OF THE FAMILY. PINCKNEY W. SUBLETTE, SUPPOSEDLY DEAD IN 1828 WAS KNOWN TO BE ALIVE DURING THE CIVIL WAR. THEY TRIED TO FIND HIS BODY. THEY FOUND REMAINS BUT THE COURT REFUSED TO ACCEPT PINCKNEY'S REMAINS AS EVIDENCE. IN 1911 THE MISSOURI SUPREME COURT UPHELD THE LOWER COURTS DECISION. IN 1926 SOME HEIRS TRIED TO REOPEN THE CASE. BY THEN THE RAPID WESTWARD GROWTH OF ST.LOUIS HAD TRANSFORMED SULPHUR SPRINGS INTO AN INDUSTRIAL AND RESIDENTIAL AREA. IN 1925 PINCKNEY'S REMAINS WERE RETURNED TO WYOMING AND PLACED IN SUBLETTE COUNTY WHICH WAS FORMED IN 1921 AS A CELEBRATION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GRAND RENDEZVOUS OF 1835. THE REMAINS NOW REST BENEATH A STONE MONUMENT ON A BLUFF OVERLOOKING THE UPPER GREEN RIVER VALLEY
THE SUBLETTES-WILLIAM, MILTON, ANDREW, PINCKNEY, AND SOLOMON-WERE PART OF THE SOLID FOUNDATION PLACED BENEATH AMERICAN WESTWARD EXPANSION. THEIR LIVES EXTENDED FROM KENTUCKY, WHERE THEY WERE BORN, NOT WITH THE PROVERBIAL SILVER SPOON, BUT WITH ONE OF BETTER THAN AVERAGE METAL-TO THE MOUNTAINS. THE FUR TRADE WAS THE KEY TO THEIR CAREERS. EACH ONE EXPLOITED THE WESTS RESOURCES AND LEARNED THE WESTS SECRETS; YET ONLY WILLIAM TOOK THE FIRST WAGONS TO THE POPO AGIE; ONLY HE DIVIDED THE FUR EMPIRE WITH THE ASTOR INTERESTS; ONLY HE BUILT A LANDED ESTATE FROM HIS WESTERN PROFITS; AND ONLY HE WAS THE WESTS ARDENT SPOKESMAN. OF THE FIVE, HE KNEW BEST WHAT HE WANTED AND BELIEVED HE KNEW WHAT THE NATION NEEDED: AN AGRARIAN COMMONWEALTH. HIS WAS THE DREAM OF ARCADIA. THE BOOK "BILL SUBLETTE MOUNTAIN MAN" WAS A GREAT BOOK OF HIS LIFE AND WAS WELL DOCUMENTED."BUT NO PICTURE OF HIM".
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. 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 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 ON HY44 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 HY44,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 OR RAILROADS, JUST A BEAUTIFUL VALLEY WITH THE SMALL RIVER A FEW FARMS AND LOTS OF TREES.
CLAY WAS DISCOVERED EARLY (BEFORE 1830). IT MAY BE THE GRATIOTS MINED CLAY, BUT CAN'T VERIFY. ENGLISH QUAKERS OPENED THE FIRST CLAY PRODUCTS CO.IN 1844,(HUMBLETON & GREEN?). BUT WHEN THE RAILROAD CAME TO CHELTENHAM IN 1852 THE CLAY INDUSTRY OPENED UP. THE CLAY WORKS, COAL MINES,AND THE ST.LOUIS SMELTING AND REFINING CO. ATTRACTED MANY GERMAN AND IRISH IMMIGRANTS WHO RESIDED IN FAIRMONT AND MOUNT ST.LOUIS. THE ST.LOUIS SMELTING AND REFINERY COMPANY, LOCATED AT MACKLIND AND MANCHESTER, GAVE EMPLOYMENT TO MORE MEN IN CHELTENHAM THAN ANY OTHER LOCAL INDUSTRY IN THE 1870'S AND WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING MANY CATHOLICS TO THE DISTRICT. THE COMPANY SPECIALIZED IN REFINING CRUDE ORE FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MINING COMPANIES AND CONVERTING IT INTO SOLID BARS OF GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER PRECIOUS METALS.
DEFINED NARROLY,THE HILL IS BOUNDED BY KINGSHIGHWAY,HAMPTON,COLUMBIA, AND NORTHRUP. OVER TIME IT HAS EXPANDED TO KINGSHIGHWAY, HAMPTON AND NORTHRUP AND FYLER. WITH THE EXPANDED AREA THE HIGHEST POINT IS AT ARSENAL AND SUBLETTE. THAT POINT IS AT THE CREST OF A GENERAL RISE IN TOPOGRAPHY SOUTHWESTWARD FROM KINGSHIGHWAY AND SHAW. BEYOND IT THE LAND SLOPES INTO THE RIVER DES PERES VALLEY. ABOUT 1853, A LONG STRIP OF LAND ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF ARSENAL-FROM KINGSHIGHWAY TO THE PRESENT FIFTY-NINTH ST. WAS SOLD BY LINDELL AND SHAW TO ST.LOUIS COUNTY FOR COUNTY INSTITUTIONS. AT THAT TIME THE HILL HAD TWO EAST/WEST THOROUGHFARES-OLD MANCHESTER ROAD (SOUTHWEST) AND ARSENAL STREET ROAD. IN 1853 THE PRINCIPLE NORTH/SOUTH ROUTES WERE NAMED SUBLETTE AND BLUE RIDGE ROAD.
BY 1850 THE HILL WAS BROKEN DOWN INTO LARGE TRACTS OWNED BY PETER LINDELL, HENRY SHAW, JAMES F.COOPER, DAVID W.GRAHAM, DR.J.W.HALL, MRS. FRANCES L.SUBLETTE, AND ANDREW AND SOLOMON SUBLETTE. ANDREW DIED IN 1853, FRANCES AND SOLOMON DIED IN 1857 SO WHAT WAS LEFT OF THE SUBLETTE PROPERTY WENT TO THE HEREFORDS, WHO CARED FOR FANNIE AND WHO CONSIDERED THEMSELVES LEGITIMATE HEIRS SINCE THE LAST SUBLETTE (LITTLE FANNIE) DIED IN 1861. PROPERTY OWNERS WEST OF TOWER GROVE PARK AND SHAW'S GARDEN WERE JAMES D.FYLER,JOHN DALTON,WESLEY WATSON,JOHN D.DAGGETT,FREDERICK L.BILLON, PLUS THE ABOVE NAMES.(YEAR UNKNOWN).
KEMPER COLLEGE WAS THE EARLIEST OF THE AREAS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. IT WAS ORGANIZED IN 1836 BY THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH ON A 125 ACRE SITE SOUTHWEST OF THE KINGHIGHWAY-ARSENAL INTERSECTION. IN 1840, A MEDICAL DEPARTMENT WAS STARTED; KNOWN AS THE MISSOURI MEDICAL COLLEGE. BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES, THE BUILDINGS WERE SOLD IN 1845, EVIDENTLY TO PETER LINDELL AND HENRY SHAW WHO IN 1853 SOLD IT TO THE COUNTY TO BE USED FOR THE OLD COUNTY POOR HOUSE. SUBLETTE WAS A RESPECTED FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR OF THE COLLEGE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. HUGH CAMPBELL REMARKED THAT WILLIAM SEEMED SUCCESSFUL IN ACQUIRING THE GOOD WILL OF LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE LEARNED AND UNLEARNED. A CHART OF ST.LOUIS AREA MINES SHOWS "KEMPER COLLEGE MINE" ALONG ARSENAL BETWEEN KINGSHIGHWAY AND HAMPTON IN 1838. IT WAS OPERATED BY THE STUDENTS. THE OLD COUNTY POOR HOUSE WAS MOVED TO 5600 ARSENAL AND LATER WAS KNOWN AS THE CHRONIC HOSPITAL(FOR THE POOR).(USED UNTIL THE 1950'S). THESE BUILDINS(3) ARE GONE AND USED FOR APARTMENTS FOR THE ELDERLY. THE INSANE ASYLUM OCCUPIED A PORTION OF THE OLD COLLEGE GROUNDS.
AT 5400 ARSENAL IS THE MISSOURI STATE HOSPITAL, FORMERLY KNOWN (1864 TO 1910) AS THE INSANE ASYLUM AND LATER AS THE CITY SANITARIUM. ORIGINALY A COUNTY FACILITY, THE SANITARIUM CAME UNDER CITY CONTROL IN 1876 AND STATE CONTROL IN 1948. THE HOSPITALS FIVE-STORY CENTRAL STRUCTURE, FLANKED BY FOUR-STORY WINGS, IS TOPPED BY A 194 FT.HIGH CAST IRON DOME. THE HOSPITAL WAS BUILT FOR 250 PATIENTS,BUT HAD 343 PATIENTS BY 1881. ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION INCREASED THE INSTITUTION'S CAPACITY TO 2,000. A WELL 3,845 FT. DEEP WAS DUG IN 1869 TO REACH AN ARTESIAN SOURCE FOR THE INSTITUTION. THIS MAKES ME THINK THIS COULD BE THE SAME WATER SOURCE (SINCE IT IS ON THE TOP OF THE HILL) THAT SUPPLIES THE SPRING THAT FLOWS FROM THE HILL BELOW NORTHRUP. IT CAME UP LIKE A FOUNTAIN. THE ORIGINAL ASYLUM IS STILL THERE, BUT A BUILDING OF EQUAL SIZE THAT WAS BUILT IN FRONT OF THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN TORN DOWN. NOW ALONG ARSENAL AND EAST TO BRANNON ARE HOME STYLE BUNGALOWS (BRICK) FOR I THINK MENTAL HALF WAY HOUSES.(DON'T QUOTE ME).
IN THE EARLY 1890'S THE KOERNERS GARDEN AND AMUSEMENT PARK OCCUPIED THE S/W CORNER OF KINGSHIGHWAY AND ARSENAL. TRANSIT SERVICE WAS PROVIDED BY THE TOWER GROVE LINE ON ARSENAL AND SOUTHWEST, WHICH BEGAN AS A HORSE-CAR LINE OF THE GRAVOIS RAILWAY CO. ON ARSENAL TO GRAND. FINALLY CALLED THE UNION DEPOT RAILWAY CO.,AND ELECTRIFIED IT WENT TO KOERNERS GARDEN. THEN BY 1904 THE LINE WAS EXTENDED TO IT'S LOOP AT TAMM AND COLUMBIA.
SOUTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL TOOK OVER THAT CORNER IN 1936. IT NOW HAS A NEW BUILDING IN FRONT WHERE THE OLD TRACK FIELD WAS. WEST OF THE SCHOOL IS A NEW PLAYING FIELD. THE OLD BUILDING NOW STANDS UNUSED AND READY FOR THE HEADACHE BALL. THE LATEST BUILT HIGHSCHOOL AND MAYBE THE FIRST TO GO.
HENRY SHAW BUILT A FOUR ROOM , TWO-STORY SCHOOLHOUSE AT WHAT IS NOW VANDEVENTER AND KINGSHIGHWAY IN 1870 OR 76? AND GAVE IT TO THE CITY. IT WAS LATER MOVED A FEW BLOCKS WEST TO COLUMBIA AND MACKLIND. THE BUILDING IS NOW USED AS A COMMUNITY SCHOOL, BUT STILL CALLED SHAW SCHOOL. IN 1855 ANOTHER AREA SCHOOL WAS A PUBLIC SCHOOL AT 5326 NORTHRUP(BLACK), DISCONTINUED IN 1910.
IN 1870 THE FEMALE HOSPITAL(ORIGINALLY SOCIAL EVIL),A FOUR STORY VICTORIAN BUILDING WAS ON A TRIANGULAR SHAPED TRACT THAT WAS DONATED TO THE CITY IN 1915 AND BECAME MANCHESTER PARK-13.5 ACRES BOUNDED BY SUBLETTE, SOUTHWEST, JANUARY, AND ARSENAL.IT WAS RENAMED SUBLETTE PARK IN 1925 WHEN OLD MANCHESTER BECAME SOUTHWEST AVE.
A SUBSTANTIAL GERMAN COLONY EXISTED AROUND THE ST.ALOYSIUS GONZAGA CHURCH IN THE 1890'S.(MUST HAVE STARTED EARLIER). THE AREA WAS CENTWERED AROUND MAGNOLIA & JANUARY. BETHLEHEM GERMAN EVANGELICAL CHURCH, FORMERLY AT SHAW AND HEREFORD (1889),LATER AT 5801 SOUTHWEST, AND NOW MERGED INTO MOUNT TABOR CHURCH AT 6520 ARSENAL, THE IRISH HAD ST.JAMES CHURCH, AND THE EARLY AFRICAN AMERICANS HAD PATTISON AVE. BAPTIST CHURCH.
THE FASTERLING BUILDING,BUILT IN 1883(N/E CORNER OF MACKLIND & SOUTHWEST). IT WAS USED AT VARIOUS TIMES AS A ROADHOUSE,GROCERY,SALOON, AND A GENERAL STORE. BEHIND IT WAS FASTERLINGS GROVE- A FAVORITE SPOT FOR SCHOOL PICNICS BUT ALSO SERVED AS A BEER GARDEN. THE BUILDING'S FINAL USE WAS A FURNITURE STORE WHICH WAS RAZED IN 1953.
THE OAK HILL AND CARONDELET BRANCH OF THE MO/PAC LINES WAS BUILT IN THE LATE 1880'S TO CONNECT THE R.R. MAIN LINE WITH THE IRON MOUNTAIN TRACKS IN CARONDELET.
CLAY FACTORIES AND MINES ON THE HILL
THE INFORMATION ON CHARLES GRATIOT CAME FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. SOME FROM THE CHOUTEAU FAMILY HISTORY.
THE INFORMATION ON SUBLETTE CAME FROM A SMALL PAPERBACK BOOK "BILL SUBLETTE - MOUNTAIN MAN" BY JOHN E.SUNDER
THE REST OF THE INFORMATION CAME FROM THE BOOK "THE HILL" AND VARIOUS OTHER BOOKS ABOUT THE HILL.
I TRIED TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER, AND HAD TO LEAVE A LOT, CONDENCING ALL THE SOURCES INTO ONE. THE MINE INFORMATION CAME FROM A MAP OF THE MINES FOUND AT THE HISTORY MUSEUM, ALSO A BOOK CALLED "BRICK"(1904), AND AN 1890 BULLETIN, MISSOURI GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
THERE WILL BE MORE, BUT I NEED TO FINISH SOMETHING BEFORE I GET TOO OLD.
THE HILL: 1890 TO NOW
THE NATIONAL ORIGINS ACT SHUT THE DOOR ON SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE FROM THE 1880'S TO 1924, SO THE ITALIANS SWELLED THEIR RANKS AND EVENTUALLY OUTNUMBERED OTHERS. THESE EARLY IMMIGRANTS LIVED IN THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE AREA AROUND PATTISON,NORTHRUP,AND SHAW. DURING THE 1890'S, LOMBARDS(NORTHERN ITALIANS) ARRIVED IN A CONSTANT STREAM. MANY WORKED IN THE CLAY PRODUCTS PLANTS, AND BECAUSE THEY HAD TO LIVE CLOSE TO THEIR WORK, THE FAIRMONT SECTION BUILT UP RAPIDLY. BY 1900 SICILIANS DISCOVERED THE HILL. ALTHOUGH THE LOMBARDS OUTNUMBERED SICILIANS THREE TO ONE,TWO LANGUAGES WERE IN THE MINES AND FACTORIES. THIS INAUGURATED A GENERATION OF BITTER ETHNIC QUARRELING.
THE MUTUAL AID SOCIETY IN 1907 IMPOSED A $2.00 FINE FOR FIGHTING. AFTER A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS THE DIFFERENCES MOSTLY DISAPPEARED. THE AREA WAS REMOTE FROM THE CITY, AND PUBLIC UTILITIES WERE VIRTUALLY NON-EXISTANT. MANY LIVED IN THE OLD SHOTGUN FRAME SHANTIES OF ABOUT THREE ROOMS EACH, OR IN TWO-STORY, FOUR-FAMILY FRAME TENEMENTS. SOME LIVED IN BOXCARS UNTIL THE MINE COMPANIES BUILT THE THREE ROOM SHANTIES. THESE WERE SINGLE MEN WHO MARRIED LATER OR MARRIED MEN WHO SENT FOR THEIR FAMILIES LATER. THE MEN WOULD PACK IN WHEREVER THEY COULD,AND DO THIS IN SHIFTS, THE HOUSE BEING FULL MOST OF THE TIME.
IN 1890 THE HILL'S RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT CONSISTED OF TEN AUSTERE SHACKS, EACH WITH ABOUT A DOZEN MEN. 175 MEN WERE FOUND LIVING IN THIRTY-FOUR ROOMS, TWO SHIFTS OF MEN OFTEN SHARED THE SAME ROOM. AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, ONE STORY, FOUR-ROOM BRICK HOUSES APPEARED. MOST OF THE EARLY HOMES SERVED AS BOARDING HOUSES. IN 1906 CARLO FERRARIO HAD ARRIVED IN ST.LOUIS, FOLLOWED SHORTLY BY HIS WIFE JOSEPHINE. THEY HAD TWO CHILDREN, AND HAD A HOME AT 5123 PATTISON AVE. HE WORKED IN THE CLAY MINES WHILE SHE REARED THE FAMILY AND TOOK CARE OF FOUR BOARDERS WHO WORKED IN THE BRICKYARDS. THIS WAS TYPICALLY HOW THEY STARTED UNTIL THEY COULD ARRANGE FOR THEIR OWN HOME. THE BOARDING HOUSE SYSTEM OUTLIVED IT'S USEFULNESS BY THE 1920'S. DURING THAT PERIOD 999 HOMES WERE BUILT ON THE HILL. THE NEXT DECADE ADDED ANOTHER 321 UNITS. THE NATIONAL CENSUS OF 1930 RECORDED VIRTUALLY NO BOARDERS ON THE HILL.
IN 1908 THE YEARLY OUTPUT OF CLAY PRODUCTS FOR THE CITY WAS VALUED AT $6.4 MILLION. AN EXPERT GEOLOGIST ONCE REMARKED THAT CHELTENHAM CLAY COULD EASILY BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE FINEST POTTERY IN THE WORLD. BUT THE LOCAL INDUSTRIES PREFERRED SEWER PIPE AND FIRE BRICK WHICH,RATHER THAN ATTRACTING MASTER POTTERS, ATTRACTED THOUSANDS OF UNSKILLED LABORERS. IN THE PEAK YEARS OF MINING (1860-1930'S), DURING THE 1800'S IN THE CHELTENHAM AREA EVERYTHING WAS DONE BY HAND. BY 1852 THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD CHANGED THINGS. THE WORKER WOULD GO STRAIGHT DOWN A SHAFT IN A CAGE. THEY WORKED IN WHAT THEY CALLED A STALL. I IMAGINE THEY WOULD JUST FOLLOW A SEAM OF CLAY. THEY HAD TO FURNISH THE DRILL,PICK,SHOVEL,AND DYNAMITE. AFTER DIGGING WITH A PICK, GETTING 35/40 CENTS A TON. THE CLAY WAS LOADED IN A BOX CAR,THEN PULLED BY MULES TO THE CAGE. AN INTRICATE TUNNEL NETWORK WAS DEVELOPED. SOME WENT FOR WHAT SEEMED A MILE. AFTER A DAY'S WORK,THEY WOULD PUT THE DYNAMITE IN HOLES AND BREAK UP THE CLAY WHEN THEY LEFT FOR THE NEXT DAY'S WORK. THE MULES WERE A SMALL WHITE BREED OF THE MISSOURI MULE. THEIR HOOFS WERE SMALLER,USING SIX NAILS INSTEAD OF EIGHT. THEY WERE KEPT IN THE TUNNEL,WENT BLIND,AND DIED THERE. YOU CAN GET AN IDEA AS TO HOW MANY MULES WERE INVOLVED. AROUND 1915, THE HYDRAULIC BRICK CO. HAD 500 MULES. THE EARLIER CHELTENHAM OR EVANS AND HOWARD,THE LACLEDE CO.,AND THE MISSOURI BRICK CO. COULD HAVE HAD AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF MULES.
THE CLAY WAS WHITE AND POROUS AND WAS REMOVED LIKE CHUNKS OF COAL. IT SEEMED THE CLAY WAS DEEPER THAN COAL AND WAS BETWEEN LAYERS OF LIMESTONE. ONCE THE CAGER TRANSFERRED THE CLAY TO THE OUTSIDE,IT WAS LOADED ONTO CARS AND TAKEN TO THE FACTORY YARDS FOR UP TO THREE YEARS OF CURING. ONCE CURED, IT WOULD BE GROUND AND PULVERIZED,THEN RUBBED THROUGH A SCREEN, THEN MADE INTO BRICKS. THE BOOK IN PAGE 90 TOLD ABOUT PUTTING THE CLAY THROUGH A PRESS, THEN BURNING IT. BUT IN THE EARLY DAYS THE BRICKS WERE MADE BY HAND. THE TASKS WERE "SETTERS AND BURNERS" WHO PLACED THE GREEN BRICKS INTO THE KILNS,THE "FIREMEN" LIT THE KILNS, THE"OFF-BEARERS" WHEELED AWAY THE BRICK AFTER BAKING. TERRA-COTTA TOOK MORE HAND WORK.
THE CHELTENHAM INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX DOMINATED THE LOCAL ECONOMY UNTIL THE 1930'S. EVERY MORNING,WROTE THE COLUMNIST HARRY BRUNDIDGE IN 1936," AN ARMY OF WORKERS STEPPED DOWN THE STEEP PATHS TO WORK IN THE MINES AND FACTORIES." THE HILL, IN THE EARLY 1900'S BECAME ONE OF THE MOST STABLE AREAS IN THE CITY. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE MOVEMENT. IN A 1935 STUDY, DONALD COWGILL CALLED THE HILL "FAIRMONT HEIGHTS". THERE WAS A DEFINITE PROBLEM WITH THE SICILIANS AND LOMBARDS. THEY DIDN'T MIX WELL. BUT MOST OF THE TROUBLE WAS WITH WORDS,NOT KNIVES. THEY HAD A COMMON PROBLEM - SURVIVAL, AND THE COMMUNITY HELD TOGETHER. SICILIANS CALLED THE LOMBARDS "PIGEONS", AND THE LOMBARDS COUNTERED WITH "HATCHETS" FOR THE SICILIANS.
IN 1900, 90% OF THE HILLS MALE WORK FORCE (325 MEN) WERE EMPLOYED AT THE CHELTENHAM BRICK WORKS. BY THE DEPRESSION ONLY 30% LABORED THERE, AND BY THE 1930'S THE CLAY INDUSTRY STARTED TO SLOW DOWN. IN 1900 A BRICK-WORKER'S PAY WAS $1.35 TO $1.50 PER DAY. THE PAY HARDLY CHANGED SINCE THE 1890'S.
TWO STRIKES CAME - ONE IN 1901,THE OTHER IN 1917. THE COMPANIES BROUGHT IN BLACKS TO BREAK THE RANKS. THE MINERS WOULD THEN GIVE IN AND GO BACK TO WORK. THE UNIONS NEVER DID GET IN. THE 1917 STRIKE WAS MORE VIOLENT. THIS SECOND STRIKE WAS LED BY THE SICILIANS. TWO COMPANY GUARDS WERE STABBED AND ONE STRIKER WAS SHOT.
GRADUALLY THE ITALIANS FOUND OTHER WORK. THE SIMULTANEOUS EXHAUSTION OF THE CLAY MINES AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION DEVASTATED THE CHELTENHAM BRICK,TILE,AND MINING INDUSTRIES. IN 1930, 17% OF THE FACTORY WORKERS IN THE AREA WERE UNEMPLOYED OR LAID OFF WITHOUT PAY. THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION WOULD WORSEN, AND BY THE TIME THE A.F.L WAS STRONG ENOUGH TO UNIONIZE THE INDUSTRY, THE CHELTENHAM KILNS WERE COLD.
THE DISTRICT CHANGED FROM THE FRENCH BLUE-BLOOD, TRAPPERS, ICARIAN COMMUNISTS, GERMAN AND IRISH MINERS, TO LOMBARDS AND SICILIANS. LATER THE MINES WERE USED FOR DUMPING GROUNDS, AND THE FACTORIES HAVE LONG SINCE CHANGED TENANTS. BUT THE LAST OF CHELTENHAM'S OCCUPANTS, THE DESCENDANTS OF LOMBARDS AND SICILIANS, HAVE STAUNCHLY REFUSED TO LEAVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
THE GERMANS IN THE 1890'S HAD THE ST. ALOYSIUS GONZAGA CHURCH WHICH CENTERED ON THE MAGNOLIA-JANUARY AREA (5608 MAGNOLIA). THIS WAS A SMALL GROUP THAT MOVED THERE FROM AN OLDER PARISH IN SOULARD. WHEN THE FLOOD OF ITALIANS ARRIVED IN THE EARLY 1900'S, A MISSION WAS STARTED FOR ITALIANS IN THE BASEMENT OF THE GERMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. THEY MET HERE MANY YEARS. THEY WOULD (NOT TOO OFTEN) WALK SIX BLOCKS TO ST.ALOYSIUS. FATHERS HOLWECK AND LONG MINISTERED TO A GERMAN CONGREGATION, BUT AGREED TO TO PREACH FOR THEIR ITALIAN NEIGHBORS AS WELL.THE TROUBLE WAS,THEY COULDN'T SPEAK ITALIAN. IN 1903 REV.CAESERE SPIGARDI OF ST.CHARLES BORROMEO CHURCH(NEAR DOWNTOWN ST.LOUIS), ESTABLISHED A MISSION. AFTER A FUND DRIVE, SPEARHEADED BY REV.CESARE SPIGARDI'S LEADERSHIP, THE ITALIANS ERECTED A FRAME BUILDING IN 1903 FOR $10,000. THIS WAS ON THE CORNER OF COOPER AND WILSON. THIS STRUCTURE BURNED IN 1921. THIS HAS IT'S OWN LEGEND (ABOUT A VAT OF MOONSHINE EXPLODING IN THE RECTORY). THE ST.AMBROSE CHURCH WAS BUILT AT 5130 WILSON IN 1926,(A LOMBARD ROMANESQUE STYLE),BUT THE SICILIANS WERE INCLUDED IN THE PLANNING AND BUILDING,PULLING THE WHOLE ITALIAN FAMILY TOGETHER.
OTHER CHURCHES OF NOTE IN THE AREA INCLUDE THE ITALIAN EVANGELICAL (PROTESTANT) CHURCH, FORMERLY AT 2109 EDWARDS AND SINCE 1929 AT 5343 BOTANICAL; THE BETHLEHEM GERMAN EVANGELICAL CHURCH AT SHAW AND HEREFORD IN 1889,LATER AT 5801 SOUTHWEST, NOW MT.TABOR CHURCH AT 6520 ARSENAL.
THERE WAS A PUBLIC SCHOOL AT 5326 NORTHRUP FROM 1855 TO 1910.(A BLACK SCHOOL. HENRY SHAW PUBLIC SCHOOL (5329 COLUMBIA) FIRST OPENED IN 1870 IN A TWO STORY FRAME BUILDING AT KINGSHIGHWAY AND VANDEVENTER. THIS SCHOOL IS SHOWN ON THE 1876 PICTORIAL MAP.
IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL LANDMARKS ON THE HILL WERE SOUTHWEST BANK AT SOUTHWEST AND KINGSHIGHWAY, FAIR MERCANTILE CO. AT 5257 SHAW.IN 1925, THE COLUMBIA THEATER OPENED AT SOUTHWEST AND EDWARDS.THE FAMILY THEATER OPENED AT MARCONI AVE. NEAR DAGGETT IN 1920. LATER ARRIVALS WERE CHEMETRON CORP., AND SEVERAL PRINTERS AND BINDERIES AND PAPER HOUSES, RAVARINO-FRESCHI SPAGHETTI CO., AND THE BLUE RIDGE BOTTLING CO.
THE OAK HILL AND CARONDELET BRANCH OF THE MO-PAC R/R WAS BUILT IN THE LATE 1880'S TO CONNECT THE RAILROADS MAIN LINE WITH THE IRON MOUNTAIN TRACKS IN CARONDELET. TRANSIT SERVICE TO THE AREA WAS PROVIDED BY THE TOWER GROVE LINE ON ARSENAL AND SOUTHWEST WHICH HAD BEGUN AS A HORSE CAR LINE OF THE GRAVOIS RAILWAY CO. RUNNING OUT ARSENAL AS FAR AS GRAND BLVD. IN THE EARLY 1890'S THIS LINE BECAME A BRANCH OF THE UNION DEPOT RAILWAY. IT WAS ELECTRIFIED, AND THEN EXTENDED ON ARSENAL TO KINGSHIGHWAY TO SERVE KOERNER'S GARDEN. BY 1904 THE LINE REACHED WESTWARD TO IT'S LOOP AT TAMM AND COLUMBIA. THE OTHER ROUTE SERVING THE AREA WAS THE SOUTHAMPTON LINE ON KINGSHIGHWAY, SOUTH FROM VANDEVENTER. IN 1924, THE PEOPLES MOTOR BUS CO. BEGAN OPERATING IT'S LINDENWOOD BUS LINE ON VANDEVENTER AND SOUTHWEST TO PROVIDE DIRECT SERVICE DOWNTOWN.
DURING THE PERIOD AFTER 1910 HEAVY AND LIGHT INDUSTRIES GRAVITATED TO THE CHELTENHAM LOCALE. TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SOURCES OF EMPLOYMENT WERE THE CARONDELET FOUNDRY AND THE BANNER IRON WORKS, WHICH BY 1930 EMPLOYED 11% OF THE COLONY'S MALES(205 JOBS).THE QUICK MEAL STOVE COMPANY, WHICH INTRODUCED THE GAS BURNING MAGIC CHEF OVEN IN 1929, ERECTED AN IMMENSE FACTORY AT 2100 KINGSHIGHWAY IN 1910 AND EMPLOYED MORE THAN 100 NEIGHBORHOOD WORKERS DURING THE 1920'S AND 1930'S. JOINING THE INDUSTRIAL NETWORK WAS THE McQUAY-NORRIS COMPANY, WHICH BUILT A SPACIOUS PLANT AT SOUTHWEST AND COOPER IN 1919. THE FACTORY MANUFACTURED PISTON RINGS AND ENGINE PARTS AND EMPLOYED 75 RESIDENTS IN 1930.
IN THE DECADE AFTER 1920 CHELTENHAM EXPERIENCED AN ECONOMIC RENAISSANCE. EIGHTEEN COMPANIES SELECTED SITES AND LOCATED PLANTS IN THE INDUSTRIAL VALLEY, INCLUDING THE NATIONAL BEARING METALS CORPORATION, LIGGITT AND MEYERS TOBACCO, THE FOREST PARK HIGHLANDS AMUSEMENT CORP. AND SEVERAL LOW GRADE FOUNDRIES AND SHOE COMPANIES. ON THE EVE OF THE DEPRESSION 144 ITALIANS WORKED AT THE NEARBY SHOE FACTORIES, WHILE HUNDREDS OF OTHERS WERE DISPERSED THROUGHOUT THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
BERRA PARK CONTAINING NEARLY FIVE ACRES IS IN THE BLOCK BOUNDED BY SHAW, LILLY, DAGGETT, AND MACKLIND WAS NAMED VIGO PARK WHEN ACQUIRED BY THE CITY IN 1945, RENAMED IN 1965 FOR THE LATE LOUIS G.(MIDGE) BERRA, A POLITICAL LEADER ON THE HILL. AND WHO CAN FORGET THE BIG CLUB HALL WHICH WAS ORGANIZED IN 1913 BY THE LOMBARDS. IT WAS ON THE CORNER OF SHAW AND MARCONI AND SERVED AS AN ALL AROUND COMMUNITY CENTER. I REMEMBER ,WHILE GOING TO HIGH SCHOOL DURING THE LATE 1940'S THE STORIES OF THE WILD TIMES THERE. OF COURSE I STEARED CLEAR MOST OF THE TIME. MY LIFE WAS TOO FULL OF WORK IN THE EVENINGS, AND THE HARD LABOR OF SCHOOL. I LEFT THE FIGHTING UP TO THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS.
A STORY I ALMOST PASSED UP WAS THE STORY OF PROHIBITION (JUNE 1919). THIS IS AN IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN THE STORY OF THE HILL. THERE SEEMED TO BE COMPLETE COOPERATION FROM THE CHURCH, POLICE,AND BETWEEN BOTH FACTIONS OF ITALIANS (SICILIANS & LOMBARDS), THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY(STORES,TAVERNS,AND THE MANUFACTURES). THE CHURCH TURNED A BLIND EYE. THERE IS EVEN AN OLD LEGEND ABOUT THE BURNING TO THE GROUND OF THE SAINT AMBROSE CHURCH. IT IS SAID A VAT OF MOONSHINE EXPLODED IN THE RECTORY. THERE WAS A CODE OF SILENCE, NO ONE TOLD WHAT THEY KNEW.
THE POLICE MUST HAVE KNOWN, AND THERE WAS, MOST OF THE TIME SOMEONE TO WARN OF A RAID. WHEN WARNED, THE PEOPLE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD MOVE THE EQUIPMENT. ISIDORE OLDANI JR'S FATHER WAS OWNER OF THE BLUE RIDGE SODA CO. AND PRESIDENT OF THE ST.AMBROSE BUILDING COMMITTEE. THEY WOULD COME FROM WORK AND FIND THEIR BASEMENT AND GARAGE FILLED WITH SUPPLIES, SUGAR, AND CANS OF MOONSHINE.
THERE WERE TIMES WHEN A RAID WOULD BE COMPLETED. AN OLD BARBER REMEMBERED A TIME IN 1919 WHEN AGENTS BUSTED A STILL AND THE RESIDUE SLOP FLOWED INTO THE GUTTER. CHICKENS WOULD EAT THE MASH AND WEAVE AWAY DRUNK. ONE DAY ON THE 5200 BLOCK OF WILSON, THE FEDERAL MEN WENT FROM DOOR TO DOOR. IF THE OCCUPANT TALKED IN LOMBARD, THEY WOULDN'T GO IN. IF THEY TALKED SICILIAN, THE HOUSE WOULD BE RAIDED. THAT DAY THE GUTTERS WERE FULL OF MOONSHINE.
IN DEC. 1921 AGENTS FOUND A MASSIVE STILL AT 5225 BISCHOFF, SEIZING 5,000 GAL. OF ALCOHOL AND THE STILL ITSELF WHICH PRODUCED 125 GAL. PER DAY. ONE OF THE BIGGEST BUSTS IN ST.LOUIS HISTORY OCCURRED IN 1925, WHEN AGENTS SURPRISED A SMALL GROUP OF SICILIANS ON THE HILL. THEY CONFISCATED 40,000 GAL. OF WHITE LIGHTNING PLUS A UNIT CAPABLE OF DELIVERING 250 GAL. A DAY.
A SOCIAL WORKER SAID HE KNEW OF SEVERAL HUNDRED FAMILIES, BOTH LOMBARD AND SICILIAN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE VARIOUS STAGES OF BOOTLEGGING. THE MEN WERE EMPLOYED PART OF THE TIME EACH WEEK AT THE BRICK YARDS, AND AT NIGHT THEY ENGAGED IN A BRANCH BOOTLEGGING ACTIVITY. SOME HAULED SUGAR, OTHERS DUG CELLARS FOR STILLS OR HAULED EQUIPMENT FROM PLACE TO PLACE. HE ESTIMATED THAT ABOUT 90% OF THE MEN WERE ENGAGED IN SOME PHASE OF IT DURING PROSPEROUS TIMES (1919 TO 1933).
PROHIBITION FUNCTIONED AS AN IMPORTANT AGENT OF THE 1920'S NEIGHBORHOOD ECONOMY. GROCERS SUPPLIED THE SUGAR, CORNMEAL, AND YEAST; BUSINESS MEN BANKROLLED OPERATIONS AND LOANED WAREHOUSE SPACE; SALOON KEEPERS AND SOFT DRINK VENDORS, AND GROCERY STORES PROVIDED A READY OUTLET FOR THE FINISHED PRODUCT.
LUCKILY THE HILL ESCAPED THE ORGANIZED CRIME ROUTE. THERE WERE KILLINGS, BUT MOST WAS DUE TO OUTSIDER MOB BATTLES. FEW ITALIANS ON THE HILL TRIED TO COMPETE WITH THE MOBS. THEY PERCEIVED PROHIBITION NOT AS AN ESCAPE FROM THEIR GHETTO, BUT RATHER THE MEANS TO UPLIFT THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
MOONSHINE MEANT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POVERTY AND MIDDLE CLASS. THERE WERE DRAMATIC CHANGES ON THE HILL FROM 1919 TO 1933. SMALL BRICK BUNGALOWS WERE BUILT, LATER LARGER HOUSES ON THE EDGE OF THE COMMUNITY. CARS WERE BOUGHT, ALSO FINE CLOTHES AND EXPENSIVE FURNITURE.
FULLY 29% OF THE HOMES BUILT ON THE HILL FROM 1900 TO 1950 WERE BUILT IN THE 1920'S. ALSO SOME OF THE PROFITS COULD HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TO THE QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLAR ST.AMBROSE CHURCH WHICH BY 1935 WAS ONLY $12,000 IN DEBT. PROHIBITION ALLOWED THE COLONY TO ACQUIRE THE TRAPPINGS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS, BUT IT DID NOT ALTER THE VALUE STRUCTURE. FEW BOOTLEGGERS PAID THE PRICE FOR BIGNESS AND EFFICIENCY. NO MAFIA TYRANNIZED THE INHABITANTS. PROHIBITION INFUSED MONEY INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ECONOMY, AND DID NOT TAKE PEOPLE OUT OF THE COMMUNITY.
THIS WAS JUST A LITTLE BIT OF THE STORY OF "IMMIGRANTS ON THE HILL" BY GARY ROSS MORINO. THIS BOOK COVERS VERY WELL THE HISTORY OF THE HILL FROM THE 1880'S TO 1982 AS FAR AS ITALIANS GO. THE FIRST CHAPTER MENTIONS THE IRISH, GERMAN, AND BLACKS AS PRE-HISTORY OF THE HILL.
I SUPPOSE THE IRISH MOVED TO DOGTOWN AND THE GERMANS TO CLIFTON HEIGHTS AND ST.LOUIS HILLS.(NOT SURE) IT SEEMS THE GERMANS POSSIBLY TOOK ON SUPERVISORY ROLES. THIS CAME UP WITH REFERENCES TO THE GERMAN BOSSES BEING TOUGH. I CAN REMEMBER A BLACK COMMUNITY NORTH OF MANCHESTER FROM ABOUT SUBLETTE TO HAMPTON. OF COURSE THE IRISH SETTLED IN DOG-TOWN CENTERED AT CLAYTON AND TAMM. THE POORER SIDE SEEMED TO SETTLE ON TOP OF THE OLD CLAY MINE SITES AS SOON AS IT WAS SAFE TO DO SO. THE LAND WAS CHEAP, AND ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS PUT UP A SHACK. I REMEMBER BEING TOLD THE ORIGINAL OWNERS GOT THE LAND FOR 25 CENTS A FRONT FOOT.(THIS HAS NOT BEEN VERIFIED).
IT SEEMED MOST LABORERS FOUND WORK IN THE MANY CLAY PLANTS, STEEL MILLS, AND MANY VARIED FOUNDRIES IN THE VALLEY OF THE RIVER DES PERES. NOT UNTIL THE END OF WW2 DID THE AREA GAIN RESPECTABILITY OF SOME SORT. YOU CAN TELL BY MOST HISTORY BOOKS, CHELTENHAM WAS NOT THE IDEAL PLACE TO LIVE. WITH THE FACTORIES BELCHING OUT THICK BLACK SMOKE, AND POOR UNDER-PAID IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN SHANTIES, THE LAST AREA IN THE CITY TO GET UTILITIES.
YOUNG PEOPLE ARE RETURNING TO THE AREA WITH CHEAPER, SMALL HOMES MAKING THE NEIGHBORHOOD MORE STABLE. MANY HOUSES BUILT AFTER WW2 WERE Prefab MASS PRODUCTION WERE NEVER THOUGHT TO LAST, BUT DID.
THE GRATIOT LEAGUE SQUARE STARTED AS A LAND SPECULATION, THEN CAME THE MINING INDUSTRY (LIMESTONE, COAL, AND CLAY) WHICH BECAME THE BACKBONE OF ST.LOUIS. PROFITS WERE MADE, BUT NEVER FILTERED DOWN TO THE IMMIGRANT WORKER. THE HILL AND DOGTOWN HELD ON TO REMAIN A NICE PLACE TO LIVE WITH TWO HIGHWAYS SERVING THEM TO ALL PARTS OF THE CITY. LIGHT INDUSTRY TAKES THE PLACE OF HEAVY. THE AIR IS CLEANER AND LIFE IS GOOD.
THE MINES OF THE HILL (SOUTH OF MANCHESTER)
CLIFTON
A RATHER HILLY SECTION TO THE WEST OF THE HILL BOUNDED BY HAMPTON ON THE EAST,I-44 ON THE NORTH AND WEST, AND FYLER ON THE SOUTH. WITHIN CLIFTON IS THE PICTURESQUE CLIFTON HEIGHTS PARK, NOT WELL KNOWN OUTSIDE IT'S IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORHOOD. CLIFTON, BY 1860, WAS OWNED BY B.F.BUCHANAN, DAVID W.GRAHAM, PETER LINDELL, AND THE CHRISTY AND COOPER ESTATES. THE SOUTHWESTERN CORNER OF DAVID W.GRAHAM'S SULPHUR SPRING TRACT WAS SOLD IN 1885 TO A METHODIST MINISTER, THE REVEREND MR.BENJAMIN ST.JAMES FRY. HE HIRED JULIUS PITZMAN TO SURVEY AND LAY OUT CLIFTON HEIGHTS SUBDIVISION,WITH IT'S CURVING STREETS AND PARK ATOP A HILL. HE THEN INDUCED A COLONY OF METHODISTS TO MOVE THERE AND BEGAN SERVICES FOR THEM AT A CHURCH THAT WOULD LATER BEAR HIS NAME.
IT'S NEIGHBOR,ST.ALOYSIUS PARISH, AT THE SAME TIME BROUGHT IT'S OWN YOUNG GERMAN BACKGROUND CATHOLIC PARISHIONERS FROM AN OLDER PARISH IN SOULARD. THIS CONGREGATION CENTERED IN THE MAGNOLIA/JANUARY AREA IN THE 1890'S. THIS IS THE CHURCH THAT HELPED THE ITALIANS START A MISSION IN THEIR BASEMENT UNTIL THEY BUILT A SMALL FRAME CHURCH ON WILSON. THE CLIFTON AREA IS PREDOMINANTLY BUILT UP WITH SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS, ABOUT 60% OF WHICH WERE IN PLACE BY 1904. AS IN MOST OF THE CITIES OUTLYING AREAS, COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL USES CLUSTER AROUND PRINCIPLE TRANSIT INTERSECTIONS, OR ARE PARALLEL TO MAJOR STREETS. THIS IS EVIDENT ON WATSON RD., ARSENAL AND SOUTHWEST, IVANHOE NEAR FYLER, CLIFTON AND COLUMBIA, ON HAMPTON FROM WILSON TO SOUTHWEST, AND ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF HAMPTON BETWEEN SCANLAN AND FYLER.
THE MINES OF CLIFTON HEIGHTS
SOUTHWEST
BEFORE AND DURING DEVELOPMENT WERE THE COAL AND CLAY MINES.
FROM THE TIME THAT IT BEGAN TO BE DEVELOPED, THE SOUTHWEST AREA HAS BEEN PRIMARILY A SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL AREA, AND ONE OF THE CITY'S MOST DESIRABLE. SOUTHWEST WAS ONCE PART OF TWO VAST SPANISH LAND GRANTS. THE LAND NORTH OF BANCROFT WAS IN THE GRATIOT LEAGUE SQUARE. THAT PORTION SOUTH OF BANCROFT WAS A 1797 GRANT TO MME. ANNE CAMP AND HER SON-IN-LAW,ANTOINE REILHE. THIS PORTION,LATER KNOWN AS U.S.SURVEY 1839, COVERED 2,471 ACRES. THE SOUTHWEST AREA IS BOUNDED BY KINGSHIGHWAY ON THE EAST, FYLER ON THE NORTH, GRAVOIS ON THE SOUTH, AND I-44 AND THE CITY LIMITS ON THE WEST.
THE OUTER EDGE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD PARALLELS THE RIVER DES PERES - ONCE A RIVER,NOW A DRAINAGE WORKS,WHOSE VALLEY CREATES A GENTILE SLOPE TO THE WEST. IN EARLIER TIMES THE AREA WAS DRAINED BY TWO SMALL CREEKS THAT FLOWED INTO THE RIVER NEAR THE PRESENT LOCATION OF LOUGHBOROUGH. THE TOPOGRAPHY IS ROLLING HILLS, WITH A HIGH RIDGE CROSSING THROUGH THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE LINDENWOOD DISTRICT. ANOTHER HIGH SECTION LIES TO THE SOUTH OF FYLER BEHIND THE STATE HOSPITAL COMPLEX. THIS COULD BE "WHERRY CREEK". THE LAND SLOPED DOWN FROM BRANNON TO WEST OF MACKLIND. IT ALSO SLOPED EAST FROM HAMPTON TO MACKLIND. STORM WATER COLLECTED INTO THIS CREEK WHICH FLOWED FROM SUTHERLAND AND MACKLIND INTO OPEN LANDS WEST OF HAMPTON,AND DRAINED INTO THE RIVER DES PERES. THIS DRAINAGE DITCH WAS EVENTUALLY PAVED OVER, AND IS NOW KNOWN AS "WHERRY AVENUE".(THIS TID BIT WAS FROM "STREETS OF ST.LOUIS"
BY 1856,SECTIONS NORTH OF BANCROFT WERE HELD BY JOHN AND MATRON LEWIS, PHINEAS BLOCK, PETER LINDELL, AND OTHER OLD FAMILIES SUCH AS SARPY, SIRE, AND CHOUTEAU. FREDERICK MITTLEBERG CAME INTO OWNERSHIP OF LAND IN THE WESTERN PART OF SOUTHWEST IN 1862. A SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST SAM T.RATHELL, SUBDIVIDED IT AS LINDENWOOD IN 1888. CONSTRUCTION OF THE FRISCO RAILWAY MADE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS AREA POSSIBLE. COMMUTER TRAINS TO DOWNTOWN OPERATED FROM LINDENWOOD STATION AT MARQUETTE, AND THE GRAVOIS STATION AT SCANLAN. THE SERVICE CEASED ABOUT 1920.
THE LARGEST MULTIPLE DWELLING PROJECT IN THE VICINITY IS HAMPTON GARDENS APARTMENTS, A 510 UNIT DEVELOPMENT ON A 25 ACRE TRACT BOUNDED BY HAMPTON, SCANLAN, AND FYLER. IT'S SITE WAS AT ONE TIME THE "POTTER'S FIELD", THE CITYS BURIAL GROUND FOR INDIGENTS. THE TRACT WAS LEASED FROM THE CITY FOR 75 YEARS IN MAY OF 1850. HAMPTON VILLAGE AT HAMPTON AND CHIPPEWA, AND AGAIN AT CHIPPEWA AND JAMIESON ARE THE MOST PROMINENT SHOPPING AREAS. EARLIEST SUBDIVISION- 1856 - HAZELWOOD ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF EICHELBERGER, WEST OF KINGSHIGHWAY. LINDENWOOD WAS SUBDIVIDED IN 1888. ALSO PLATTED IN 1888 WAS HARLEM PLACE, AN AREA SOUTH OF FYLER AND WEST OF IVANHOE IN THE OLD LAKE FARM. GARTSIDE ESTATE SUBDIVISION- 1889 BETWEEN MARQUETTE AND PERNOD FROM WATSON TO McCAUSLAND; LINDENWOOD ADDITION- 1889 WEST OF McCAUSLAND, HARLEM HEIGHTS ADDITION- 1890 TO THE SOUTHWEST OF HANCOCK AND IVANHOE, TILLES PARK SOUTH - 1889, CRAWFORD PLACE ADDITION-1890, AND NOTTINGHAM- 1896. A SECTION TO THE EAST OF MACKLIND WAS REVISED BY AMENDED PLAT IN 1905. THERE WAS ALSO A RAPID BUILDUP IN THE 1920'S AND 30'S NORTH OF CHIPPEWA AND WEST OF KINGSHIGHWAY.WEST OF MACKLIND THE CHATSWORTH AND OVERCREST DEVELOPMENTS WERE DELAYED DUE TO WW2 RESTRICTIONS, AND THE NEED TO ALLOW FOR SETTLEMENT OF THE GROUND BECAUSE OF OLD CLAY MINE TUNNELS UNDER THE PROPERTIES.
TWO PARKS IN THE AREA ARE THE 14 ACRE LINDENWOOD PARK- 1947, AND THE 29 ACRE ROSALIE TILLES PARK- 1957. EARLIEST SCHOOL WAS THE GRANDVIEW SCHOOL ON WATSON RD. SOUTH OF ARSENAL- 1881. LONGFELLOW SCHOOL OPENED A DECADE LATER 1891? AT SMILEY AND IVANHOE. SOUTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL SERVED THEM AT KINGSHIGHWAY AND ARSENAL. IT WAS COMPLETED IN 1936, AND ADDITIONS WERE MADE IN 1957 AND 1964. THE SOUTHWEST AREA WAS THE WELL TO-DO AREA OF THE CITY AND HAS STAYED IN GOOD CONDITION.
LOUIS H. SCHMIDT
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