Faust Park

I think we should start right here at Faust St. Louis County Park. The Historical Village is the result of real estate development, many 19th century structures have been lost. As part of our commitment to the preservation of local heritage, the St. Louis County Parks Department has rescued eleven buildings and restored several so far. The buildings date from 1840 to 1900 and represent the lives of farmers, doctors, immigrants, trades people and inventors who lived the many old communities that are now St. Louis County.

The Miles, a seed carriage house, was built by an English inventor of the ‘dry’ plate that made photography accessible to the middle class. Mr. Seed eventually sold his patents to the Eastman-Kodak Company, while retaining the sole right to produce the dry plates at his factory in Jennings, MO. With his resulting fortune, Queen Anne style home and accompanying carriage house. The elaborate mansion was demolished in the 1960’s, and can now only be seen in a photograph on display in the carriage house, now our visitor center and park offices.

The Hock House was relocated from the area of Chesterfield Parkway and Olive. This typical German brick cottage was built by a second generation immigrant and brick maker, Henry Hoch. He began a business in partnership with his brother, Edward Hoch, who was a bricklayer, and later operated the well-known general store, Rinkles Market (now Uno’s Pizzaria). He married Lena Mertz in 1872, creating a kinship with the Mertzs, another family represented in the village. Henry and Lena raised three children in this tiny home.

Frank Kaatman and his father and grandfather blacksmithed for their communities in sturdy timber-framed structures such as the Yokel barn. Their tools form the core of our collection of blacksmithing tools.

Though known to the community as “The Conway House,” this simple late 1850s home was probably built by Dr. Frederick Bates, the son of Missouri’s second governor. It was originally located on the other side of Olive, across from the park entrance. Dr. Bates and his wife Lavinia lived comfortably on his income as a physician-farmer and on his inheritance from his father. To run his farm of 209 acres and tend his home, Bates maintained a slave force of four men, two women and numerous children. He also became an investor in the Central Plank Road Company, created to plank Olive Blvd. as a tollway. At the time of his death in 1862, Lavinia had just given birth to their first child, a son. Thereafter, Lavinia married Samuel Conway. Located in the Bates complex is a summer kitchen from the 1850’s and the Heritage Garden which features medicinal, fragrance, culinary and ornamental plants from the period stock.

By contract, Ludwig and Salome Mertz journeyed three months from Alsace-Lorraine with two sons, as part of a large German immigration to St. Louis in the 1840s. In typical fashion they followed a cousin and were, in turn, followed by others – eventually forming a community known as New Alsace.

On only thirty acres, they grew potatoes, corn and beans, with enough oats and hay to support eight dairy cows. In the 1880s they tried their luck with wheat, by then a major export good to Europe, and wine making. They raised six children in the dog-trot cabin that had begun as a single room home. The Mertz complex contains a smokehouse that hails from another branch of the Mertz family, an insecticidal and dye garden, and a German “useful garden.” These gardens typically ran right up to the home, leaving little if any lawn. Useful gardens would have contained all manner of herbs, fruits, seasonal vegetables and flowers. Ours includes a mix of German favorites and novelties of the mid-century garden.

The Davis House has roots in the county’s early settlement period. It reflects the many architectural changes that were made over time to its original two-story log construction. By 1853 the home was owned by Ben Townsend and his wife, Lucinda. Ben lived and worked in St. Louis, appearing to be fairly wealthy. Only one year later, however, Ben died and left his property and substantial debt to his wife. This left to Lucinda the task of raising two small children alone and repaying her husband’s debts – all with scant rent income generated by the properties. Like most women of the day who had no work training, Lucinda did not fare well on her own. By 1870 she and her children moved to the farm because they had been forced to sell all of the other properties. Unfortunately, they were not able to keep the farm either, which then passed through many owners before its donation to St. Louis County in 1988 by J. Allen Davis and Barnes Hospital.

The Sellenriek Barn, a timber-frame structure with a log extension, was probably built before the Civil War. Frank Sellenriek was the son of Franz, an immigrant from Prussia. Frank’s farm was originally located across from the Mormon Temple on Hwy 40.

The annual FAUST FOLK Festival, runs September 27 & 28, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Village is populated with demonstrating artisans and smiths of all kinds. Visitors can also try their hands at rope making, cider pressing, rail splitting, laundry, and sausage making. The children’s area offers a variety of pioneer crafts and period games. Refreshments will be for sale.

WINTER HOLIDAY, runs December 12 & 13, 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. For this traditional winter fair, the Village will be dressed in period style and lit by oil lamps and candles. Craftspeople will offer handmade gifts and traditional ornaments of was, wood, straw and batting, all for sale. At the Activity Station, children can make period decorations and toys. Reenactors provide tours and entertainment. Throughout the night, minstrels will provide lively tunes as hot cider and cookies are dispensed for free. For ticket information, call 636-532-1030.