Minoma: the lost treasure of Northwoods
Shannon Howard | May 03, 2010 | Comments 8
An architectural anomaly in a sea of post-war bungalows, this 1880s house in Northwoods is all that remains of the historic Minoma estate.
For the thousands of drivers who speed down Highway 70 every day, the tiny city of Northwoods is but a blip on the landscape. Home to 4,600 residents, including St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, this charming community filled with 1930s & 40s bungalows is often lumped in as just another North County neighborhood past its prime. But for those who know its secrets, Northwoods is also a historical goldmine.
In the early 1800s, General William Clark purchased 1,231 acres there, following his famous western expedition with Meriwether Lewis. A territorial Indian agent whose job was to forge treaties with Native Americans, Clark had a house in the city of St. Louis but decided that he needed a country property where his many Indian guests would be more comfortable.
Local history inspired many street names in Northwoods.
Another prominent St. Louisan of the time, Pierre Chouteau, sold Clark the large parcel of land known as Minoma – so named by local tribes because of its abundant “sweet water” streams. The lush, rolling property sprawled through current day Northwoods and Pine Lawn, not far from the well-traveled trail and limestone bridge that eventually became Natural Bridge Road.
Clark built a colonial-style farmhouse at Minoma, and before long he was providing camping and hunting grounds for hundreds of visiting Native Americans. In fact, it was on his land, on a hilltop called Council Grove, that the Cahokia, Michigamia and Tamarois tribes forever ceded their ancient hunting grounds to the United States government, agreeing to a trade of $3 million in cash, merchandise and livestock.
When William Clark died in 1838, he left much of the Minoma estate to his son Jefferson Kearny Clark, who himself added to the property’s wonder by building an exquisite Italianate mansion just west of his father’s expansive orchards. Erected in 1856, when Jefferson Clark was just 32 years old, the stately home boasted 26 rooms, 12-inch thick walls, six marble fireplaces and a striking square observation tower.
The 1856 mansion at Minoma, built by Jefferson Kearny Clark. Photo credit: Normandy Area Historical Association/Western Historical Manuscript Collection
Many guests visited the country estate, arriving first by horse-and-carriage then later via the Narrow Gauge Railroad, often staying for days at a time to enjoy dances and lively galas. Clark also invited visitors to tour his private museum in the observation tower, where weapons, artifacts, family documents and souvenirs from the Lewis & Clark Expedition were on display. Legend has it that one of those weapons was the spear that killed Napoleon III’s son during the Zulu Wars in Africa.
Sadly, when Clark and his wife moved to New York City in 1891, they only took some of those items with them, allowing who knows how many priceless manuscripts and historical objects to remain behind. After Minoma was sold, it passed through multiple owners and eventually fell into disrepair. Then one day in the 1930s, the elderly woman who lived there got tired of all the “junk” on the second floor and hired a young neighborhood couple to toss it all out.
The natural streams for which Minoma was named still run through Northwoods today.
In exchange for $10, the couple dragged all manner of paper, books, clothing, furniture, guns, china and other items to a big pile in the backyard, then returned the next day and set it all on fire! Unfortunately, that would not be the last tragedy to befall the Minoma mansion.
In the 1940s, the once grand home was rented out to boarders. By the 1950s, it was vacant and used as a playhouse by neighborhood children. And in 1960, facing decades of deterioration and a society that had yet to vigorously protect its architectural landmarks, Minoma was demolished. Not long after, its surrounding land – the land where William Clark helped to forever alter the course of American history – was also cleared to make way for new development.
Today, if you drive through Northwoods, there are still enchanting natural streams and thick woodlands, though of course the landscape has changed from the time of the Clark family. You’ll also notice there’s a Minoma Lane, and a few blocks away, in the Pine Lawn city limits, a Council Grove Avenue. But really, only one remnant still stands from the original Minoma: Jefferson Clark’s 1880 carriage house.
It’s not a fancy building, never was, and I regret to say that it’s in poor, non-original condition and it recently sold for less than a cheap used car. But stumbling upon this strange old treasure on Donald Street, you can’t help but imagine what Northwoods was like in another era…
Did slaves build the Minoma mansion? Did famous dignitaries stable their horses in the carriage house? Are there any relics buried in the neighborhood that reflect its incredible past? Only the ghosts of history know for sure…
Another mystery lost to time: how could anyone demolish the splendid Minoma mansion but leave this unremarkable service building intact?
Filed Under: Architecture • Featured • Local Lore
Wow! What a terrific post!
I have spent a lot of years researching William Clark, and I knew about the “junk fire.” But all of the rest of this information about the Minoma estate and its evolution is completely new to me. I was fascinated to see the photo of Jefferson Clark’s home and hear a little about his lifestyle there.
What a tragedy that Minoma was not preserved. Thank you so much for this terrific history and little-known angle on the Clark family.
Thank you, Frances!
I’m a Normandy historian and so pleased to see this piece on Minoma. It is hard to convey to people today the magic history of the Normandy area and, for that matter, Normandy High School. The destruction of Minoma will forever baffle me.
In 1959 I was 5 years old and lived in a house on Edgewood Ave, which was probably part of the original Minoma estate. I remember touring the mansion with my mother & grandmother a few months before it was torn down. The loss of Minoma will forever haunt me.
I was taken on a tour of the mansion by some persons who happened to be living in the place, this was in 1958-59, I was 7 or 8 at the time. We toured the entire place and even took a trip to the tower, widows’ walk. The mansion was built by slaves and when the family was gone the former slaves stayed in the house because it was left to them, one black corps of discovery member was supposedly named Hicks and his family was there for years. My mother grew up, as did I, in Pine Lawn and knew of the discoveries made at the Council Grove meeting tree when the streets were dug to put in sewers and waterlines. A person of importance had been buried there and was found in full regalia. Many times I have thought of this mansion and the history that had taken place there. The economy was, at the time of sale of the place, just a matter of money. The historic loss was justified??? because of the dilapidated condition of it and the thought that it was a draw for unwanted characters to squat there. Sad, sad loss to history.
I recently purchased the carriage house built by William Clark. The home contains 4 bedrooms and a lot of character I was wondering where did you come by the information on when this house was built. As I researched the property I dated it back to 1856.Any help would be greatly appreciated .
I was born in and grew up in a house on Council Grove at the top of the hill. My teacher at Garfield school took our class on a walk around the area near Minoma about 1937 or 38. I still have faint memories of Minoma and finding arrowheads around my neighborhood. It is nice to learn about the mansions fate.
Look at the picture titled “Marais Castor”, the country estate of Gen. William Clark at “http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~earlystlouis/res-clarkmaraiscastor.html”, which was supposedly torn down. This must be the same house?