Florissant’s Gittemeier House celebrates 150 years

A small crowd gathered on August 1st to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Franz Gittemeier house in Florissant.

In 1860, fresh from seven years of mining gold dust in California, Franz Gittemeier returned to St. Louis and built his wife, Gertrude, a stately home. The red brick two-story sat on 50 acres of rich Florissant farmland, and for decades it served as a comfortable residence for the German-born Gittemeiers, their 10 children and later their grandchildren.

The property was purchased by Ms. Mae Pondrom in 1938, whose family also lived there for many years. But by 1990, with most of the original estate pieced out for commercial development and the house in serious disrepair, Shell Oil bought it and planned to tear it down for a gas station.

The bulldozer was literally at the front door when the local nonprofit Historic Florissant, Inc. stepped in, promising to rehab the old home if only Shell would spare it. Sure enough, the company did. And with the help of a $65,000 bank loan and lots of volunteer labor, Historic Florissant also lived up to its end of the bargain, beautifully restoring the Gittemeier House.

Of course, the gas station still went in next door, leaving the home perilously perched on a steep retaining wall. But what’s important is that the landmark survived and has since become the office and bookstore of Historic Florissant.

Located at 1067 Dunn Road, it’s a place that every local history buff, architecture fan and (some would say) ghost hunter should visit, if only to soak up the ambiance and say hello to Rosemary Davison, the 90-something preservation pioneer who initially founded Historic Florissant and still maintains an active role in the group. If you want to know something about Florissant history, including local genealogy, you will probably find it at the Gittemeier House.

Many thanks to Rosemary and everyone at Historic Florissant for preserving this 150-year-old gem for all to enjoy! And a big high-five to reader Pam Lee for providing the photo above!

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