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825 Carrico Road: Rich with History, not Bubbleheads

Enveloped by acres of rolling woodland in the Old Jamestown area, 825 Carrico Road is a vintage charmer just waiting for some TLC.

For people who love old houses, there’s nothing quite as magical as a house that time forgot. Decades may have passed but virtually nothing has changed, leaving behind a vivid snapshot of an earlier era and a curious mystery that must be peeled back layer by layer.

It’s incredibly rare to find a house like this, where water still comes from a cistern and the vintage decor is perfectly preserved. That’s why I was thrilled to discover 825 Carrico Road, a circa-1905 farmhouse in the heart of the beautiful Florissant Karst, where sixty years have glided by with barely a blip.

Frank and Melba Neuberger bought the 12-acre property in 1947, when the Old Jamestown area was still just a rural farming community. They also owned an adjacent 11.5 acres, just a short distance from the Missouri River, and both eventually spent their entire lives on Carrico Road.

Melba died in 2004 after 57 years there. Frank, who made his living selling cemetery plots and real estate, recently died at the age of 99 after staying there until 2006.

“My aunt and uncle were just good, kind-hearted people,” says John Goessmann, the Neubergers’ nephew. “They had lots of friends in the area who were always looking out for them, and they really loved the peace and quiet in that little valley of theirs.”

Janet Lueke, whose aunt and uncle, Catherine and Hubert Poeling, owned 825 Carrico before the Neubergers and raised pigs there, says it’s amazing how little the property has changed over the years. “It used to have an outhouse, but other than that, it looks pretty much the same,” she says.

“Back then, there just weren’t many houses around here,” says Lueke, 68, who still lives near Carrico Road. “This is definitely one of the older ones.”

Deed records show that Howard and Hattie Carrico actually lived in the home during the 1930s, but whether the Carrico family (who were big landowners in the area) played a part in its construction is a mystery. A 1909 map names J.M.D. Alben as the property owner, but so far, I haven’t found firm evidence that he’s the one who built the house.

What I do know is that the Neubergers dramatically altered the home’s original facade in 1948, removing the front porch and adding a side garage and side porch – in my opinion, making it better. I also know that despite the sinkholes, hidden caves and thick, haunting woods that surround 825 Carrico and most of Old Jamestown, there are absolutely no “bubbleheads” to be found here.

As you may know, Carrico Road is the “Bubblehead Road” of urban legend, where deformed inbreeds supposedly attack trespassers. And yes, the Neuberger house sits in an isolated hollow that could easily spook you at night. But ask the locals about bubbleheads and they insist it’s nothing but a silly myth perpetuated by teenagers.

“I have no idea where that got started,” Janet Lueke says with a laugh. “I grew up on Shackelford and have lived in this area my whole life, and I can tell you we never heard of bubbleheads when I was in school. There’s no truth to it at all.”

“Absolutely none,” emailed another local resident who asked that I not share his name. “It’s nothing more than some kids trying to scare each other. You know, they found this dark country road, back in the woods, and…there’s your story. Somebody got creative. But I can honestly tell you, I’ve been in this area since 1946 and I have never seen any strange or sickly people wandering around or attacking cars or any of that nonsense. It’s just a nice place…one of the prettiest areas in North County, I think. There are no bubblehead people here.”

At least not now. But Goessmann does recall the story of a family that used to live at the far end of Carrico Road, before his aunt and uncle moved in. Apparently they had a son who suffered from hydrocephalus, or “water on the brain,” and he used to wear a football helmet for protection when playing outside.

But did he attack people or roam the woods? Absolutely not. He was just a little boy with an unfortunate condition. And he’s long gone now.

So there you have it, NOCO fans… the likely source of the Bubblehead legend. Despite what you’ve heard, Carrico Road is not the home of mutants with swollen heads. But it is the site of one very cool old house, which can be yours for just $139,900…

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For more information about 825 Carrico (which could make the sweetest little suburban farm), contact real estate agent Bob Branstetter at (314) 791-3555.  A special thanks to him and John Goessmann for providing most of the photos for this story!

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Bigfoot 4×4: A North County Original

Bigfoot #5, featuring ten-foot wheels from an Alaskan land train, is one of 17 Bigfoot monster trucks made by Bigfoot 4x4 of Hazelwood.

I have to be honest, motorsports are not my thing. I don’t follow NASCAR or know anything about drag racing or motocross. And up until recently, the whole idea of monster trucks seemed…well, kind of silly to me. But that was before I went to Bigfoot 4×4.

On a private tour of the Hazelwood headquarters that thousands of fans visit every year, I not only learned a lot about Bigfoot and gained a greater appreciation for the sport of monster truck racing. I also met some of the most talented and creative people in the automotive world.

From its familiar location at Lindbergh and 270, Bigfoot 4×4, Inc. has become the unrivaled leader in monster truck and four-wheel drive innovation on the planet, with many employees who are truly world-class experts in their field. A multi-million dollar enterprise founded right here in NoCo, the family-run company builds, customizes and continually repairs its small stable of monster trucks, participating in at least 700 races, car crushes and other events every year.

Since the early 1980s, Bigfoot vehicles have visited 17 countries, appeared in eight films and dozens of TV shows, and inspired one of the best-selling toys of all time. That’s why it’s hard to believe that prior to 1975 monster trucks didn’t even exist.

The birthplace of Bigfoot: 175 Paul Avenue in Ferguson

How it all Began
There aren’t many people who can say they invented a sport, but Bob Chandler is one of them. In the mid-1970s, after teaming with his friend Jim Kramer to open Midwest 4-Wheel Drive Center in Ferguson, he had an idea to create a rolling billboard for his business. Never imagining it would gain so much attention, he took a Ford F-250 truck and beefed it up with big tires, heavy-duty suspension and a high-performance engine, nicknaming it “Bigfoot” because of his own lead foot behind the wheel.

Before long, it was obvious that Chandler’s advertising gimmick had worked. As hoped, customers started clamoring for his 4×4 parts, but more than anything, they wanted to see Bigfoot in action. Chandler kept tweaking the design of his unique “monster truck,” eventually adding rear steering and numerous other modifications, until he finally landed his first paid Bigfoot gig at a Denver car show in 1979.

Two years later, on a lark, he drove Bigfoot over a few junk cars, which led to his first public car-crush in 1982. The rest, as they say, is history.

A marvel of modern automotive engineering, Bigfoot #16 (without its 66" tires)

Building an Industry
Over the years, Chandler has built 17 Bigfoots, each more high-tech than the last. While his early vehicles were stock trucks modified with parts from farm equipment and heavy machinery, today’s Bigfoots are fiberglass “shells” almost entirely created from scratch.

“There probably aren’t more than 10 parts on a truck that we don’t modify,” says Bryan Bertoletti, Bigfoot’s lead mechanic and jack of all trades. “The fans keep wanting bigger, faster, longer, so we’re always challenged to make the trucks better and stronger.”

Machining, painting, fabricating, even driving...Bryan Bertoletti does it all.

From a design standpoint, Bigfoot has been responsible for countless monster truck innovations, including advanced safety features and Chandler’s ground-breaking tube chassis, which made the trucks lighter and faster. But for Bertoletti and other crew members, most of their daily work revolves around a never-ending stream of maintenance issues.

“Broken axles, body repairs…there’s always something needing to be fixed,” he says, noting the inevitable damage caused by racing, jumping and sometimes rolling a five-ton truck. “Generally we work on seven trucks in a week, with just 2-3 days turnaround for each one, so we’re pretty much always busy.”

For safety, Bigfoot's headlights are just decals and its doors are fake too. To enter the vehicle, driver Dan Runte climbs up through a small hole in the truck floor.

The Driver’s Life
If the schedule is hectic at Bigfoot headquarters, it’s even more grueling for drivers on the road. Working 40 weekends a year, with at least 180 days away from home, the nine men and one woman who drive Bigfoot monster trucks for a living are also required to deal with myriad other tasks.

Before shows, they spend up to two hours just putting the wheels on their truck…then two hours afterward to get them off. Many times, they also sign autographs, pose for photos with fans, sell Bigfoot merchandise, drive the semi that carries their truck, and tend to any number of mechanical glitches and body repairs.

Driven by Amber Walker, Ms. Bigfoot was reintroduced in 2010 after an initial debut in 1985.

“Everybody thinks it’s great to be a driver, and it is, but a lot of guys give up after a month,” says Dan Runte, a 22-year Bigfoot veteran. “You have to have a wide mix of skills to do this, because most of the time it’s just you out there. You’re the driver and the PR person and the mechanic.”

To his credit, Runte hasn’t missed a single event in his career. A lifelong daredevil, magnetic people person and genuinely nice guy, he worked his way up from crewperson to driver and now holds three monster truck Guinness World Records, including one for which he jumped 202 feet over a 727 airplane!

When Runte first started as a driver, Bigfoot trucks won 95% of the races they entered. Today, with more and more companies (and individuals) creating their own vehicles, that figure is down to 80% or less.

“The whole world of monster trucks just keeps growing and evolving,” Runte says. “But Bigfoot is still the best out there. The innovation, the quality, the teamwork – that’s what makes us special.”

Bigfoot graphic designer Jeff Cook & VP Bob Trent show off the company's extensive array of merchandise, which is shipped all over the world.

At Home in Hazelwood
As for Chandler, the man who invented it all, there’s still more work to be done. In 1987, he co-founded the Monster Truck Racing Association, drafting rules and safety guidelines for the sport and designing several important safety features. Today, at age 69, he still comes to the office every day and spends much of his time thinking up ways to make monster trucks even stronger and safer. His wife, Marilyn, serves as Bigfoot’s CFO, working alongside their three children and five grandchildren.

“Bob is just a true innovator,” says Bob Trent, Bigfoot VP and Chandler’s son-in-law. “There’s a lot I love about my job, but the coolest thing is working with a guy who basically created an entire industry…and did it right here in North County.”

Runte agrees. “I don’t know what all of us would be doing if it weren’t for Bob, but I can guarantee you we wouldn’t be having this much fun!”

To meet Bob Chandler, Dan Runte and the rest of the very talented Bigfoot crew, head to Bigfoot 4×4 on Saturday, June 26, for the company’s annual Open House. Lindbergh and 270 in Hazelwood, 10am-4pm. Admission is free. For more info, visit the Bigfoot website or call (314) 731-2822.

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Minoma: the lost treasure of Northwoods

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?

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Charbonier Bluff: the height of NoCo beauty

See that speck of a tower at the top of the hill? The challenging hike up there, to Charbonier Bluff, is a one-of-a-kind North County delight.

If you think the Gateway Arch is tall, imagine climbing up it…plus another 25 feet. That’s what you get when you hike to the top of Charbonier Bluff, the 655-foot historical and natural wonder that remains one of North County’s finest treasures and best kept secrets.

For more than 1,000 years, “La Charbonniere” (meaning “coal hill”) has served as a familiar landmark along the lower Missouri River, playing an important role in the lives of early pioneers and Native Americans. It was here that St. Rose Philippine Duchesne disembarked in 1819, preparing to establish a Native American Catholic school.

In May 1804, William Clark (of the Lewis & Clark expedition) described Charbonier Bluff in his journal: “The next morning we set sail at five o’clock. At the distance of a few miles, we passed a remarkably large coal hill, called by the French ‘La Charbonniere.’”

Even before that – long before that – the bluff was considered a sacred place for Native Americans. Burial grounds have been found in several areas there, including beneath two mounds (similar to those in Cahokia, IL) dating to the Mississippian period, 800-1400 A.D.

A short paved trail at the base of Charbonier Bluff, in the St. Stanislaus Conservation Area

One mound was partially excavated in 1837 by students from St. Stanislaus Seminary, which once leased Charbonier Bluff and built several buildings on it, including a chapel directly atop the excavated mound. The ruins of that chapel and other seminary structures can still be seen today, if you look hard enough.

On the other side of the bluff, just east of where Charbonier Creek and the Missouri River converge, evidence of two Native American villages also remains – just one reason why Charbonier Bluff was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995, largely due to the efforts of local resident Christy Love.

Most of the hikers who trek there probably don’t know that (or care), but that’s ok, because the bluff offers plenty of natural joys to see. In addition to lush woodlands, rolling streams and abundant wildlife at its base, if you can make it to the top of Charbonier Bluff, you’ll be rewarded with stunning views in nearly every direction.

I would post a photo of those views, including a gorgeous shot I took of downtown St. Louis, but I think it’s so much better if you earn it yourself. Both the journey and the destination are well worth the effort.

This is actually a great time to visit Charbonier Bluff, because the vegetation has died back, but be cautious if you go. During deer season, hunters are not uncommon in the surrounding river bottoms, and a portion of the bluff rests on private property, where trespassing is not appreciated. Please note that it is also illegal to disturb any of the archaeological sites.

Within St. Stanislaus Conservation Area, where most of Charbonier Bluff is located, you can enjoy 3.5 miles of gloriously primitive (and often steep) trails, some leading to the river, plus a half-mile paved loop trail, a small picnic area and dozens of nice, peaceful spots for fishing and bird watching. If you’re coming from Shackelford Rd, St. Stan’s parking lot will be about 2.8 miles down Charbonier Rd on the right. Just before it, on the left, is another small parking lot, which offers the most direct access to the bluff itself.

So what are you waiting for? Get hiking! And be sure to savor the view from one of the highest points in St. Louis County. Charbonier Bluff and the St. Stanislaus Conservation Area are open every day, 4am to 10pm.

Park in the lot across from this gate on Charbonier Rd, then take the trail that heads to the right, slowly winding your way up the bluff.

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