All Entries in the "Local Lore" Category
The Larimore House: NoCo’s very own plantation
History runs deep at the Larimore House in Spanish Lake, an 1850s Italianate mansion and former plantation that's now rented out for special events.
When I was kid growing up near Spanish Lake, I remember seeing the Larimore House peeking out from behind a vast thicket of trees. A weathered old gem that seemed to hold some kind of secret, it always fired up my Nancy Drew fantasies and made me wonder, “What in the world IS that place?” Well, now I know, and so will you. NOCO contributor Jo Batzer takes us on a tour of one of the grandest historic homes in North County, the Larimore House Plantation…
Hollywood has led us to believe that grand plantation homes exist only in the Deep South. But as with most Hollywood stereotypes, that just isn’t true. In fact, North County boasts its own authentic plantation home – the historic Larimore House, which once sat at the heart of a farm called the Midwest’s “premier agricultural showcase.”
In 1850, Wilson Larimore moved from Kentucky to the area north of St. Louis now known as Spanish Lake. He farmed 2,000 acres there using the latest technology of the day – the steam engine tractor – and by 1858, he had also constructed the exquisite home that still stands on his property today. It’s one of the finest examples of early Italianate architecture in the metro area.
Most of Larimore’s original acreage has long since been sold off, but what remains gives a romantic glimpse back to what life was like on a real working farm in the mid-19th century. Back then, Larimore was considered one of the most innovative and productive farmers in the region, using mechanical farming equipment that was then a new concept. In 1866, he even won prestigious awards for “best improved and most highly cultivated farm” from the St. Louis Agricultural and Mechanical Association and “Model Farm of Missouri” by the Missouri Agricultural Society. It was a very big deal.
Using just 500 acres, in 1850, Larimore yielded 4,000 bushels of corn, along with large amounts of hay, rye, sweet potatoes, grass seed, beeswax and honey. He also had least 300 sheep and 150 pigs roaming his farm, as well as sixteen slaves working it.
By 1878, Larimore sold his farm and moved to the city of St. Louis with his sons, eventually dying in 1887. Around the turn of the century, his property was purchased by the Penningroth family, who sold off most of the land and used the house as a summer home for nearly 100 years.
By the time Rick and Carole Bovey bought the Larimore plantation in 1989, it was down to just 5.5 acres and in need of serious TLC. They restored the house and revived the landscape to its former glory, ultimately transforming it into a full-service destination for weddings and other events. Today, their son Allen and his wife, Dena, run the business and maintain the historic home, welcoming thousands of visitors every year.
The picturesque gardens surrounding the house are landscaped with photo shoots in mind. The large, mature oak and maple trees give a shady, old-world feel to the grounds. Original out-buildings dot the property, including a smoke house, water well and solid brick outhouse. The tranquil, historic atmosphere bids you to slow down, to relax, even stroll.
But there’s new life too – a large koi pond and stream cut across the east lawn complete with gazebo and bridge. Between the house and Wedding Center is a beautiful multi-tiered fountain that serves as an elegant focal point. A popular photo spot is the old-fashioned tree swing hanging from one of the mature black walnuts.
All four seasons are beautiful at Larimore House Plantation, inside and out. Holiday decorations adorn the chapel and reception site during December, along with a 15-foot Christmas tree gracing the house. Spring and fall are particularly lovely on the grounds, according to Allen. Fall has its palette of golden colors with a carpet of fallen leaves and, in spring, dogwoods in bloom share the spotlight with peonies, hydrangeas and, of course, brides.
A carved, marble gazebo is the focal point of the south lawn area where outdoor ceremonies are held. The home’s second floor balcony provides a stunning view over this area and its formal circular plantings of impatiens, ivy and monkey grass. Two large spiral junipers flank the gazebo, while large potted palms and ferns provide a neutral yet elegant background that complements any wedding color scheme.
All of this beauty and elegance are not without work, however. Allen and Dena put in approximately two full days every week doing maintenance like mowing, leaf pickup and dead-heading. Then throw in the occasional storm damage. After the destructive 2006 storms left much of North County without power for days, the Bovey’s still managed to pull off the scheduled weddings with the aid of generators (and the Spanish Lake Fire Department on call!). It was a true sign of their dedication, considering they had to also clean up the debris from an enormous fallen silver maple that cut across one drive and destroyed the family van!
In 1989, the Larimore Plantation was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1996, the site was named an official Landmark and Preservation Area by Saint Louis County. These days, the house and grounds are more gorgeous than ever, still heavy with a sense of history but thoughtfully updated to accommodate modern conveniences. No doubt Wilson Larimore would be very pleased.
Larimore House Plantation is located at 11475 Lilac, 63138. For more info, call (314) 868-8009.
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Jo Batzer has lived in North County most of her life and is excited to be a part of the NOCO team. She has worked in the horticulture and florist industries for over 25 years and is the garden leader at Twillman House Community Garden. Jo lives and gardens in the Spanish Lake area with her husband, two sons and two dogs.
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!
Glen Echo Country Club: a North County treasure since 1901
In the entire world, there’s only one country club allowed to fly the Olympic flag, and wouldn’t you know, it’s right here in North County. In 1904, Glen Echo Country Club in Normandy hosted the second and ultimately final appearance of golf at the Olympic games, in which nearly 100 golfers competed for medals designed by the club’s founder, George McGrew.
Inspired by his travels to Scotland, McGrew dreamed of creating a grand golf course for St. Louis’ most affluent residents, so in 1899 he started seeking investors for his then-named “Mound City Country Club.” With the help of his son-in-law, Albert Lambert, who later founded Lambert Airport and shepherded his father’s invention, Listerine, as head of Lambert Pharmaceuticals, McGrew gathered $200,000 to build Glen Echo, hiring Scottish-born Jim Foulis, winner of the 1896 U.S. Open, to design it.
When the course opened on May 25, 1901, it officially became the first 18-hole golf course west of the Mississippi.
Back then, Glen Echo was reserved for society’s elite. Today, tucked away on 130 lush acres off of Lucas & Hunt Road, the club is a welcoming oasis for all kinds of people, especially those who appreciate classic, old-style golf.
“If you want to play a fun, challenging course that’s really a great test of your golfing skill, our club beats everyone else hands down,” says Jim Healey, Glen Echo’s director of membership and marketing. And he should know. The author of twelve books on St. Louis golf courses, Healey says that Glen Echo is special primarily because it offers a more organic design than modern courses, following the natural flow of the landscape.
“There are no gimmicky holes here, and what we have was not created by earth-movers,” he says. But that doesn’t mean the course is easy. In fact, at last year’s Missouri Mid-Amateur competition held at Glen Echo, amazingly, only one player came in under par.
Fast, sloping greens, many with false fronts, require plenty of skill, even though the course is generally pretty short. (You can read Healey’s hole-by-hole description here.) The other feature that sets Glen Echo apart from other country clubs is its relatively small membership.
Unlike Norwood Hills (also in NoCo), where there might be 1,000 golfers vying for tee times, Glen Echo has just 300 members, and only 200 of them play golf. “If you want to play, we can almost always fit you in,” Healey says. “And we’re open all year, even when there’s snow on the ground.”
At the heart of the club is a gorgeous 1927 Tudor building designed by Preston Bradshaw, the architect of the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel. Built to replace Glen Echo’s original Victorian-style clubhouse, it’s from here that members can enjoy access not only to golf, but to tennis courts, a swimming pool, regular special events and exceptional meals. Award-winning chef Rob Marbs serves up an impressive buffet every weekday and also makes cooked-to-order meals, well beyond the club’s menu. “If he can make it, he definitely will,” Healey says. “We aim to please.”
Back in 1901, these same amenities set members back $100, plus $10 a month – a hefty sum. Today, though the cost is still substantial for most families, the club is actually more affordable then ever, drawing doctors, lawyers and business people largely from Clayton, University City, Olivette and North County. The initiation fee is $4,900 and monthly dues are $425, and yes, membership is open to all. Currently, about 20 Glen Echo members come from the Normandy area.
“Every club has a vision of the kind of members they want,” Healey says. “Here, we’re looking for people who love golf, who appreciate the fact that we have a casual, family atmosphere, and who want to develop camaraderie and be a part of a community.
“To be honest, many of our members could join any club they wanted, but they choose to be here because they consider themselves caretakers of this incredible place. They truly understand what they’ve got in Glen Echo and they want to make sure that this beautiful hidden gem lasts another 100 years…or more.”
For more information about Glen Echo Country Club, located at 3401 Lucas & Hunt Rd, visit the club’s website or call (314) 383-1500.
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?
Are you getting ready for the big day? NOCO is a proud sponsor of the 3rd annual Live Well Ferguson 5K