What would you do with this Ferguson building?
When people talk about Ferguson Citywalk, they usually think of the core section of downtown Ferguson, spanning roughly from Marley’s to the Corner Coffee House. But in truth, the business district actually runs all the way to Brotherton Lane, encompassing the license office, Ferguson Style & Spa and a handful of other establishments.
This has long been the “service business” stretch of S. Florissant Road, so you’ll find plenty of auto mechanics and used car dealers. But the city of Ferguson is hoping to breathe some new life into this area, and they’re starting with the property at #830.
The city purchased this 4,000-square-foot building (pictured above) in 2011, along with a smaller parcel next door. Now they’re asking the public: How should it be used?
On May 30, Ferguson will team with Washington University to host an “IdeaBounce,” during which 15 finalists will present their concept for the property. Finalists will be chosen based on online submissions, then a panel of judges will select three winners, each of whom will receive dinner, a special gift and business mentoring.
Ideally, anyone who submits an idea should be willing and able to implement it, so this is technically a call for businesses & developers rather than a call for general ideas. But that’s not going to stop me from floating three concepts, none of which I have any interest in exploring. I used to be the director of the Citywalk district, so I know it well, and I think three great uses for this property would be:
- a dog training/agility center with dog wash facilities and a retail pet store (similar to Pets in the City)
- a Kinko’s or other print/copy place
- a community office space for co-working, where independent professionals can rent a desk/conference room/printer/etc, and work in a collaborative space with others
The co-working movement is really taking off around the globe, probably because it allows communities to foster entrepreneurship at a reasonable cost to business owners. I think it would be a great fit for Ferguson. I also like the other two ideas because they would fill holes in our local retail market…..and generate tax revenue.
You see, Ferguson Citywalk is a TIF district, meaning that financial incentives may be available for new businesses that bring in sales tax. Downtown leaders are also striving to build an arts & entertainment destination, so a new retail store would definitely fit into the mix.
But that’s just my line of thinking. I’d love to hear what good ideas everyone else comes up with!
If you’re interested in submitting a concept, visit this website by May 16. And even if you don’t have an idea to present, you should still plan on attending the IdeaBounce on May 30. It starts at 7pm (with registration at 6) and all are welcome! Location is 830 S. Florissant Road.
By the way, I should probably tell you a little about the building…. It’s located in a high-traffic location about one mile from UMSL and Highway 70. It has tile floors, tall ceilings, a loading dock, parking in the front and rear, and green space on one end of the property. Inside, it’s basically a big open room with 4,000 square feet.
A NoCo mystery: the Legend of Capitol Hill
Near Hudson & Old Halls Ferry in unincorporated NoCo, you'll find #3 Capitol Hill, a grand pre-Civil War mansion with an intriguing history.
I remember the first time I saw it, catching just a glimpse as my mom drove by. Even at 12 years old, I knew that the old house on Capitol Hill had a great story to tell.
Perched on a huge corner lot overlooking Halls Ferry Road, it stuck out like a rose among daisies, the only antebellum mansion in a neighborhood full of 1950s ranches. I didn’t know who built it, or when, but as soon as I started asking around, the rumors poured in: That house is haunted. It was built by slaves. It was almost the state capitol.
I tried to research further, poring over library books and microfiche, but never really got anywhere. Then 27 years later, a man named Glenn Smith moved in across the street from me, and guess where he grew up? The old house on Capitol Hill.
Glenn and I traded stories, and I learned that his childhood home was built in 1842 by a farmer named French something-or-other. It was not haunted, as far as he remembered, but he and his brother did enjoy scaring guests in their “ghost sheets.” They also played ping-pong on the roof and indoor soccer in the massive 50-foot living room. And Glenn recalled three legends about the house:
- It was once considered for the state capitol.
- It’s sometimes called Heartbreak Hill for the grieving mother who lived there and accidentally started a huge fire.
- It might have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.
That piqued my curiosity, of course, but I still didn’t dive into the research. Then out of the blue, #3 Capitol Hill went into foreclosure, hitting the market about a month ago. It was selling for $42,000 – which is pretty amazing considering it’s a 3,800-square-foot home on nearly an acre – and I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity to explore further. What I didn’t expect is the mysterious and, yes, sometimes heartbreaking story that would unravel.
I might as well start at the beginning…
This is French Rayburn.
In 1834, he moved to St. Louis from Nashville, Tennessee, to help manage a branch of the Cumberland Iron Works, a huge iron manufacturing company owned by his family. Just 19 at the time, he later married Catherine Stacker, whose father had also amassed a large fortune in the iron industry, and by 27, French was a “retired” gentleman farmer overseeing hundreds of acres in what’s now North County.
His largest parcel was near the Halls Ferry wedge, on the wooden plank road that ran from Baden all the way to Edward Hall’s ferry on the Missouri River. It was here that he (or more likely, his slaves) built a sprawling brick mansion in 1842, reportedly an exact replica of a house that once stood near his wife’s hometown in Lafayette, Tennessee.
French and Catherine Rayburn had four children while living on their farm: Samuel, Cora, Mary Elsie and Catherine French. Unfortunately, two of the girls died as teenagers, “just as they were budding into beautiful womanhood,” and legend has it that Mrs. Rayburn never recovered from the grief.
While pacing the hallway late one night, she allegedly dropped her oil lamp down the back staircase, setting one whole wing of the mansion ablaze. Her servants were able to pull her to safety but a significant portion of the 5,000-square-foot house was destroyed, including most of the second floor and an observation tower on the third floor.
Mrs. Rayburn died a few years later, on April 26, 1881, following what was publicly referred to as a “lingering illness,” and privately a “situation.” She was 57. According to some accounts, neighbors began to see strange lights flickering in and around the mansion soon after. One witness also claimed to hear crying sounds.
The identical headstones of Cora & Mary Elsie Rayburn at Bellefontaine Cemetery. Each is topped with a broken vase of flowers, carved in stone.
Five years after Mrs. Rayburn died, her daughter Catherine followed. She was 25 and passed away suddenly at the Lindell Hotel – a grand St. Louis landmark that burned down the next month. (Salvaged limestone from the Lindell was used to create the “ruins” at Tower Grove Park.)
Catherine’s funeral was held at the farm on Capitol Hill, where her father, French Rayburn, would die two years later in 1888. He was 73 at the time and had outlived every single member of his immediate family, except his son, Samuel, who would also die a few months later at the age of 45.
The Rayburns in happier days, at their mansion on Capitol Hill.
As of 1909, Samuel’s wife and two daughters still owned much of the Rayburn farm, though some of the acreage had been sold off. By the 1910 census, they had all moved away and were living in the city of St. Louis.
Perhaps that’s when they sold the mansion, or perhaps they held on a little longer, as the “Missouri Historical Research Record” suggests:
“The lovely home had a reputation for sadness and trouble, and the owners, reluctant to see the house deteriorate, offered free rent to anyone who would live there and take care of the place. The free-rent offers had no takers, and the house stood lonely and bare, save for its melancholy memories and spectres of sadness.”
I haven’t researched the property’s full deed history yet but I do know that in the 1950s, a family named DeLargy owned #3 Capitol Hill. They reportedly altered the interior of the house, removing old door knobs and other original details, and there may have been a second fire under their watch. Also around the same time, a Rayburn descendent by the name of Mrs. DeCamp was said to have the mansion’s original rosewood furniture at her home in Dayton, Ohio.
My neighbor Glenn Smith didn’t move to Capitol Hill until 1972 or so, when he remembers the house being in “atrocious” condition, with vandalism and spray paint everywhere. His family cleaned things up and stayed until the early 80s, frequently heating the huge dwelling with a wood stove in the living room.
Here’s what the mansion looked like back then, in this 1984 photo from the Bellefontaine Cemetery collection….
And here’s what it looks like today… Click image #1 to start the tour.
OK, so now we’ve seen the house. How about those legends? Are they actually true? Here’s what I know….
I visited Capitol Hill recently with my neighbor Glenn and his dad, Gene, who told me about a large brick cistern that used to collect water on the northwest side of the property. Glenn and his brother climbed down into it once, finding the remains of an old brick tunnel that had collapsed in on itself, and they always wondered if maybe the tunnel was a slave escape route leading to the nearby creek.
French Rayburn did own slaves. I’m almost certain of that. I haven’t found them on any recorded documents so far (other than the old photo above), but nearly all of the wealthy land owners in pre-war North County were slaveholders at some point.
James Bissell, the son of General Daniel Bissell and a close friend of French Rayburn, was known to buy and sell numerous slaves throughout Missouri. In 1854, he and Rayburn even used slaves to help build the church they founded, Bellefontaine Methodist, which still stands today.
Beyond that, both Rayburn and his wife hailed from families that made their fortunes in iron ore production – an industry that relied heavily on slave labor. Catherine Rayburn’s father, Samuel Stacker, personally owned dozens of slaves in Tennessee, and was said to be strongly pro-Confederacy during the Civil War.
French Rayburn also sided with the South, to the extent that he made the 1866 “List of Disloyal and Disenfranchised Persons in St. Louis County,” a roster of 8,500 local men who refused to sign a loyalty oath after the war.
Does that mean he definitely owned slaves? Or prove that his house was connected to the Underground Railroad? No, certainly not. But it does raise another interesting question….
Legend has it that Capitol Hill got its name after being considered as a location for the Missouri state capitol, that it even lost in a tight vote to St. Charles. But I can find zero evidence of that.
What I did discover is that Missouri actually had two capitol buildings during the Civil War – one for the Union and one for the Confederacy. And I’m wondering if maybe French Rayburn, who served in the Missouri legislature in 1858, proposed his home as a potential rebel headquarters?
I have no firm proof of this, but it does seem to be a better explanation. Rayburn was a “pronounced Democrat,” after all, with strong southern ties and a powerful, politically connected brother who could’ve pulled plenty of strings. But for now, I’m just speculating.
As for the ghost of Catherine Rayburn, who supposedly haunts Capitol Hill, I hate to say it but the evidence is also pretty thin.
Around 1968, visitors did heard the rustle of crinoline skirts on the staircase, despite the property being vacant. And sometime during the 1950s, rumors circulated that ethereal blue lights could be seen dancing all around the mansion and surrounding yard.
More recently, maybe 10-12 years ago, there was also some unusual activity during renovations, when a contractor apparently saw a woman dressed in “old-fashioned clothes” watching him through the living room window. As he moved closer for a better look, she simply vanished, and he was so spooked, he picked up his tools and never came back.
That’s the story anyway. But whether it’s true is anyone’s guess. All I know is that I’ve been to #3 Capitol Hill several times now, including once at night, and there’s no doubt that it has a lot of….atmosphere.
While standing alone in the foyer a few weeks ago, I am certain that I heard a faint female voice in the front parlor. I walked over to investigate, only to hear the same voice 30 feet away in the living room. I also felt an overwhelming sense of sadness on the back half of the second floor, days before I knew anything about the fire that had taken place there.
Was it my mind playing tricks on me? Maybe. Or perhaps 170 years of history, compounded by the heartbreak of a grieving mother, really does linger at the Rayburn mansion…
Thanks to the Smith family and the folks at Historic Florissant, Bellefontaine Cemetery and the Missouri History Museum Library for providing assistance with this article! If anyone has anything to add to the story, please leave a comment below or contact me at shannon@NOCOstl.com. By the way, #3 Capitol Hill is currently under contract.
UPDATE: Reader Laura Birmingham has confirmed that French Rayburn actually owned 10 slaves in 1850, according to the U.S. Census slave schedules, and 17 slaves & 2 slave houses in 1860. Here’s the record from 1850, with the last three columns representing age, gender and race.
In search of NoCo’s sustainable gardens…
North County gardens are needed for the Sustainable Backyard Tour on June 24.
If there’s one thing we have in North County, it’s an abundance of rich, fertile soil. We also have lots of farmers, gardeners, innovators and other green-minded folks, so I wasn’t surprised to learn today that somebody wants to show us off.
Last year, the first ever Sustainable Backyard Tour featured dozens of gardens in St. Louis City and County. For 2012, organizer Terry Winkelmann (who owns South City’s Home Eco general store) is hoping to include even more stops up north.
Pretty gardens are welcome, of course, but the real focus of this tour is sustainability, so featured properties should have elements like composting, organic gardening, edible landscaping, rainwater harvesting, renewable energy, permeable surfaces, bee hives and/or small-scale livestock.
More than 1,000 people went on the tour last year, looking for good ideas in sustainable gardening. This year, who knows? All I’m sure of is that this is a wonderful opportunity for North County to showcase one of its finest assets, and I will personally be welcoming visitors to my own yard.
If you’d like to sign up too, contact my friend Chris Jaurigui at (314) 974-6138 or cjaurigui@hotmail.com. He’s the North County node leader. You can also learn more about last year’s tour by jumping over here.
The 2nd annual Sustainable Backyard Tour, which is free and self-guided, will take place on Sunday, June 24, from 11am to 4pm.
Marley’s hosting Ferguson Washers Tournament
If you’ve ever enjoyed Ferguson’s Independence Day festivities, you can thank the volunteers of the Ferguson 4th of July Committee, who spend all year fundraising just to make the event possible. They usually sell raffle tickets and host potluck dinners and dances, but on May 5, the committee is launching a new money-maker: the Ferguson Championship Washers Tournament.
To be held at Marley’s Bar & Grill, the competition is a double elimination match. And get this…the winning team scores a cash prize and a featured spot in the 4th of July Parade! There’s also a cash prize for second & third place, and everybody gets a t-shirt.
To sign up, send $25 (payable to Ferguson 4th of July Festival) to the Parks & Rec office, 501 N. Florissant, 63135. Include your team name, the names of your two team members, and your shirt sizes. If you have any questions, call Nancy at (314) 521-4661.
The Ferguson Championship Washers Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, May 5, 1pm @ Marley’s. Registration starts at 11:30am.
By the way, May 5 is also Cinco de Mayo, which Marley’s is celebrating with margarita specials and $1 deep fried tacos. The breakfast of champions!
Are you getting ready for the big day? NOCO is a proud sponsor of the 3rd annual Live Well Ferguson 5K