All Entries Tagged With: "haunted St. Louis"
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.
North County’s Most Haunted
The Payne-Gentry house is reportedly home to numerous ghosts
With its long history and many old buildings, it’s no wonder that North County has its fair share of hauntings. I know of probably a dozen private homes with regular ghostly activity, but that’s my secret! Instead I’ll share some of the area’s most famous haunts, all of which are open to the public.
1) The Payne-Gentry House, 4211 Fee Fee Rd, 63044
Built in 1870, this historic house and museum was home to the Payne and Gentry families for more than 100 years. William Payne served as Bridgeton’s local doctor and operated his office out of the house’s 1880 addition. Several paranormal groups have investigated the property and have reported strange orbs, uneasy feelings of being watched, and multiple cold spots. Some believe the property is an energy vortex.
2) Oak Grove Cemetery, 7800 St. Charles Rock Rd, 63114
The ghost of a well-dressed man – some say in tophat and tails – has been said to appear just outside this beautiful cemetery. Legend has it that he appears to drivers along Hanley Rd and sometimes even speaks to them.
Are you getting ready for the big day? NOCO is a proud sponsor of the 3rd annual Live Well Ferguson 5K