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More Information on Construction of French Colonial Houses Except for the church, the cluster of barns on the hill, and the fortifications of St. Louis, nearly all activities took place in the homes of private citizens or in small buildings on their lots. There were no retail districts and no industrial centers in colonial St. Louis. There were no taverns before 1806, as hospitality was so strong among the inhabitants that parties, receptions and get-togethers were held in private homes. Most lots were enclosed with a log palisade, called pieux en terre (stakes in the earth). These cedar pickets were as much as seven feet tall. Front yards were narrow and houses were close to the street, while back yards were large, with outbuildings, barns and stables, and spacious gardens beyond. House lots were sometimes as large as an acre. Some of the stone houses were surrounded by stone walls, and had large courts or gardens which enclosed not only the house but slave quarters as well. Great attention was paid to gardening and a large assortment of vegetables was available. Orchards of apple and peach trees were also planted. Homes were built either of native limestone or cedar or mulberry logs in what was called poteaux en terre construction; the logs were set vertically in a 3 foot deep trench in the earth and backfilled. Limestone plaster and nogging (stones and other debris) was used to fill the cracks between the logs. The exterior was stuccoed and whitewashed. The average house sheltered about five people. A steep French hip roof and porch or galerie was common. This porch could extend to all sides of the house and afforded a place to escape the heat and keep rain off of the plastered walls. The hip roof was adopted from Normandy via Canada, and the porch or galerie from New Orleans and the Caribbean. Heating and cooking were done over fireplaces or in outdoor kitchens. Ceilings were usually 8' high and of boards, and interior walls were plastered and whitewashed. Some floors were of bare earth but most were of polished walnut. House interiors generally had from two to five rooms, with a lean-to or perhaps detached kitchen at the back. Each room generally had but one window, with casement-style panes. Few had lofts or garrets, or even stairs. The furniture was of a common sort. Stone, obtained from the limestone bluffs, was used for foundations, chimneys, or entire houses such as Laclede's headquarters (Block 34) or the Spanish Government House (Block 6). When large trading parties returned from upriver, many houses were crowded, for there were no inns or hotels. |
