The first substantial building constructed
in St. Louis was this one. Called the Laclede-Chouteau House,
it was built in 1764. It was a stone structure measuring 34 x
50 feet, built as a business office and seat of government as
well as the residence of Pierre
Laclede. The walls were 2½ feet thick.
It was purchased by Auguste
Chouteau in 1789 and enlarged with a second floor for his
private use and a 14 foot wide gallery on three sides. Chouteau
had the property surrounded with a solid stone wall two feet thick
and ten feet tall, with "loopholes" placed every ten
feet, through which weapons could be fired if an enemy attacked.
Within the enclosure were outbuildings and slave quarters. Inside,
the house was elegantly furnished with imported French silverware,
crystal, furniture and mirrors. The floors were of solid black
walnut and were polished by hand until they shone "like mirrors."
After Chouteau's death his widow moved out of the house. By 1836
she sold the house and property for a fortune, and the block was
subdivided to create 32 business structures.
J.C. Wild made a drawing of the house which
was published in 1840 in his book Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated.
He included a poem which begged St. Louisans not to tear the house
down because its history was so precious. By the time the book
was published, the house was already only a memory. Today, the
south leg of the Gateway Arch stands just to the east of the site
of this house, the leg would be so close it would block the view
of the river from the front windows of the house.
The
view from the site of the Auguste Chouteau House looking eastward
across the Mississippi River. The south leg of the Gateway Arch
is on the right.
