Circa 1871 (714 N. Benton) - St. Charles, MO - Missouri Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

County of building: St. Charles County
Location of building: N Benton Ave., 2nd house N of Decatur St., E side, St. Charles
Built: 1871
Architect/Builder: Unknown
Architectural Style: Federal
Original Occupant: Joseph and Mary Platte
Historic District Map

Marker Text:

Circa 1871

714 N. Benton 1830 - Block 9 of Nathan Boone's survey of the Common Ground of St. Charles. Nathan was the
   son of Daniel Boone.

1837 - Part of Dr. Andrew Wilson's 999 year lease of part of the Commons of St. Charles
   Clark to Morgan, and 5th to 6th Street.

1866 - Joseph Platte became a citizen, serving as a soldier in the Civil War for the Union.

1870 - Joseph Platte and his wife Mary purchased this lot from Andrew Wilson's widow.

1871 - The North half of this house was built and occupied. The house is a side gabled, Sun dried
   brick house designed in the Federal Style.

     This first section is known as a half house. It was two rooms deep with clott on the second
   floor. Details include fan shaped window lintels, transformed doors, unique chimneys, and
   chimney placement and the brick dentil work along the roof line. The house became a two door
   house when the second half was built. The two doors were for air circulation. The house was
   never a duplex. It has one set of interior stairs. Note! Window lintels different on the 1st and 2nd
   halves.

1876 - The census lists Joseph Platte, his wife Mary, Mary Jr., Henry, John, August, Sophia, and
   Bernard, their children, living at this address, plus one cow and four hogs. Joseph Platte operated
   a sun dried brick yard on Fourth Street between Morgan and Montgomery Streets. The sons
   worked at the brick yard.

      His son Henry, who had a beautiful home on 5th Street, built a building on the corner 2nd
   and Baird in Frenchtown, and in partnership with a Mr. Eninger ran a grocery and general
   merchandise Business. Joh Platte, after apprenticeship as a carpenter became a well known
   architect/contractor. Hew worked on the St. Peters Church and School. He built other churches
   in Monroe, Flint Hill, Texas, and the convent in O'Fallon. He pioneered cement blocks as building
   material and built several homes here with this method.

1955 - The Platte house remain in the family through 1955; a voyage of 85 years of single family
   ownership.

Web link: [Web Link] History of Mark: "Built: 1871 Style/Design: Federal According to a plaque in the yard, Joseph and Mary Platte purchased this lot in 1870 from the widow of Andrew Wilson and in 1871 the north half of the house was built. It is unknown when the south half of the house was added. The earliest Sanborn Insurance map for this block was published in 1909, and the house had already been expanded by that time. According to the yard plaque, the 1876 census lists Joseph and Mary and their children, Mary, Henry, John, August, Sophia and Bernard, living here. The plaque also states that Joseph Platte operated a sun dried brick yard at Fourth Street between Morgan and Montgomery Streets. The 1891-92 city directory gives the address as 706 and Joseph Platte as the resident, but no occupation was provided for him. In the 1906 city directory the address was 714 and Joseph Platte was listed as retired. The Platte family retained ownership of this house until 1955. "An iron hairpin and spear fence spans the front of this flat, tree-shaded, 51’x140’ lot and a wood privacy fence is along the rear. A concrete sidewalk with two steps leads from the street to the gallery, along which are four large shrubs. In the rear yard is a 1-story, 1-car, front-gabled garage built of concrete blocks. The paneled wood overhead door is on the east façade and opens onto the alley.   The garage appears to be more than 50 years old and is contributing." ~ St. Charles Historic Survey  Phase IV, PDF pages 583-587 Additional point: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
A clear picture of the Marker or Plaque taken by you.
Also would appreciate you input on the text and location.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.