An audience member at one of my recent lectures alerted me to a very exciting house that I had never heard of built by James O’Fallon, brother of John O’Fallon, who of course was one of the wealthiest members of St. Louis before the Civil War (and has a gigantic family plot in Bellefontaine Cemetery).
Built in 1860 deep in Jefferson County in what we now call Barnhart., the house is a fascinating example of the early Italianate style, with classical pediment lintels over the windows and a half lunette lintel over the front door. The gables are steep and jerkinhead rooflines are also unique. But it is beyond the doubt Italianate.
The house now sits in the middle of a huge subdivision, and has been renovated by a couple who call it home. It has thirteen rooms. James and John’s father, Ben O’Fallon actually had a large 3,000 acre plantation, Indian Retreat, having already made money in fur trading. John went north to St. Louis and James stayed south in Jefferson County.
James lived in the house until 1884 when Joseph Marriott bought the estate, giving his name to a nearby road. Supposedly Marriott introduced Holstein cattle to the area on his 632 acres.
The subdivision is now called Parkton, and the house sits at the end of a boulevard anchoring the view as you enter the development.
