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Lost Weldon Spring, Part One: Two Cemeteries
We’ll be exploring and revisiting the area around the Weldon Spring containment dome over the course of this year, exploring and finding the remnants of human habitation that were abandoned when the...
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Lost Weldon Spring, Part Two: Four Cemeteries
Four cemeteries in one day of grueling hiking through the bush! First up is the John Murdock Cemetery. It’s relatively small with just a handful of burials. Look for the plants that are out of place!...
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The Park at New Melle Lakes
Huh, this park sure looks like a golf course! It turns out it once was, and when it closed, it became a part of the St. Charles County Park System. The new park does have a disk golf course. It is...
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Lost Weldon Spring, Part Three: A Quarry and A Cemetery
Heading north of Highway 94 in search of more cemeteries acquired by the federal government for the uranium processing grounds, we should have known taking the “Lost Valley Trail,” really an old...
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Twin Silos, Revisited
We decided to check in on the status of Twin Silos, and see if there had been any progress since the last time we visited. One house’s foundations are being poured, we guess. Seems like kind of a wet...
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Main Street, St. Charles, Revisited
We were wandering down Main Street in St. Charles and realized I hadn’t really taken very good photos of these buildings, which are primarily in the Greek Revival style. I’ve photographed some of them...
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The Missouri River at St. Charles
We next went down to the Missouri River, which of course has been highly modified by the Army Corps of Engineers. There is the famous railroad bridge to the east, and I normally would have consulted...
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St. Charles Borromeo and Shrine of Saint Philippine Duchesne, St. Charles
The parish of St. Charles Borromeo, which dates back to 1791, is named after an important Catholic Reformation archbishop of Milan and is the namesake of the city of St. Charles, as well. The current...
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North Benton Avenue, St. Charles
I looked at Fifth Street back in May of 2019 in St. Charles, and this time we went one block to the northwest, in what was the former St. Charles Commons, to North Benton Street. The houses reflect...
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Former Clay Pits, Reifsnider State Forest
We spotted another Boone’s Lick monument driving out west. We’d looked at another in Dardenne Prairie back in January of 2016. Our destination, however, was Reifsnider State Forest, which encompasses...
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Emmaus, Under New Ownership
I’m happy to report that the old Marthasville Seminary/Emmaus Homes, whatever you want to call it, has been purchased from the Hoffman Companies. Thank God. We were given a wonderful tour by Jessica,...
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The Church on the Hill, Emmaus
For the end of our tour, Jessica took us up the hill to the chapel of the former seminary, which is where there had been the most dramatic change in the grounds by the Hoffman Companies. As I’ve...
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A Couple of Houses, St. Charles County
Dorris Keeven-Franke recommended a couple of cool old houses out in St. Charles County that are worth showing. The first one, located in northern St. Charles City, is the Thomas Lindsey House, built...
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James O’Fallon House, Barnhart
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...
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House Springs, Jefferson County
I stumbled onto the original small community of House Springs, which is built right on Gravois Road in Jefferson County. Route 30, which is frequently associated with Gravois, has been reoriented to...
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Edward “Ted” and Pat Jones-Confluence Point State Park
I completed the trifecta of visiting all three of the corners of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers two Saturdays ago when we visited Edward “Ted” and Pat Jones-Confluence Point...
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Melvin Price Locks and Dam
Who doesn’t like a giant dam? Melvin Price Locks and Dam opened on October 10, 1989, replacing the aging Lock and Dam No. 26, which had major structural deficiencies. Dams have been getting the...
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Historic Farmstead, Route 94, Eastern St. Charles County
This farmstead along Highway 94 in the eastern “peninsula” portion of St. Charles County has several interesting buildings. The first one is the historic Greek Revival farmhouse, perhaps from the...
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Former Klondike Silica Quarry
Heading out towards to Augusta, there is an amazing St. Charles County park that encompasses the old Klondike Sandstone or Silica Quarry. Originally owned by German immigrant Wilhelm Engelage, the...
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Farmsteads, Southwest of Washington, Franklin County
Southwest of Washington in Franklin County along Route KK are a collection of beautiful central hall houses that sit on prominent hilltops, probably built as early as the 1840s but certainly complete...
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