Lithograph by J.C. Wild, from Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated, courtesy of the Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints collection.
You can spot a French Créole house immediately. Framed with stout logs driven deep into the earth (a technique called poteaux-en-terre), it’s made of wood mortared together with bousillage, a mix of grass and clay—or whatever was at hand, including deer hair and Spanish moss. These structures have wide hipped roofs, exterior staircases, and wraparound galeries that lead into living quarters devoid of hallways.
Auguste Chouteau’s house, of course, was far grander than the rustic houses of the habitants who lived alongside him in the village of St. Louis. He entertained Lewis and Clark here in 1803 and sold them provisions before they headed up the river. The house (actually a hybrid trading post–residential dwelling) was originally an office for Maxent, Laclède & Company. Erected in 1764, it was St. Louis’ first building; after Chouteau expanded it in 1789, it became one of the largest houses in America—as large as Mount Vernon. It was eventually torn down (it stood near what’s now the south leg of the Gateway Arch), because even being the “first citizen” might not save your house when it’s built on prime real estate. If you want to visit a mansion where Chouteaus actually laid their heads, visit the Chatillon-DeMenil House, in Benton Park. Emilie Chouteau DeMenil, granddaughter of Marie-Thérèse Bourgeois Chouteau and Pierre Laclède, lived here, in a mansion built in a style that would come to displace much colonial architecture in America: Greek Revival.
