Compton and Dry’s Pictorial St. Louis
The Devolsey Addition
A little piece of the country still exists just to the northeast of the now-bustling intersection of Gravois and Jefferson avenues. It has a history that stretches back to the French Colonial period in St. Louis. Walking or driving down either of those major streets, the view of this still-tranquil little triangle of land is blocked by the storefronts that line the north side of Gravois. But turn down the narrow streets, some of the shortest in the city—even alleys that have names—and a whole new world opens before the visitor.
The history of this little corner of what is now the McKinley Heights neighborhood begins with a French marine captain, Pierre François DeVolsey. On September 17, 1767, he was granted 240 arpents (around 203 acres) in the Petit Prairie south of Madame Chouteau’s property—at least, this was what his lawyer, Jean Pierre Cabanné, told a board of three commissioners once the territory had become part of the United States. According to minutes taken on February 15, 1833, the three commissioners agreed and confirmed the DeVolsey heirs’ rights to the land. His case was one of many that the United States arbitrated, and they did not always side with the claimant.
Photography by Chris Naffziger
Greek Revival House on Gaine Street
Only a few years later, in 1848, the land was subdivided into the Devolsey Addition, bound by what is now Shenandoah on the north, Gravois on the southeast, and Jefferson on the west. But originally, like much of the city east of Grand Boulevard, the private developers had chosen different names that were later standardized out of existence in the late 19th century. Victor Street was Devolsey, Gaine Street was High, and Indiana Street was Blow. Charless Street remains, though the school of the same name has been demolished, and Devolsey moved over to a short section off Gravois. Across that wide avenue, what is now Cushing Street (and not much more than an alley) in Benton Park was originally Cabanne Street, no doubt a reference to the business ties of the DeVolseys to Jean Pierre Cabanné. The alley behind Gravois is signed officially as Beauty Alley. Gaine Street is not much more than a country lane or alley.
Photograph by Emil Boehl, courtesy of the Missouri History Museum
Charless School on Kingsbury Street near Gravois Road, 1876
Platting an addition in 1848 at the intersection of Gravois and Jefferson was a risky venture. The St. Louis Commons was not used for farming but for grazing. It was pockmarked with sinkholes and generally seen to be sort of a wasteland by contemporaries. Certainly, the karst topography was economically valuable for providing lagering caves for the Lemps, George Schneider, and the Stumpfs. But Compton and Dry’s 1876 Pictorial St. Louis gives us a startling image of what was happening in the Devolsey Addition: There was actually a dense little village that had sprouted up among the sinkholes and ponds. Coupled with the Fairview Addition of 1848 to the south of Gravois, there were perhaps several hundred people living in the rectangular area formed by the area bounded by Jefferson, Shenandoah, Victor, and McNair.
Photograph by Jeff Phillips
House on Shenandoah
And if you look closely, while most of those houses are gone, there are still some very old survivors hiding in plain view. Those buildings could be some of the oldest houses left in St. Louis, at least 160 years old. The good news is that several of these survivors have been restored and are occupied by devoted owners, and they will continue to provide us with a window into the domestic architecture of St. Louis around the Civil War. But many others are abandoned, in danger of demolition, and are deserving of being recognized for their historic significance.
Photograph by Chris Naffziger
The Alley House on Gaine Street
One of my favorite buildings in the area is an alley house that sits in the back of a lot that faces Shenandoah. But the alley is Gaine Street, so is it really an alley house? Regardless, the house is an amazing specimen of vernacular architecture, with a two-story porch that faces north, and if you look closely, there is even a narrow door that accesses the attic. The former density of the neighborhood is revealed, as well, as the ghost outline of a house that once sat to the west can clearly be seen in the brick wall. Alley dwellings, or second buildings on lots, have been banned in much of America, making this house all the rarer and more valuable.
Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Half Flounder on Charless Street
I’ve written about the rare half-flounder houses that are scattered around the inner neighborhoods of the city, and there are more than a few on Gaine Street that are remnants of what used to be many more. Several of them are still occupied, and there is at least one example of a “double flounder” where there are two built right next to each other, creating a hipped roof. But there are also a couple that are abandoned and shrouded in the overgrowth. There’s something about the simple geometry of these houses that appeals to me, and property records show many of them come with a side lot that opens possibilities of large gardens. The area might be a hundred feet from Gravois, but the noise of the traffic is blocked by the storefronts in between.
Photograph by Chris Naffziger
Half Flounder on Gaine Street and Beauty Alley
As the city grew out to the village, the small houses were torn and replaced with more urban housing forms common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other additions were platted to the north and west, and the old street names were subsumed by the “state street” naming system. But the remnants of the South Side’s rural past, when this was once the St. Louis Commons, still survives in this isolated and quiet corner of McKinley Heights.
