FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 14, 2003                      Contact: Creve Coeur Public Works

                                                             Jim Heines, project coordinator (314)872-0946 x2567

                                                 Bill Schwer, media escort (314) 223-2962, cell

 

HISTORIC HOUSE GETS NEW HOME

 

CREVE COEUR – The historic Tappmeyer Homestead will be getting up early Sunday, February 16, to move at dawn. (weather permitting.)

 

Built in the 1880s, the structure is currently located at 12525 Olive, just west of Ross Road. The house will be relocated ¼ mile to the newly-constructed Millennium Park behind the Barnes Jewish West County Hospital.

 

The move is expected to begin at 6:30 a.m. and will take approximately 2 to 4 hours, but road closures will be slightly longer. Olive will be closed from approximately 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Mason will be closed from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

 

The house will travel west along Olive Boulevard to south on Mason Road to the open field south of the hospital. The house will be transported across the field to the park.

 

For the safety of the public, the city asks spectators to remain behind the construction tapes set along the roadway.

 

The city, in an attempt to save the home from being demolished, acquired it in 1994 for $1 and agreed to renovate the home for community use. The Tappmeyer Foundation was established to provide financial support for the home and has been involved in fundraising activities. The owner of the shopping center retained the rights to the land, and in a 2001 legal settlement with Heritage Place Shopping Center, the city agreed to relocate the home.

 

Best time to photograph will be around 7 a.m. Contact Bill Schwer, assistant city engineer, to coordinate photographer escort at (314) 223-2962. If ice occurs, the house may be moved later in the morning. If weather is unsuitable, the relocation will be rescheduled to Sunday, February 23. To verify move time, contact Bill after 5 a.m.

 

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Tappmeyer Homestead Foundation Board

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 7, 2003                                 Contact: Tappmeyer Foundation Board Member

                                                                           Laura Dierberg Ayers

                                                                           (636) 391-1779

 

Tappmeyer Foundation’s Dream Turns to Reality

 

CREVE COEUR - Tappmeyer Homestead Foundation board members will be glad to get up before dawn Sunday, February 16. As part of the effort to preserve the Tappmeyer Homestead, the home will be moved from its current site on Olive to Millennium Park, and they’ll be there to watch their dreams become reality.

 

A Victorian farmhouse built in 1880, the home is currently located on Olive Blvd. at Ross Rd. Owned by the City of Creve Coeur, the Tappmeyer Homestead will be relocated to Millennium Park, a location more consistent with its setting when originally built.

 

United in their cause to preserve a part of Creve Coeur’s rich history, the Tappmeyer Homestead Foundation is a group of residents, city officials, business leaders, and educators, working to preserve the Tappmeyer Homestead. Once the house is moved, the house will require work, and the Foundation is working to raise the funds for the improvements.

 

Sue Kroeger, President of the Foundation, said, “The Tappmeyer Homestead is part of the fabric of our community. We hope that the community will give their financial support to this asset.”

 

Fortunate to have all of its original architectural detail on the exterior and interior, improvements to the home are planned to make the house available to the community. To support this preservation, the Foundation is launching a fundraising campaign to restore and furnish the home consistent with an early St. Louis County farmhouse. The Foundation envisions the home to be a focal point of community events, a meeting place, and an educational resource. 

 

A middle-class farm family, the Tappmeyer family is representative of the farming community that is the basis for Creve Coeur’s early beginnings. Built 15 years after the end of the Civil War and 24 years prior to the World’s Fair in St. Louis, the house has witnessed much history in the last 123 years. The house will allow a window into that time and a sense of continuity with the past. Today, historic buildings are used to teach everything from mathematical concepts to sociology to history. Foundation member Laura Dierberg Ayers said, “Learning is a life long process. The Tappmeyer Homestead will be an excellent learning lab, for the entire community, young and senior alike.” 

 

The Tappmeyer Foundation welcomes financial support and support of time and talents.  Financial contributions may be sent to the Tappmeyer Homestead Foundation, 300 N. New Ballas, Creve Coeur, MO 63141. Although the Foundation is currently concentrating on the physical aspects of the house, anyone interested in participating as a tour guide, planning activities, or in some other way participating in the preservation and celebration of Creve Coeur’s heritage, please contact Laura Dierberg Ayers (636) 391-1779.

 

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Tappmeyer Homestead

Fact Sheet

 

• The Tappmeyer family purchased the land and began farming in 1876.

 

• Located on Olive Blvd near Ross Rd in Creve Coeur, the Tappmeyer Homestead is a Victorian farmhouse built in 1880. It is the only original farmhouse left in Creve Coeur.

 

• The labor cost of the house was constructed for $260 plus lumber purchased from wagon loads of potatoes. As part of the contract, room and board for the carpenter was provided.

 

• Four generations of Tappmeyers lived in the house for more than 100 years.

 

• Olive Blvd, formerly Olive Street Road, began as an Indian Trail, a direct route between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. In 1851, it was a toll road. In 1876 it was known as Central Plank Road.

 

• In 1980 the Tappmeyer property was listed as one of the 100 most significant historic buildings in Creve Coeur.

 

• The house and neighboring bank are entirely in Creve Coeur. The rest of the Heritage Place Shopping Center is under St. Louis County jurisdiction.

 

• The City of Creve Coeur has owned the Tappmeyer Homestead since 1994.

 

• The Tappmeyer Homestead Foundation is a group of residents, city officials, business leaders, and educators united in their cause to preserve a part of Creve Coeur’s history.

 

• The house is approximately 60 ft. wide, 47 ft. deep, and 35 ft. tall. It is positioned on a 15 – 18 inch thick, limestone block foundation. The estimated weight of the house is 220 tons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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