Wildwood secures property for new historical museum

The Wildwood Historical Society on Nov. 6 purchased a 5-acre property known as “the Hencken Place” with the goal of establishing a historical museum and theater in the near future.

The land is located directly off Hwy. 100, just 1/8 mile west of Stovall’s Grove Saloon. Nearly 7,000 square feet of storage and display space is available in three outbuildings and barns. 

Wildwood Historical Society President Jim Martin said the purchase amount was $330,000.

"However the seller donated $30,000 that ultimately enabled us to complete the purchase," Martin said.

Individual society donors to the project will be listed in a commemorative plaque to be displayed in the museum, as well as in the society’s 2010 calendar. 

Martin said the homestead is large enough to erect a Schaedler log cabin that the society already owns, and that the parcel has paved parking for nearly 20 cars. 

He said the intent is to rent out the actual home building to provide partial funding for the capital loan that the society has taken out.

In general, the property lies within physical space previously known as 'Dutch Hollow' as the earliest name of the community. The area is rich in West County history. In the 1820s, Samuel Harris was noted as having the first post office west of St. Louis. Harris had applied to the U.S. government to have the post office named Fox Creek. He also owned a 40-acre tract to the east of the current site that was just purchased.

Harris had a tavern and grist mill, according to the 1883 history of St. Louis County. These landmarks were located at what currently is Stovall’s Grove Saloon.

William Holloway, one of the earliest pioneers of that area, also owned a 40-acre tract to the west of Harris’ property. This is believed to have been the same property as the tract of land that the historical society just purchased, said Lynne Martin, chair of Wildwood's Historic Preservation Commission. 

As traffic increased, more permanent activity was centered in Dutch Hollow and other villages, linked by trading posts, wagon trains and eventually train depots.

Lynne said that in 1826, when the state capital was moved from St. Charles to Jefferson City, Manchester Road was called New Market Street. She said it eventually became a mandated route, showing up on surveys in 1838. 

"Manchester became a main thoroughfare, at a time when it took people two days to get to the Fox Creek area from St. Louis city," Martin said.

In 1834, Charles “Dutch Charley” Paffrath came from Germany with his relatives, the Steines’ family. By 1845 he had opened a store and tavern on his property that Harris previously owned. A half mile southwest of Paffrath’s establishment was a long cabin and numerous outbuildings that William Bartold owned. Bartold’s place became the hotel and stage coach stand. 

Historic references indicate Bartold kept 12 horses in the stable to relieve stage coach teams coming through the area. Shared accounts indicate numerous other animals that were being herded to St. Louis markets also were fed and watered there.

Henry Hencken married Sophia Bohning in 1852 and purchased the property that the society bought for the museum. The Martins said that Hencken apparently operated the Paffrath store when Dutch Charley returned to Europe for visits. Henry’s father, as well as his brother Frederick, operated a store in Fox Creek, which at the time was the next town to the east on Manchester Road.

In 1995, the city of Wildwood incorporated parts of St. Louis County, including the historic towns that had sprung up in the area due to these early settlers:  Centaur, Fox Creek, Pond, Glencoe, Melrose, Kelpe, Grover, Orrville and Hollow. 

Previous owners of the Hencken property used to manufacture toys at the site.

The Wildwood Historic Society was founded in 1999 by residents, many of whom are direct descendants of early immigrants to the area. The purpose of the group is to discover, memorialize and disseminate historical aspects of the city. Annual membership due are $20 for individuals or $25 for families. The group meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesdays of each month at Bethel United Methodist Church (17500 Manchester Road in Wildwood). For more information, visit wildwoodhistorysociety.org.

Jim Martin said the society's trustees would consider providing “naming rights” for the future museum related to sizeable donations.