Historical Society Needs Help Preserving Wentzville's Oldest Home

"It's ugly, and right now, it's nothing."

Wentzville Historical Society President Larry Marshall was talking about a house at 408 East Main Street.

The oldest surviving structure in the city of Wentzville currently sits in a state of decay and the owner of the property, the Historical Society, can't afford repairs.

Marshall spoke out at last week's meeting of the Downtown Economic Development and Historical Preservation Commission after a slideshow highlighting the city's history. Marshall was hoping to stir the community's interest in saving the home.

Unfortunately, the house is not a fine example of Italianate architecture or a grand Victorian lady. It's just a little house in a small midwestern town, a house that has seen a lot of years and a lot of changes in the community around it—but that's not enough to earn it a place on a historical registry.

The Wentzville Historical Society owns the house and a brick structure behind it that was originally a tobacco factory, one of several that once operated in old Wentzville.
 
Marshall envisions the building as a tobacco museum, and the house restored to its original appearance, with period furnishings. He's just not sure how, or if, the funds can be raised—it took years to raise the money to fix up the caboose where the historical society is currently housed.

After the Historical Society's slideshow was over, Alderman Chris Gard commented that it was sad to see how many wonderful old structures had been lost over the years. 

And it's true, we've lost many. Homes, hotels, factories, a railroad depot, a livery stable, a bandstand. We've lost them due to fire, but we've also lost them due to ignorance, greed and apathy. 

We don't have to lose this one, too.