Overland in St. Louis County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Site of Grace Van Studiford House

1904

— City of Overland —

Site of Grace Van Studiford House Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Jason Voigt, June 3, 2020

1. Site of Grace Van Studiford House Marker

Inscription. Grace Van Studiford, a celebrated opera singer, lived in the two-story mansion fondly referred to as "At Lasta Place". The home was destroyed by fire in 1920, but the original caretaker's house is part of an enlarged home located at 8907 Sycamore Ct. Just north of the house on Midland was the "Van Studiford Trolley Station".

Erected by Overland Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Railroads & Streetcars • Women. In addition, it is included in the Missouri, Overland Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1904.

Location. 38° 41.967′ N, 90° 21.273′ W. Marker is in Overland, Missouri, in St. Louis County. Marker is on Lackland Road west of Brown Road, on the right when traveling west. Marker is in front of Christian Science Reading Room. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 8915 Lackland Rd, Saint Louis MO 63114, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Site of Charles / James Loring House (within shouting distance of this marker); Randolph Laughlin House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Site of Caleb Baldwin House (approx. 0.2 miles away); William Heidbrink & Clarence A. Fritz Building

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(approx. ¼ mile away); Ortmann Funeral Home (approx. 0.3 miles away); Site of Daniel Boone's Cabin (approx. 0.3 miles away); Site of Buck School (approx. 0.4 miles away); Lake Sherwood (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Overland.

Regarding Site of Grace Van Studiford House. According to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat (Oct. 26, 1906), the house was sold to new owners - apparently without Mrs. Studdiford knowing (she was a touring singer/actress) - though the couple were to continue to make their home in St. Louis. The land they owned consisted of a cottage, barn, chicken and dog houses and station depot. At the time, Lackland Road was part of the Creve Coeur Lake electric streetcar line. Her husband, Charles Van Studdiford, came from one of the wealthiest families in St. Louis. Grace filed for divorce in 1908 after she accused Charles of deserting her, which he denied.

Also see . . . Grace Van Studdiford on Wikipedia. Studiford (1873-1927) was credited as "Studdiford" during most of her stage career. In 1918, when she ventured into silent films,

Photographed By Jason Voigt, June 3, 2020

2. Site of Grace Van Studiford House Marker

In front of Christian Science Reading Room

she dropped the second "D" from her last name. Unfortunately, all of the films she appeared in up to 1921 are either lost or not available to the public. (Submitted on June 3, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.)

Grace Van Studiford image. Click for full size.

Public Domain

3. Grace Van Studiford

From The Actors Birthday Book, by Johnson Briscoe, published in 1908 (public domain)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 4, 2020. It was originally submitted on June 3, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 341 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 3, 2020, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.