Historic Melrose

Historic Melrose. The name implies "sweet rose" and this village had a very roseate setting in 1851, when developer Charles H. Haven acquired 1,000 acres of Federal Land Claims and platted the lots as a nucleus for a great "Park of Fruits of a Thousand Acres." It contained fruit trees and flowers of every description, as well as orchards and vineyards. Mr. Haven tried to publicly auction the platted lots to wealthy St. Louis residents as places to build summer homes. He brought interested parties from the Glencoe Train Station, along with a brass band, to Melrose to generate interest in his enterprise. But the enterprise fell into debt and the sheriff sold the property. In 1879, the atlas indicates a three-story frame seminary building and, later, the Melrose school, which still stands, located in the area. Herman Kreienkamp, a merchant in Melrose, built a large frame store and post office. This structure was referred to as Melrose Hall, as the building could be rented out for events during the 1880s. It still stands today, known as the Kreienkamp Store, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.