Wildwood in St. Louis County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Historic Melrose
1851
Wildwood
Photographed by Jason Voigt, January 31, 2024
1. Historic Melrose Marker
Inscription.
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.
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.
Marker is in Wildwood, Missouri, in St. Louis County. It is at the intersection of Melrose Road and Ossenfort Road, on the right when traveling north on Melrose Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2933 Ossenfort Rd, Wildwood MO 63038, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater St. Louis. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Marker is at the intersection of Ostenfort and Melrose Roads
Photographed by Jason Voigt, January 31, 2024
4. Kreienkamp Store
mentioned on the marker and across from it
Credits. This page was last revised on January 31, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 31, 2024, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 512 times since then and 45 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 31, 2024, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.
