Circa 1895

Circa 1895. 731 N. 5th Street. 1830 - Part of Nathan Boone's survey of the Commons. , 1835 - Part of Dr. Andrew Wilson's subdivision of the Commons. , 1894 - William Bezzenberger, an employee of the Wabash R.R., purchased this lot at the comer of Franklin and N. 5th Street and paid $4.00 tax indicating no structure. , 1895 - Mr. Bezzenberger paid $16.00 tax which indicates that some improvement had been made. (The house) , The house is a two-story, front and side gabled Queen Anne. The windows boast graceful arched brick lintels over slightly arched tops to the windows themselves. The cut in Eastlake design on the top of the windows was popular at this time. The L-shaped appearance to the front of the house is emphasized with the porch and the corner entrance door. , 1897 - The property was owned by Octavius Plouff and his wife Margaret until 1908. A period of twelve years. , 1909 - The property was then purchased by H. H. Wilmes and his wife Bernadine, (nee Kesting). Hearsay, which is quite often not entirely reliable, says that when the H. H. Wilmes family purchased the home it was not quite finished. It is said that they added the whole rear wing, the roof of which created a hipped roof appearance between the gable roofs. It is flat on top as if it were meant for a widow's walk. , Henry Wilmes: A native of Josephville, Missouri, Wilmes and his wife resided for a time in St. Louis before removing his young family to St. Charles. He opened the St. Charles Ice and Coal Company. Henry and Bernadine had five children and belonged to the Borromeo Parish and donated one of the stained glass windows to the newly rebuilt church after the cyclone of July 7th, 1915.