Creve Coeur in St. Louis County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Lake School
Photographed by Jason Voigt, November 12, 2021
1. Lake School Marker
The settlement, Lake, got its name from nearby Creve Coeur Lake. Students of all ages attended and likely the teacher was not much older than her oldest pupils. Enrollment swelled in the winter months when farm work was completed.
In 1925, this frame structure was replaced with a two-room brick schoolhouse, and the original building was used for storage. When the school was moved to this location in 1967, it was furnished with desks of the era and a potbellied stove.
Erected by City of Creve Coeur Parks & Recreation Department.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Education • Parks & Recreational Areas • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1897.
Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 38° 40.028′ N, 90° 27.039′ W. Marker was in Creve Coeur, Missouri, in St. Louis County. It could be reached from Coeur De
this page online
Regionally, this marker was in Greater St. Louis. It was also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it was in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: Stan Musial (approx. Ύ mile away); Tappmeyer Homestead (approx. 0.9 miles away); Hackmann Cabin (approx. 1.4 miles away); Old Log Cabin (approx. 1½ miles away); Tender Courage (approx. 1½ miles away); Gerald Gordon (approx. 2.7 miles away); Estill Log Cabin (approx. 2.9 miles away); Kropp Log Cabin (approx. 2.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map
Photographed by Jason Voigt, November 12, 2021
2. Lake School Marker
Marker and school building are located at Lake School Park.
Additional commentary.
1. Potential Demolition of Lake School
As of September 2024, this historic one room school house is under threat of demolition by the city of Creve Coeur, although the city reported a 2023 structural evaluation confirmed the buildings integrity. The report dentified necessary repairs for public access, including installing gutters, replacing doors and windows and reconstructing the front porch of the 128 year old building.
The city noted the inside was "pristine" and historically furnished. However, elected officials do not believe there is an interest in visits to this historical legacy. VOICE CONCERNS TO: [email protected]
— Submitted February 11, 2025.
2. The marker is missing
As the commentary in this marker already states, there's serious question of the future of this historical site even existing. Currently, the schoolhouse is fenced off with orange DOT netting preventing anyone from even getting close to it, much less entering and taking in the ambiance of the period furniture, accoutrements, and lore that comes with this grand old
Photographed by Garrett Koch, May 22, 2025
3. Lake School Marker
Along that note, one of the things that occurs to me about this schoolhouse is that the original location is just wiped away from the story. The marker states approximately where the schoolhouse was built, and that it was eventually obsoleted by the building of a new brick schoolhouse nearby, allowing them to use this original frame building to be used for storage. So the old frame schoolhouse was moved to this new site.
But apparently, there is nothing designated at that original site south of Olive Blvd near Hog Hollow Rd for us history geeks to go experience. That's not how historical appreciation should work!
E.g. Olive Blvd was, at one time, a plank road. For those not familiar, a plank road was a road actually built with wooden planks (boards) laid over the 2 tracks of wagons and carts making it easier for larger and heavier commercial loads to be transported without getting mired in muddy ruts and stuck, shutting the road down. But due to the cost of maintenance, sometimes the landowners charged tolls to the travelers to cover the cost of the maintenance to keep it active and flowing. So would those tolls perhaps have deterred parents and others from taking students to that school due to the cost? Is this perhaps why they moved the school?
We just need (or "ought") to get the story because STL and Susan Blow (developed "kindergarten" concept in STL) played such a huge part in the development of child education in the entire country!
History is about the story.
— Submitted May 22, 2025, by Garrett Koch of Saint Louis, Missouri.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2021. This page has been viewed 537 times since then and 27 times this year. Last updated on February 11, 2025. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 12, 2021, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. 3. submitted on June 8, 2025, by Garrett Koch of Saint Louis, Missouri. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
