Early Owners of the Farm

Early Owners of the Farm. . , The builder of the house, as well as its subsequent owners, were well-known and respected individuals, and the farm reflected their status in the St. Louis community. Modifications were made to the original two-story, four-room structure to accommodate growing families or individual needs. The home was called "the farm on the Gravois" (referring to both the creek and the road) until the Dents' ownership, when they named the house and its surrounding property "White Haven.", William L. Long , William Long began construction of the two-story portion of the house about 1816, shortly after his marriage. The Longs did not complete the home before selling it in 1818., Theodore and Anne Lucas Hunt , Theodore and Anne Hunt purchased the farm on the Gravois in 1818 as a refuge from the city, where Anne's brother had been killed in a duel. The Hunts finished the house and added two rooms at the rear., Frederick T. and Ellen Wrenshall Dent , Frederick Dent and his wife Ellen purchased the property in 1820, soon making it their primary residence. Their additions included a basement winter kitchen and a first floor sitting room., Ulysses S. and Julia Dent Grant , Julia, the Dents' eldest daughter, grew up at White Haven. During the early years of her marriage to Ulysses Grant, they lived here off and on. Their emotional ties to the home influenced them to purchase the estate in the 1860s. A first floor kitchen was added in 1868.