These old houses: Learn history, architecture and more from these lesser-known house museums

Are you curious about the history of the houses in your neighborhood? Ever wandered around Kirkwood and wondered what it was like to live in a mansion at the time it was built? A house museum can unlock those secrets and so many more. The St. Louis area has an abundance of them — beyond the Lemp Mansion and the Campbell House. Learn about the history and architecture of the 19th century through tours of upper-class mansions, migrant workers’ homes and farmhouses.

Gina Siebe, president of Historic Florissant which runs Gittemeier House, believes that it’s important to continue to visit these historical landmarks, especially the smaller ones, in order to preserve local history.

“The smaller ones lend themselves to history. We have all the history for Florissant. (Gittemeier) was just a farmer, but he had 10 kids and they married into prominent families and each had kids of their own, so they helped to populate Florissant. It’s important for these houses to be preserved and educate people on history,” she says.

Most of these houses have been saved, preserved and are run by historical societies and many are open during the holidays as part of larger house tours.


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