It was originally built as a simple two-story dogtrot house. The house sits along what was once the Southwest Trail, an old pioneer trail that connected St. Louis to Texas. The home survived the Civil War unscathed, and new owners in the 1890s expanded and remodeled the house.
The house was occupied all the way until 1992. After that it has been left empty, slowly crumbling away. The old Southwest Trail has long been replaced by a busy paved road, which was recently widened and now sits uncomfortably close to the rickety old building. Termites and weather have taken their toll on the wooden structure. Several parts of the roof have collapsed, leaving gaping holes like a smile missing teeth. On the backside of the house, parts of the roof and a wall have collapsed.
The property also contains a few old barns, which were built in the 1890s.
The house must have seemed like it was in the middle of the woods way back in the 1830s. But over the years suburban sprawl as overtaken the property. And unfortunately, it will probably soon replace it. Is the house too far-gone to save? Is anyone willing to take on the immense restoration job? If not, the house will probably collapse soon. Or be torn down. Then the land will be sold over to the detritus of sprawl; replaced with a new car wash, Dollar General or yet another bland and tacky shopping center.
It reminds me of the very end of the movie "Gangs of New York," where one of the main characters is buried in a cemetery (spoiler alert for this 20 year old movie). Then the scene shifts ahead in time, showing the gravestones weathering away as the city grows and changes and evolves. The past sits, and silently disintegrates.
It must be like that for this little house. It has witnessed two centuries of change, from the old dirt road of the 1800s to the encroaching suburban sprawl. And when the house is inevitably gone, for the rest of time, it would be like no one even knew it was ever here.
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