Charles LaHaye House - Ste. Genevieve, Missouri - Pre-Victorian Historic Homes on Waymarking.com

Charles LaHaye House. 704 North LaPorte Street., c. 1801, enlarged c. 1816 (dendrochronology).

Property type: French vertical log house. At first glance, the house appears to have been built as a two-room cabin with a central chimney, typical of Canadian construction. However, examination of the building framing in the basement reveals that the two rooms were built at different times, each with a different type of sill construction. Luer and Francis hypothesize that the c. 1801 portion of the building was a small poteaux cabin, lacking a sill, with a masonry chimney on its east end. The logs in the original 1802 portion of the building have their ends set directly on top of the stone foundation wall with no wood timber. No other known extant vertical log house uses this type of construction. Subsequently, a poteaux sur sole addition with a sill and basement was added to the east end of the original block. The concrete block foundation under the chimney gives evidence that it has been rebuilt within the last fifty years. Additional evidence of the two-part construction is found in the vertical log walls. The point of "splicing" of the two walls can be seen on the exposed inner wall of the now-enclosed porch.

In the late nineteenth century, a second story was added to the entire log portion of the house. At that time, the entire roof system was removed and a new system constructed. The rear porch, now enclosed, retains its original exposed beaded ceiling joists and hand-planed, wide, random width ceiling boards. Most of the floor joists are hand-hewn.

The house presently consists of a rectangular, one and one-half story front block and a single-story, gabled rear ell. The house sits below the level of LaPorte Street with its gable end facing the street. It is sheathed in clapboards and fenestrated with twoover- two, double hung, sash windows. A hip-roofed, three bay, twentieth century porch projects from the south elevation and shelters the central door. A hip-roofed, enclosed, wood-framed porch extends the width of the rear elevation and contains two doors to the house. The walls enclosing the porch were constructed using vertical logs. A single story stuccoed brick kitchen, dated to the mid-nineteenth century, is attached to the rear of the original building. Evidence remains of a chimney, now gone, in the north end of the kitchen." ~ Historic District National Register Nomination Form

This home is included in two historic districts.  It is listed by the same name on the earlier National Landmark Historic District  with a construction date of 1795.

Earliest Recorded Date of Construction: 01/01/1795 Architectural Period/Style: French Colonial - Vertical log Type of Building e.g. Country House, Stately Home, Manor: French village house Interesting Historical Facts or Connections: None Listed Building Status (if applicable): Contributing building to National Historic Landmark Main Material of Construction: Vertical log framing, sheathed Private/Public Access: Private Related Website: [Web Link] Rating: Additional Dates of Construction: Not listed Architect (if known): Not listed Landscape Designer (if known): Not listed Admission Fee (if applicable): Not Listed Opening Hours (if applicable): Not listed

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