County of site: Moniteau County
Location of site: MO V, approx. 1 mile N. of MO A, Enon; approx. 4 miles SE of Russellville
Owner: Rich and Carolyn Green
"This house is a classic example of a Georgian sub-type I-house, unique to the area in its masonry construction. It is in excellent physical condition and provides a fine example of a traditional vernacular house type. The farmstead as it appears today did not develop in a haphazard manner. Rather, it is the result of an organized building program which took place completely within the
period of significance.
"The most important building of the farmstead today, the house, belongs to a category of vernacular forms known as "I" houses. I-houses are two (or 2i) stories tall, one room deep, and at least two rooms wide, with gables to the sides. Front doors are generally centered on the long side which faces public view. Nearly endless variations exist in such things as chimney, stair and window placement, porch types and construction materials (stone being one of the least common). One or two story ells, often containing kitchen or support spaces are commonly found off the rear of the main house, (see Fig. 2-A) In American, the I-house has been predominantly a rural type, often associated
with successful farm operations. One of the first scholars to discuss the Ihouse, Fred Kniffen, writes "Of all old folk types, the "I" house is by far the most widely distributed, notably as a rural dwelling." and he tells us it has an "almost exclusive association with economic success in an agricultural society". " Two story, one room deep houses were common in England during the
American colonial period, and English immigrants are credited with bringing the form to the Mid-Atlantic region in America, where examples have been found from as early as the end of the 17th century.^" I-house building traditions traveled west with early settlers and by the 1850s, I-houses were common in much of the eastern United States, (see fig. 4) Louis Bruce was living in
Fauquier County, Virginia, in 1850, and was surely familiar with this housing form. He would inevitably have seen I-houses in Virginia and all along the way to his new home in Missouri. (The two houses shown in Figure 2 are located within fifty miles of Fauquier County). It is therefore not
surprising that he would chose this form when he was ready to build a large new farm house of his own.
The floorplan of the Bruce home includes a central stair hall, a feature characteristic of Georgian architecture, (see figs. 2-B and 3). Another characteristic of Georgian design is an increased awareness of the role outbuildings can play in an overall design scheme. While the outbuildings of the Bruce farmstead are not formally arranged, as in high style Georgian designs, the careful attention given their construction can be seen to reflect this general attitude. In a similar vein, the massive stone wall which runs in front of the house along the public road acts to visually define and separate the house yard. This house is a classic example of a Georgian sub-type I-house, unique to the area in its masonry construction. It is in excellent physical condition and
provides a fine example of a traditional vernacular house type. The farmstead as it appears today did not develop in a haphazard manner. Rather, it is the result of an organized building program which took place completely within the period of significance." ~ NRHP nomination form
"The boundary includes the farmhouse, smokehouse, privy, spring house, granary, barn, and retaining wall and that portion of the original farmstead purchased by Louis Bruce between 1858 and 1878 still associated with the buildings and which retains integrity. The remaining portion of the approximately 400 acres farmed by Louis Bruce and his family has been sold and has suffered varying
degrees of development and reuse.
"The Louis Bruce Farmstead is located just North of Rock Enon Creek, on Route V in southern Moniteau County. The approximately 10¾ acre district represents the core of the Louis Bruce farm, which included over 400 acres when it was being farmed by the Bruce family, between 1859 and 1881. The farmstead contains all of the surviving buildings known to have been built by Bruce
while he owned the land. Contributing buildings located within the district are as follows: the house (1872-76), a smokehouse/multipurpose building (c.1870-76), a privy (c. 1870-76). a springhouse (1873), a granary (c. 1870-76), and a substantial barn (1870). A stone retaining wall with a swinging
iron gate and carriage steps is a contributing structure. Route V, which bisects the district, is a non-contributing structure.
"All of these buildings are vernacular in form and as such, provide fine intact examples of 19th century farm buildings of Moniteau County. They are unusual in that they are, with the exception of the brick privy, all built of evenly coursed, rock faced limestone blocks. The farmstead is now the home of the Rich Green Family and is used solely as a residence. It exhibits a high level of integrity; the buildings, their relationship to each other, and their relationship to the surrounding countryside, remain virtually unchanged from the period of significance." ~ NRHP Nomination Form