Wellhouse - Mount Pleasant Winery Historic District - Augusta, MO
Posted by: YoSam.
N 38° 34.240 W 090° 53.185
15S E 684129 N 4271252
Also called the water tower.
Waymark Code: WMYQ0F
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 07/09/2018
Views: 0
County of structure: St. Charles County
Location of structure: High St., Mt. Pleasant Winery, Agusta
Built: 1881
"Also standing within the District are two small auxiliary properties. A wellhouse of stone construction features a wood - lintel inscribed with the date 1881 over the entrance on the south elevation; scalloped wood banding (matching the bargeboard on the winery) trims the structure." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"The Mt. Pleasant Winery Historic District is located at 5634 High Street (Bottom Road) on the west side of Augusta, Missouri. The district consists of five contributing properties. There are four buildings: a ca. 1859 frame house with ca. 1880 brick outbuilding (Property Type: Vernacular Residence and subtype: Outbuilding); and an 1881 brick winery building with an 1881 stone well house (Property Type: Commercial/ Industrial Building) , as well as one contributing structure, a ca. 1865 wine cellar, a portion of which is beneath the winery building. The buildings and the cellar have survived with only minor alterations which do not detract substantially from the overall integrity of design and materials. The district boundary excludes three winery buildings of recent construction which stand directly west of the nominated historic buildings." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
Marker Text:
WATER TOWER
Before prohibition, Mount Pleasant distilled its own Brandy for making port wine. Since large amounts of ice water were needed to cool the steam in the condenser, the only practical source of this water in the 1800s was from the melted snow on the roof of the wine building, which was then collected in a huge 20,000 gallon underground cistern which lies immediately north of this tower. In the fall of the year the cold water would then be pumped out of the cistern, into the tower thence to the still, where it would convert the steam from the wine into brandy. ~ Mount Pleasant Winery