County of building: Saint Charles County
Location of structure: N 5th St., 3rd house N of Monroe St, W side, St. Charles
Built: 1900
Architect: Unknown
Architectural Style: Colonial Revival
Original Occupant: Laura A. Garneau
Map
"62. 311 North Fifth Street; Colonial Revival; circa 1903; Contributing
Situated on a flat tree-shaded lot, this 2-story frame Colonial Revival style house has a hipped roof with boxed eaves and on the north slope is a brick chimney. The walls are clad in vinyl siding and the foundation is rusticated concrete block. The house is slightly L-shaped because the back wing is off-set toward the north. In the north bay of the 2-bay façade is a paneled, half-glazed wood door with a single light transom and to the south is a 1/1 wood window. The door opens onto a ¾-width gallery with rusticated concrete block piers infilled with lattice panels, concrete stairway, wooden deck, Doric
columns and pilasters, and a hip roof trimmed with a simple entablature. The porch railing has wide slat balusters and may be a replacement. On the second floor are two 1/1 windows.
a. Garage; circa 1920; Contributing
Built in the early 1920s, this side-gabled, frame garage is clad with vinyl siding and has 2 paneled-and-glazed overhead wood doors on the west façade and a 2/2 wood window on the north elevation." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Built: 1900-1906
Style/Design: Colonial Revival
This large, simple, Colonial Revival house was built between 1900 and 1906 for Mrs. Laura A. Garneau, a dressmaker. This block
was still undeveloped when the 1900 fire insurance map was published, but by the time the 1906 directory was published, Mrs.
Garneau had moved into her new house and in 1909 the house is shown on the next fire insurance map. Mrs. Garneau continued
to live in the house through 1921-22 and there appears to have been a separate apartment since Fred Powell is listed in 1908-09,
V. V. Ohmohundro is listed in 1910 (separately addressed as 311 ½) and Paul B. Cable is listed as well in 1921-22, but other
years do not have multiple listings for this address. Between 1917 and 1929 the fire insurance maps show that there was a rear
porch added on the southwest corner and a new garage was built. Likely both of those improvements were done for a new owner
identified between the 1921-22 city directory listing and the 1925-26 listing. By 1925-26, Henry Boschert had moved into the
house and by 1929-30 the listing is identified as William H. Boschert, but it is not clear if this is the same person or a relative. The
Boschert family continued to live in the house through 1942. By 1945, Edwin Olendorf was living in the house, remaining at least
through 1952. In 1948, Herbert L. Koch is also listed at this address, remaining through 1959. In 1955, William H. Wilson
replaced Olendorf, remaining at least through 1959 as well.
"This simple Colonial Revival design is a two-story, frame, hipped roof with boxed soffits house that is slightly L-shaped because
the back wing is off-set toward the north. The house has a full width, hipped roof porch supported by Doric columns positioned to
mirror the two bay facade design. The windows appear to be the historic 1/1 wood sashed windows, but the shutters and vinyl
siding are recent replacements. The foundation is a faux stone concrete block and the basement windows are 2-light awning
windows. The Colonial Revival detailing is limited to the Doric columns and simple entablature on the porch. The wood floor of
the front porch rests on faux stone piers and there are broad steps spanning the north bay in line with the entry door which is a
wood paneled, half light door with a single light transom. Between the piers is latticework. The porch railing appears to be a
replacement with wider slat balusters and the metal railings on the steps are recent additions. There is a one-story wing that
spans the rear elevation and it was sometimes identified as a 1.5 story wing on the fire insurance maps since the roof sheds down
from the main hip roof. The porch on the southwest rear corner was apparently built between 1917 and 1929, based upon the fire
insurance maps, but in recent years, it has been extended slightly toward the south side and enclosed with vinyl 6/6 windows and
wood panels with overlaid strips in a grid pattern. The soffits have been covered with vinyl as well and storm windows have been
added. Despite the alterations, the house retains its principal historic features, the Colonial Revival porch and the basic house
plan and as such is still contributing to the historic district. Despite the fact that the 1929 and 1947 fire insurance maps do not
show a front porch, this is probably an error since the porch is clearly shown on earlier maps and appears to be historic in design
and materials.
"This side gabled, frame garage opens onto the alley. The garage replaced an earlier shed at the alley between 1917 and 1929
and given the change in long-term occupancy between 1921-22 and 1925-26, it was most likely constructed in the early 1920s. It
is clad currently with vinyl siding and has two paneled and glazed overhead wood doors on the west (alley elevation) and a 2/2
wood sashed window on the north elevation. The north garage door may be original, with its square paneled design that is
common to 1920s garages, but the other door appears to have been replaced in the 1950s. The garage is actually wide enough
along the alley that it is actually 2 ½ cars wide, so the two doors are positioned away from the south end. There appears to be a
shed roofed extension toward the interior of the yard but it is not visible from the alley, only visible in aerial photos so it is not clear if this is an enclosed room or covering over a patio. Despite the alterations, this garage still retains much of its historic integrity and is a contributing building in the district." ~ St. Charles Historic Survey Phase I, PDF pages 686-690