County of building: Saint Charles County
Location of structure: Jefferson St., 1st house E of N 5th St., N side, St. Charles
Built: 1890
Architect: Unknown
Architectural Style: Late Victorian
Original Occupant: Arb, Peter R. and Elizabeth E.
Map
If younger eyes can get more out of this than I can, I welcome the help.
Sign on East Side:
CTC
CONTROL ATT
TIT
C
Sign on West Side:
XXXXX
XXXXXX
LIT
CO x x x MUNITY
History of the building:
"Built 1890 ca.
Style/Design: Late Victorian
The County Parcels Database estimates the date of construction of this house as 1890, which seems fairly accurate given its Late
Victorian stylistic details and the fact that this house is listed in the 1891-92 directory as the home of P. Arb and it is shown on the
1893 fire insurance map, the first to cover this area of St. Charles. By 1906, when the next directory was published, this was the
still listed as the home of Peter R. Arb, who operated a harness and saddlery business at 145 N. Main. He lived in the house with
his wife Elizabeth and Miss Marie Arb. Although the house was originally addressed as 411 Jefferson, by 1906, it had been
renumbered as 424. Peter apparently passed away between 1916 and 1918, since in the 1918-19 directory Mrs. Elizabeth E. Arb
was listed as the homeowner and head of the household. She continued to live in the house through 1927-28. In 1929-30, Louis
H. Filling was the resident and in 1931-32, Edward G. Kuechler lived in the house. By 1936, the house had been converted into
the Cunningham and Muschaney Funeral Home, with Leland Cunningham living in the house. It continued to be used as a funeral
home at least through 1951, but the Cunninghams continued to live in the house through at least 1947, although the listing
changed to Maxine Cunningham in 1950. Starting in 1948, William J. Hamilton was also listed as residing in the house and
identified as the homeowner. He would remain at least through 1961 when research ended.
"This two story, truncated hipped house has metal cresting around the top of the roof. The brick walls are laid in a five-course common bond pattern and it has a painted limestone foundation with beaded joints. The façade is divided into three bays with a cross gable extending across the eastern two bays. This gable and the eaves around the house are accentuated by a crenellated brick course. There is a round arched window with a lugged stone sill that is framed by horseshoe arched brick in the gable end.
Most windows are segmental arched, 1/1 wood sashed windows, now covered with aluminum storm windows (it appears the windows have segmental arched sashes, but the storms are flat headed) and decorative iron security bars. The window in the west bay appears to be a tall sashed, Jefferson window, extending to the small balcony with an iron railing which forms the rooftop over the porch, supported by curved, incised brackets. The segmental arched doorway originally would have had a transomed door, but portions of the doorway have been infilled and a smaller 6-panel replacement door installed. Three small concrete steps lead up to the doorway. The other façade windows have faux iron balconies. On the east side, there is a cross gabled bay which is split by an end wall brick chimney. Like the other chimney in front of this bay, the tops of the chimneys are missing. The gable
end is clad with fishscale shingles and there are two sashed windows in the bay. In the gable end, there are quarter-round windows (boarded in) flanking the chimney. On the rear of the house, there is a two-story, hipped roof wing with the same crenellated brickwork under the eaves. On the east side of this wing is a two-story, hipped roof porch. The porch is shown on historic maps, but the current porch supports and railings are beefier than would have been there historically and a wheelchair ramp has been installed along with iron bar railing balusters. The fire insurance maps through 1917 do not show a porch, but the 1929 and 1947 maps show a one story porch in this bay, probably simply a different interpretation by the mapmakers since the balustraded and bracketed roof over the doorway appears stylistically to date from the construction of the house. The small one-story, shed roofed wing added to the rear of the two story hipped rear wing was added between 1900 and 1909.
"There is a short stone retaining wall along the front property line. The house is set close to the front and west property lines, and
the majority of the east and rear yards are paved." ~ St. Charles Historic Survey Phase I, PDF pages 204-210