County of house: Montgomery County
Location of house: MO-J (Boonslick Road), Danville
Built: 1853
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
"Standing silently now with her back turned disdainfully to the noise of Interstate 70, the Plantation House stares out at Booneslick Road. The road, too, has changed from dirt to pavement, but at least this view is similar to a past dimly remembered. A past filled with the joyful laughter of many children in her halls and on her porches, the sadness of the death watches as bodies were laid out in her parlor before there were funeral homes in the area, the fear as armies came to harm her inhabitants, the loneliness as child after child left to seek a profession only to come back to her to await their death, and finally, the pain as the last inhabitants were without money and resources to take care of her. Her walls sag now as an old skin sags and there are scars on her where the years have taken their toll, but she is still sound under it all.
"It was in 1850 that she was conceived in the mind and heart of Sylvester Marian Baker and his master carpenter, John Sparks. The plans were drawn, and the slaves were put to work digging her foundation. Six feet down they dug before it was enough, and then clay from the surrounding land was formed into bricks. At her base, the builders placed a layer of bricks four wide and narrowing to three bricks above ground. Each of her rooms also had a six-foot deep foundation so there would be no danger of her ever falling down. All of her walls are fourteen inches thick and made of bricks and plaster.
"Mr. Sparks fashioned the woodwork as the slaves formed the brick. He ordered cherry balustrades from St. Louis and made pine cabinets in three of her rooms. He also fashioned furniture from the walnut and cherry, which grew so plentifully nearby. The floors were made of heart of yellow pine planks, and the walls and ceilings were plastered with horse hair and lime plaster. She was indeed beautiful as well as sturdy. No nails were allowed by Mr. Baker. He wanted her to last, so he had her pegged together. And last she did! She was finished in September, 1853 and stands without a wobble to her stairs or a squeak to her floors.
"The years passed, more children were born to the family, and Mr. Baker continued to gain in prominence in the community. He became a member of the state legislature for the Whig Party to insure that the railroad would come through Danville, and although he was Southern, he voted to keep Missouri in the Union. It was because of this vote that the house was almost destroyed.
"On October 14, 1864, a moonlit night so clear and bright you could have read a newspaper, "Bloody" Bill Anderson was on his way to Danville with 50-60 of his guerrillas. With muffled horses‚ hooves, they rode right into Danville square, shot down citizens, and started to loot and burn the town.
"At the edge of town, stood Danville Female Academy, where Maggie Baker attended school. The students were fearful for their lives and quickly packed trunks to escape the dormitories before the buildings were torched. Some of the girls were more resourceful than others and stood at the fences waving at the guerrillas and calling out to them that they, too, were Southern sympathizers. These girls begged the guerrillas not to burn the buildings. One impudent young woman even offered "Bloody" Bill a kiss for his knife she got the knife! Their begging was not in vain, for the school was not burned." ~ Civil War Talk
Back when I first visited this place (April 2006), it was open as a museum, and a man was trying to make money a it. He failed.
Mr. Parks gives a good view of it when he visited.
Now, it is used to store heavy construction trucking. The entire plantation is covered in heavy trucks. Sad.
The house was finished in 1853, the Baker family slaves made the bricks on site. The foundation is 6 feet deep and has a complete drainage system to take water south of the building where the corn field use to be.
The burn marks on the living room floor are left from the night Bloody Bill Anderson came to burn the house and kill Mr. Baker, but he had gone to Jefferson City where he was a State Legislator. Anderson came here after burning Danville. Anna met him at the door with baby in arms, and they rode through the house on their horses to show their disrespect.
There were 8 girls in this family, only Sally and Emma married. Emma married Ben Graham (whose family owned Grahams Cave).
Slaves in Missouri were free to leave at that time, but it was safer for them to stay. After the was Mr. Baker paid his former slaves wages to stay. He also built houses for them in the area known as "Little Africa" in Danville.