
Theophilus Dufour House - Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
Posted by:
BruceS
N 37° 58.796 W 090° 02.694
15S E 759548 N 4207709
Anglo-American timberframe house in the Ste. Genevieve Historic District in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri.
Waymark Code: WM3ZP0
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 06/12/2008
Views: 20
"Theophilus Dufour House. 220 Merchant Street. HABS No.: MO-1119.
Property type: Anglo-American timberframe house. The Dufour House is a one and
one-half story, wood-framed, side gabled dwelling sheathed in clapboards. It
sits on a raised limestone block and rubble foundation. The north wall is three
bays wide and is fenestrated with three, irregularly set, twelve-over-eight,
double hung sash windows. The main entry to the house is placed in the west
gable end and is sheltered by a raised, shed-roof, partial width porch, a
twentieth century alteration. The east gable wall is fenestrated by
twelve-over-eight windows in the first story and a six-over-six window in the
gable peak. A brick chimney projects from near the center of the south roof
slope of the house. The roof is sheathed in asphalt shingles. The house is
apparently of braced, heavy timber construction. The irregular appearance of the
Merchant Street elevation suggests that the house originally had an entrance on
Merchant Street that was later enclosed. This is confirmed by an old photograph
that clearly shows that the Merchant Street facade originally had two entrances.
Parfait Dufour acquired the lot on which the house sits in 1793. This lot,
one arpent (191.86 feet) square, was also the site of the Jean Baptiste Bossier
Warehouse (Mammy Shaw House) on Merchant Street and the Parfait Dufour House (no
longer extant). Dufour sold the northeast corner of his tract to Jean Baptist
Bossier in 1818 but kept the remainder of the lot until his death. His son,
Theophilus, had this house built on a lot that he bought from his father's
estate. According to legend, Parfait Dufour accompanied Colonel George Rogers
Clark on his march from Kaskaskia to Vincennes."~
Historic District National Register Nomination Form
This building is included in two historic districts. It is listed as
the Theophilius Dufour House on the earlier
National Landmark Historic District with a construction date of
about 1795.