County of building: Saint Charles County
Location of structure: N 4th St., 3rd house S of Monroe St., middle of block, E side, St. Charles
Built: 1891
Architect: Unknown
Architectural Style: Folk Victorian
Original Occupant: H.V. Randolph
Map
"22. 215 North Fourth Street; Folk Victorian; 1891; Contributing
Facing east, this 1½-story, frame Folk Victorian house has a coursed rock-faced stone foundation and a cross-gabled roof. A painted brick chimney with a corbelled cap straddles the ridge of the side-gabled
portion of the roof. The narrow bargeboard of the front gable is scalloped and there is a gable ornament with scrollwork and spindlework. The front gable end is clad with a variety of shaped shingles while the other walls are clapboard. The entrance, which is located in the south end of the 2-bay façade, opens onto a 1-bay portico that has a wood stairway and deck, turned posts with corner brackets, a spindled frieze and a pyramidal roof. The railings are an Eastlake design. The transomed door is a half-light paneled wood door with 3 small square panels over 2 horizontal panels and it has a wooden storm door.
To the north is a pair of 1/1 wood windows with decorative incised peaked lintels and wood louvered shutters, and a single 1/1 window with matching trim and shutters is in the gable end. The east façade of the side-gabled wing has a 1/1 window on the first floor and in the upper half story is a gabled wall dormer with a fleur-de-lis ornament in the gable end.
a. Chicken Coop; circa 1923; Contributing
Built between 1917 and 1929, the chicken coop has a shed roof and board-and-batten siding (covered
with Bricktex asphalt shingles on the north side).
b. Garage; circa 1923; Contributing
The 1-car garage has a concrete foundation, side-gabled roof and board-and-batten siding." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Built: 1891
Style/Design: Folk Victorian
Built in 1891 (although not listed in the 1891-92 city directory) and addressed as 2402 N. Fourth at least through 1909, the original owner of the house was H. V. Randolph, according to research by the current owner, John Ferrell. Hugh V. and Mary L. Randolph lived in the house at least through 1919 according to city directories. Randolph was vice president of Brucker Stove and Hardware Company and according to Ferrell was one of its owners. Ferrell has donated the original paperwork on the house to the Frenchtown museum, which in part shows that this was a pattern book house. By 1921-1922, Charles J. Stewart is listed in the city directory (and again in 1925-1926). In 1927-1928 Frank Fisher is residing at 215 N. 4th, staying at least through 1942.
In 1945 Paul P. Dratwick is living in the house, staying at least through 1961 when city directory research ended, but in 1950
Anthony Hollander is also living in the house. This is a great example of a Folk Victorian residence, one that has had few alterations and retains its original scrollwork detailing on the porch and in the front gable end, as well as its shaped shingles on the upper façade, incised lintels and the spindlework porch. The porch is shown on early fire insurance maps but is missing from the 1929 and 1947 maps, apparently by mistake.
"This 1.5 story, frame, Folk Victorian residence has a side gabled roof with a broad, cross gable wing on the front. The entry porch
is located on the south bay of this cross gabled wing. It has a hipped roof, spindlework spandrels and scrollwork brackets on the turned corner porch posts on top of the wood porch floor and wooden steps.
The railings are an Eastlake design and now extend down both sides of the stairs, but the railings on the stairs may be a later alteration, done in keeping with the historic details of the house. The transomed door is a half-light wood paneled door with three small square panels over two horizontal panels and it has a wooden storm door. The gable end of the cross gable is clad with a variety of shaped shingles while the other walls are clapboard. The narrow bargeboard of the front gable is scalloped and there is a scrollwork and spindlework bracket in the gable end. Façade and front cross gable windows are 1/1 wood sashed windows with decorative, incised, peaked lintels and wood louvered shutters. The front cross gabled wing has paired windows in the north bay and a single window above. In the south side gabled bay is a similar window with a gabled wall dormer with a fleur-de-lis in the gable end. There is a brick chimney which
retains its corbelled cap at the ridge of the side gabled roof. The rear and side windows are 2/2 windows. Except for what may be some restoration work, the canvas awnings on some windows, and the railings on the stairs, the only possible alteration may be the façade windows which seemed to have tinted glass.
"The picket fence that surrounds the property was replicated from the original found in the garage. The alley was repositioned between 1917 and 1929, angling at the back of this property and the two outbuildings were apparently built during that period since they appear on the 1929 fire insurance map. After 1947, the alley was straightened again but these two buildings remained. The chicken coop has a shed roof and board-and-batten siding (covered with Bricktex asphalt shingles on the north side). The one car garage has a concrete foundation, side gabled roof and board and batten siding. Both buildings are contributing." ~ St. Charles Historic Survey Phase I, PDF pages 520-524