Orrville Historic District

This historic district located in Wildwood in St. Louis County consists of several historic buildings, most notably the Kesselring-Werther House, the William Parks Bacon House, and a general store and post office. Many of the buildings have been renovated or repurposed in some way but maintain both their structural and historical integrity. As a result, the district serves as a representation of early settlement in this part of St. Louis County starting with the arrival of Scottish immigrants and brothers John and James Orr. The area's development and history reflect the centrality of post offices and general stores as a nucleus of small towns throughout the 19th century.

Orrville was first settled in the 19th century by John and James Orr, brothers who had immigrated from Glasgow, Scotland. James was married to Elizabeth C. Breckenridge but the two had no children. John was married to his first wife Maude Eleanor Graham and had four kids, James, Mary, John, and Robert. Robert became a notable citizen of Orrville, serving as Justice of the Peace for six years and as postmaster for thirteen. The post office was constructed in 1858, and Robert likely lived there. Although the construction of the post office marks the true beginning of Orrville, it wasn’t until the mid-1860s that the town saw any commercial development. This was catalyzed by John and his second wife Margaret when they began selling off small tracts of land along Eatherton Road (which was likely constructed in order to provide access to the land). In 1866, they sold two parcels of land which became the determining boundaries of the town.

On June 8th, 1866, Conrad Rudolph Gustav Hoppenberg purchased 3.75 acres along the east side of Eatherton Road. On this land, he built the first one-and-a-half-story portion of what would become the Hoppenberg-Fick General Store. Sometime before 1873, a large addition was added to the building, making it the largest building in Orrville. In 1873, Hoppenberg became the second postmaster in Orrville after the post office had been closed for three years with no postmaster. The general store served as both a commercial building and a residential building. The first floor was a large showroom, the top floor was for storing merchandise, and the second floor was a living space for the Hoppenbergs. Unlike other commercial buildings at the time, it has a very residential appearance and doesn’t stand out as a general store. In 1883, the general store was sold to Philip A. Fick for $6,500 including the merchandise. Fick was the son of Bavarian immigrants and had grown up on an 80-acre farm in Orrville. He owned and operated the general store until his death in 1940. By the mid-1890s, Orrville had a population of 50 and Fick was listed in the Missouri State Gazetteer and Business Directory as both the postmaster and proprietor of the general store. He served as postmaster from 1883 to 1895 when the mail service was transferred to the Monarch Post Office.

The post office served as a central point of the town; when people came to pick up their mail, they could also shop at the general store and socialize with other residents. The loss of the post office could have meant the loss of a community and even the loss of the general store. Fick’s running of the general store likely kept Orrville “on the map.” In regard to the importance of the general store to small communities at this time, Gerald Carson (author of “The Old Country Store”) wrote: “In the days when men lived separate and solitary lives, it was the country store that tied the scattered farms into a community.” Luckily, Fick kept the general store up and running and Orrville continued to thrive as a community. Today, the general store and post office are still standing and have been rehabilitated, maintaining much of their historical integrity.

Twenty days after Hoppenberg purchased the land the general store would be built on, Henry Kesselring and his wife along with Henry Werther and his wife bought 1.68 acres of land from John and Margaret. Four years later, it was sold to Casper and Maria Barbara Kroneung. By then, the value of the property had increased ten-fold due to the Kesselring-Werther House having been constructed on the property. Six months after this transaction, the property was sold to Christian Hohmann for $900. Hohmann was a Blacksmith who continued construction on the property. The Kesselring-Werther House would go through several different owners between 1885 and 1900. From 1901 to the mid-20th century, it was owned by the St. Onge family. It remains largely the same as when it had originally been built, with a rear addition constructed during the St. Onge family’s ownership. The house was rehabilitated using state and federal historic preservation tax credits.

In 1867, a mill was constructed by Robert Eatherton for $32,000 on the west side of Eatherton Road, northwest of the general store. “Such mills encouraged a community's economic development in a number of ways. Their presence provided a market for grain and thereby cash or credit with which to purchase additional foodstuffs. The credit might be applied against the purchase of goods at the general store.” However, the mill burned down in 1868 and was not rebuilt for several years later. Despite being short-lived, the mill still allowed Orrville to establish itself as a trading center. The same year the mill was constructed, Orrville was described in the Gazetteer as “a post office and place of 30 pop.” Alongside Hoppenberg as the owner of the general store and the postmaster, three business owners were listed including R.G. Coleman (physician), Christian Hohmann (Blacksmith), and Henry Kesselring (wagonmaker). By 1867, a Blacksmith shop, the Orrville school, and the William Parks Bacon House had been constructed. William Parks Bacon was an early settler in Orrville from Virginia and his house, which is still standing, was considered the finest in the town.

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, MO State Pakrs. Accessed October 26th, 2022. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Orrville%20HD.pdf.

The Historic Community of Orrville, City of Wildwood. Accessed October 26th, 2022. https://www.cityofwildwood.com/605/Orrville.

Historic Families of Chesterfield, City of Chesterfield. Accessed October 26th, 2022. https://www.chesterfield.mo.us/history.html.

Our History, Wildwood. Accessed October 26th, 2022. https://mo-wildwood.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/2976/Our-History-Section---2016-Event-Booklet?bidId=.