S.M. Nave House

Samuel Miller Nave was born in Savannah, MO in 1849 to Abram and Lucy McCord Nave. Abram and Lucy’s brother, James Walker McCord, founded Nave-McCord Mercantile Company in Savannah, MO in 1846. By 1857, they moved the business headquarters to St. Joseph, MO which had become the business capital of the Midwest. The business prospered and Samuel finished his education in St. Joseph before attending Princeton University. He graduated in 1871 and returned to work for his family’s company, eventually becoming president of Nave-McCord Mercantile Company.

Samuel married Minnie Holliday of St. Louis in 1871 and they had two children; Lucille in 1877 and Samuel Fritz in 1881. By 1889, the year Harvey Ellis came to St. Joseph, the Nave family was looking to construct a new home. Until that point, they were residing at the southeast corner of 8th and Jules Streets, and they resided in the Wyeth Flats at the corner of 11th and Faraon while it was being constructed. Eckel and Mann secured the contract for the home to be constructed at the corner of 22nd and Clay in September of 1889 for $20,000 (over $270,000 today). It was completed in October 1890 and published in American Architect on November 22, 1890.

Samuel married Minnie Holliday of St. Louis in 1871 and they had two children; Lucille in 1877 and Samuel Fritz in 1881. By 1889, the year Harvey Ellis came to St. Joseph, the Nave family was looking to construct a new home. Until that point, they were residing at the southeast corner of 8th and Jules Streets, and they resided in the Wyeth Flats at the corner of 11th and Faraon while it was being constructed. Eckel and Mann secured the contract for the home to be constructed at the corner of 22nd and Clay in September of 1889 for $20,000. It was completed in October 1890 and published in American Architect on November 22, 1890.

Harvey Ellis’ original 1889 design for the S.M. Nave house was much larger and extravagant than the building which still stands today. It included a carriage house connected by walls with archway entrances. An updated rendering by draftsman Ben Trunk in 1891 more closely resembles the current state of the home. Whether Ellis’ design was constructed and cut back in the following years is unknown. As with most of Ellis’ work with Eckel and Mann, it is likely his version served as an idealized starting point for his fellow draftsmen to build off of, resulting in the final product similar to the 1891 design. The Nave family lived and entertained in the home in 1890, so were the 1891 plans drawn after construction or did they represent changes to the original, already completed home?

Samuel Miller Nave passed away in 1901. His daughter Lucille married figure skater Irving Brokaw in 1903. Fritz joined the Navy for a short time and was also married in 1903. He moved around between California and New York, marrying three times before his death in 1918. Minnie Nave moved to New York with Lucille after Sam died. She then moved to Paris and renounced her American citizenship in 1908, but returned to New York after WWII. She outlived her two children, passing away in 1949.