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LOUIS BOLDUC HOUSE circa 1785
Winner of the 2005 Director receives French Award The Louis Bolduc House was the first authentically restored historic structure in Ste. Genevieve and an outstanding example of French colonial architecture. Built in 1770 out near the river on the Le Grand Champ field by Louis Bolduc, a Canadian lead miner, merchant and planter, the house is the first instance of an authentic and complete restoration of a French colonial house of the Mississippi Valley. The house is built with "posts on a sill", the heavy oak timbers set about six inches apart and infilled with plaster made from mud, Spanish moss, and animal hair. The steep roof, supported by heavy tresses held together by mortises and tenons, spreads out on all four sides to cover the gallery. The house features a distinctive stockade fence, galleries and hip roof. After the great flood of 1783 the house was taken apart, and reassembled in its present location in 1784. Located at 123 South Main the Bolduc-LeMeilleur House is owned and operated by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Missouri. NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK Address: map | driving directions |
BOLDUC-LeMEILLEUR HOUSE
The Bolduc-LeMeilleur House is a story-and-a-half home of Rene LeMeilleur, the husband of Louis Bolduc's granddaughter. The house is French in plan and exterior; the interior details are American. It is an interesting example of combined French and American influences on local architecture. A more modest house than Bolduc, it is representative of a young couple's house of the period. The Rene LeMeilleur House (historical name) was first built in 1820 of heavy-timber frame construction. Like the Bolduc House next door this house has been restored. Old photos show that this house was once a two-story, frame I-house. As restored, it is a single story, creole style house built by the grandson-in-law of Louis Bolduc. The walls are constructed according to American practices, that is, they consist of widely spaced, hand-hewn posts rather than creole vertical log construction. Lemeillure died shortly after the house was built and it passed to his mother-in-law, the widow of Louis Bolduc. It was eventually acquired by Jean Baptiste Valle who deeded it to the Sisters of Loretto in 1837. They occupied the building for many years. Located at the corner of Market and Main the Bolduc-LeMeilleur House is owned and operated by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Missouri. Address: 121 South Main Street Open: |
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