Wildwood Log Cabin
1832 Homestead
St. Louis County couple preserve a family's heritage
by Jo Beck
When Ray and Mary Joseph bought their big old farmhouse in
St. Louis County nearly twelve years ago, they also became the
first non-family owners of a small, sixteen-by-sixteen-foot oak
cabin built in 1832. Constructed single-handedly by Samuel
Stuart, using only hand tools, the cabin is in much the same
condition it was more than 170 years ago.
Thatís because the Stuart family cared for it like the
historical treasure it was. Today, the Josephs are equally
devoted caretakers, a fact appreciated by Stuart family
descendants who have given them many artifacts, newspaper
articles, framed original pictures, books, clothing, and
furniture to display in the cabin. The most recent gift was an
1840s wardrobe hand-built from native hardwoods, which the
family believes was made by homesteader Samuel Stuart himself.
Newspapers lining the old wardrobe are dated 1845.
Samuel was barely out of his teens in 1830 when he decided to
strike out on his own. Driving several head of oxen, he headed
west from St. Louis. After several days of walking, the story
goes, he crested a hill and saw the homesite he had been
seeking. He staked out his claim, filed homestead papers, and
set to work cutting down oak trees to build the cabin he called
Pleasant Valley. Samuel soon married Adeline Shepard, and during
the following twenty-three years, the couple raised eleven
children in the little house with one room downstairs and one
upstairs.
The cabin stayed occupied by Stuarts until 1913, when Samuel
Stuart II built the large farmhouse, now home to the Josephs.
The Josephs say the farmhouse would never have existed if it
hadn't been for Samuelís fussy dressmaker daughter-in-law,
Dora. Samuel II was a country veterinarian and a highly regarded
citizen of the area. Dora made no secret of her dislike of the
cabin and insisted they build a proper house befitting their
social standing.
The house went up only a few yards from Dr. Stuart's beloved
cabin, which was also his birthplace. For her part of the
bargain, Dora helped pay for the new house by selling vegetables
from her garden, eggs, milk, and cream. She also took in
boarders and opened her home on Sundays to sell fried chicken
dinners.
But Dr. Stuart always considered the cabin his true home. He
slept there six months out of the year and was fond of sitting
on the porch in his rocking chair, reading the St. Louis
Globe-Democrat.
Ray and Mary Joseph enjoy playing host to the many people who
come to see the cabin and take inspiration from it;
artists, authors, newspaper reporters, historians, and once even
a film crew with actors in period dress.
A few Stuarts still stop by. "Mary and I love to hear
the old stories about the cabin," Ray says. "We feel
good about keeping a piece of history alive."
Still known as Pleasant Valley, the cabin is twenty-seven
miles northeast of St. Louis, about midway between Chesterfield
and Ellisville, within the recently established city of
Wildwood.
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