Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion

Having withstood the ravages of urban redevelopment following the founding of St. Louis, the Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion survives as a rare tangible link to the city’s significant 19th-century French cultural heritage.

Site History

The Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion started out as a modest seven-room cottage, built in 1848 by fur trader and Oregon Trail guide Henri Chatillon, the grandson of Clement Delor de Treget, the French military officer who founded the village of Carondelet (now a neighborhood in St. Louis) in 1771. Chatillon occupied the home until it was purchased by Dr. Nicholas DeMenil in 1856. DeMenil, a French-born physician, transformed it into the Greek Revival mansion we know today. Situated on a hill above the Mississippi River, the mansion became a landmark for steamboat pilots. Dr. DeMenil occupied it until his death in 1882, and the family remained there until 1928, after which the home entered a period of deterioration. 

More than a century of urban redevelopment ravaged the architectural fabric of dwellings and business blocks associated with the French community following the founding of St. Louis as a trading post by Auguste Chouteau and Pierre Laclède Liguest in 1764. Though the Chatillon-DeMenil house stood outside the major thrusts of urban renewal, eventually it too was threatened and nearly destroyed. In 1961, it was slated for demolition as part of the I-55 highway project. Through the efforts of local preservationists and a substantial donation from Union Electric, the building was spared and restored.

About the Project

The east portico of the house was restored in 2012 with a grant from French Heritage Society and funding from local partners. The current project concerns the restoration of the west portico, which has been on hold since 2013. This includes all aspects of the work, including the shoring up, repair and replacement of columns; carpentry of trim and moldings; sandblasting and refinishing of metal railings; treatment of wood; and resetting of stone.

The Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion Today

The Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion survives as one of only a few strong, tangible links to the city’s significant 19th-century French cultural heritage. The house encapsulates the important continuity of the French presence in the St. Louis region long after the passing of the colonial era: Its French familial continuum extends from the antebellum period before the Civil War, up through the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904, and beyond the World War I era. Open to the public since 1965, it was designated a city landmark in 1966 and a national landmark in 1978.