Newsmagazine Network, which serves the west suburbs of St. Louis, reports that the Wildwood (Mo.) Historical Society has bought a five-acre tract known as “The Hencken Place” and seeks to establish a historical museum and theater there.
The land is located directly off Hwy. 100, just 1/8 mile west of Stovall’s Grove Saloon. Nearly 7,000 square feet of storage and display space is available in three outbuildings and barns. […]
In general, the property lies within physical space previously known as ‘Dutch Hollow’ as the earliest name of the community. The area is rich in West County history. In the 1820s, Samuel Harris was noted as having the first post office west of St. Louis. Harris had applied to the U.S. government to have the post office named Fox Creek. He also owned a 40-acre tract to the east of the current site that was just purchased.
Harris had a tavern and grist mill, according to the 1883 history of St. Louis County. These landmarks were located at what currently is Stovall’s Grove Saloon.
What the article left out is that the property sits right next to a 1926-32 alignment of Route 66, called Manchester Road.
(Hat tip: Kent Sanderson)