#246: Sappington House Museum

The Thomas Sappington House was one of my last few final stops to 250. I ended up parking here in the early afternoon so I can easily access the Grants Trail to Grants Farm. It was, like, 95 degrees hot outside! But after all the exploring, it was worth dodging the $12 parking fee at the farm. It was about a mile and a half using the trail from the Sappington House to Grants Farm. Unfortunately, I didn't go in the restaurant, gift shop or take the tour. I hope to come back sometime down the road.

Who is Thomas Sappington, you ask? Here are the factoids:

• The Sappington Family were early settlers of St. Louis County, during the final days of Lewis & Clark's expedition.
• Thomas was a Revolutionary War veteran who served as George Washington's bodyguard at Valley Forge
• The house was built in 1808 after Thomas' marriage to Mary Ann Kinkhead.
• The Sappington Barn was built in later years, and is a model of a barn that once existed on the property in the 19th century.
• The house was restored and by 1966, it was open for tourists. Still is to this day, as a reminder of what life was like during the 19th century in Crestwood and St. Louis.

Front of the Sappington House (from the road)

The cake, designed by the students of the Ursuline Academy of St. Louis (an all-girls private high school that is located in nearby suburb Oakland and is, fittingly enough, on Sappington Road):

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Top of the cake, which reads Ursuline Academy's initials and a message: 'Go light your world'

NOW: As of 6/4/2015, the cake is still sitting there.

Official website


1015 S. Sappington Road, CRESTWOOD, MO, 63126
Cake artists: Ursuline Academy Students

#238: Manchester City Hall

Here is a cake that represents the suburb of Manchester, Missouri. As one would guess, the city is named after an Englishman who migrated from Manchester, England. So why its city hall? Well, it turns out the building has a lot of historical significance. City officials nominated their building, which was at point in time, the Lyceum.

Funny, that's what the other community said about its own

The doors of Manchester City Hall

The former Lyceum, now a city hall

Some factoids about the Lyceum (built in 1894) and its surrounding area:

• The Manchester Spring which flowed to the nearby Grand Glaize Creek was next to the Lyceum. The spring is now covered.
• The Lyceum is also located nearby the first trading post site for Indians, which was between the Meramec and Missouri rivers. 
• Other buildings that existed in the 19th century still stand today, along Manchester Road nearby the city hall.
• The first floor of the Lyceum was a marketplace, or at least a shop where many townspeople got what they needed. It also may have been used as a post office in its early years.
• The second floor was a large open space, which was like an auditorium or a theatre. A roller rink was enjoyed by the residents at one time, and 'talkie' pictures were shown on this floor during the Great Depression.

The cake, which states Manchester's motto, 'A proud past, a bright future':

Back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake

City of Manchester, MO Wikipedia link
City of Manchester, MO Official website

14318 Manchester Road, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63011  (funny, I thought this was located in Manchester...)
Cake artist: Mike Ochonicky

#236: Rockwoods Reservation

Another park in West County. Here's a look at Rockwoods:

• It is one of the first conservation areas that was established by the newly formed Missouri Conservation Commission, in 1938.
• The earliest recorded use of the land was from the 1700s (back when the area was under Spanish rule) when trappers utilized the area.
• The area provides 1,880 acres of nature with its wildlife
• There are also areas where limestone, clay and gravel quarries exist.
• Today, it stands as a place where people can enjoy and learn about outdoor life, including the environment and the wildlife.

The cake, which focuses on the outdoors:

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Wikipedia link
Official website

2751 Glencoe Road, WILDWOOD, MO, 63038
Cake artist: Sandra Schuchardt

#233: Lone Elk Park

Along my journeys into the outer parts of St. Louis County lies this park. Not just a park - Lone Elk Park! This one involved a lot of driving...but it was well worth it though! Especially if this is all stuff that I don't see everyday. I did see some animals, which I believed were bison or buffalos of some sort.

• According to its Facebook page, it is a wildlife management area, which consists of deer, bison, turkeys, waterfowls and of course, elk.
• Lone Elk Park is 546 acres.
• During WWII, the land belonged to the Tyson Valley Powder Plant. After the war, it became a county park and herds of bison and elk were established here. However, years later in 1958, the herds were destroyed.
• One lone elk survived, hence its present name
• The park was named Lone Elk Park in 1966 and was opened to the public in 1971
• Even though this is an animal-friendly place, no other animals (like personal pets) are allowed, even inside vehicles.

Visitor's center at Lone Elk Park

Deer display inside the Visitor Center

Lone Elk Park entrance

In order to get the cake, you must do a bit of driving on the one-lane road. Be cautious, of course, for the wildlife that roam. You will see a lake and then a visitor's center. The cake is directly behind it. The cake, which like some of these cakes in parks, celebrates an outdoorsy theme:

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake

Lone Elk Park on FB
Wikipedia link

2 South 4th Street, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63102  (it is actually located near or in Valley Park but the address is St. Louis)
Cake artist: Alissa Shoultz

#221: United Hebrew Congregation

• First Jewish congregation established west of the Mississippi River
• There is no known year when this was organized (their Facebook page says 1837), although historians debate on it
• Like most religious organizations and groups, they have moved around quite a bit since their inception. They started on 5th St. and Broadway in 1848.
• This facility consists of a Religious School, Hebrew School, Early Childhood Center and Youth Camp.
• The current location at Conway Road opened its doors in 1977.

The cake, decorated by Henryk Ptasiewicz, which focuses on the location:

UPDATE (1/25/2016): The cake still stands outside the place. It was at the front entrance for a long time, but it is now located in the back in the middle of a circle drive. Here is a photo:

Behind the building on 1/23/2016

United Hebrew Congregation on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website

13788 Conway Road, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63141
Cake artist: Henryk Ptasiewicz

#178: YMCA of Greater St. Louis

 *PUBLIC VOTE WINNER*

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A! You can get yourself clean, you can have a good meal, or you can do whatever you feel. Well, in the Village People's case, that is. But yeah, there are plenty of things to do if you're a member of the YMCA - swimming, weightlifting, kids activities, you get the idea.

The lobby of the place. See the cake on the right?

Despite of what it says on the list, meaning the one on STL250's cake list, the name kind of is misleading. YMCA of Greater St. Louis is actually 17 different locations around the St. Louis area. These do not include any in the Metro-East area, like the two Edwardsville ones. The one where the cake is located is the Edward Jones Family YMCA in Maryland Heights. The Edward Jones company donated a huge portion for the construction for the facility.

As I was driving from Creve Coeur Lake on south of Marine Avenue, I was trying to locate the cake closest to the intersection of Page and I-270. I wasn't sure what it was, but I remembered at the time a YMCA location (besides the one at Granite) was on the list. As it turns out, it was the one I saw near the corner of McKelvey and Marine Ave. Point is, for those who haven't gotten this cake yet, be aware as the name on the list is misleading. And definitely go during open hours as this is an indoor cake.

Top of the cake

Right side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Back and left view of the cake

Edward Jones Family YMCA on FB
Official website (Edward Jones location)

12521 Marine Ave., MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO, 63146
Cake artist: Keith Cotton

UPDATE (8/24/2016): The whereabouts of this cake is unknown. It was placed at a South County YMCA in 2015; I don't know if its still there.

#177: Creve Coeur Lake

• St. Louis County's largest outdoor park (as in the St. Louis County Park's system), at 2,145 acres
• Creve Coeur Lake is the largest natural lake in Missouri.
• Park includes picnic areas, as well as places for archery and other activities, plus a walking trail surrounding the lake.
• In 1945, the park was the first of its kind dedicated by the St. Louis County Park system.
• Before 1945, the lake and area was used as a private resort facility and for boating and rowing competitions (notably during the 1904 Summer Olympics).

Right side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Left side of the cake

Wikipedia link
Creve Coeur Lake on St. Louis Co's Parks website

13236 Streetcar Drive, MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO, 63043
Cake artist: Deb Stroh

The cake was sold on 1/1/2015 for $695 in the biddingforgood auction.