#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

#243: Lafayette Square Plaza

Not too far from the cake at Lafayette Park is the plaza itself. This cake is notable for being the 250th cake put out. Several cake-hunters I know who have been doing this since the beginning claimed this as their 'milestone' cake.



The cake, which has a unique food theme, and centers on St. Louis goodies! The hamburger and hot dog, by the way, are rumored to be introduced at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, but there have been no legitimate claims, as they were served at special occasions years before they became popularized at the Fair. Same goes for iced tea, which I believe is supposed to be on the left side, also has been rumored to be first served at the Fair. It has since been proven untrue.:

An episode of KETC Channel 9's 'Living St. Louis' devoted to Lafayette Square

Wikipedia link

1800 Park Avenue, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63104
Cake artist: Brenda Morrison

#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

#227: Head's General Store/St. Albans

I have never heard of St. Albans until this year. After visiting the community I figured this looked like a rich person's getaway place. When going into the village, there are unique-looking homes and buildings and a golf course, so it gave me that impression. Maybe so. However, St. Albans is not an incorporated community.

The Lewis and Clark expedition made a stop close to present day St. Albans in 1804. It is said that General Lewis nearly slipped and fell down a cliff, but was quick to react and saved himself. St. Albans was first settled in 1834 (back when it was first called 'Tavern Creek' because it was near Tavern Rock Cave). Germans decided to make a home here due to its closeness to the Missouri River. It was finally named St. Albans in 1837. The general store was built in 1893 for the people of the village to get their goods. It still stands today, and it was nearly destroyed by flood waters, notably the Great Flood of '93. The river was at one time across from the store, but it was moved and redug by workers. A lake sits there now.

Head's General Store was originally known as 'the St. Albans General Store', but was renamed after a longtime owner, Mae Pfeiffer Head, whose family bought it in 1915. She passed away in 2004. There are many other historical places in St. Albans, such as the Post Office next door to the store, and the Studio Inn, which was built by Theodore Link (who designed Union Station).

Head's General Store

A nice, closer look at the entrance with the cake in front

Shameless Budweiser plug

This cake seems to focus a lot about coffee. So it looks like this one is already a favorite for coffee-lovers! Unfortunately I don't drink coffee since its bad on my stomach.

Top of the cake. Cute, huh?

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Unfortunately there is no official website that exists for this location; however, you can access its National Register of Historic Places registration form here.

3516 St. Alban's Road, ST. ALBANS, MO, 63073
Cake artist: Don Christeson

#207: Lindenwood University

And yet another university and educational institution. Here we go.

• The 2nd oldest higher-education institution west of the Mississippi River.
• Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and his wife, Mary Easton Sibley.
• It is the fastest-growing university in the Midwest within the last 25 years.
• Called Lindenwood because the land it was purchased on had several linden trees.
• Originally a girls school (its name was The Lindenwood School For Girls), it became co-ed in 1969.

The Harlen C. Hunter Stadium as seen from the top

Spellman Hall

But the university has so much to offer. Some of my friends have attended classes here as well as graduated. The cake is located in front of Spellman Hall. The school's colors are black and gold, and they are well represented on this cake.

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake. If you look very close on the left side (white area), you'll see some graffiti (HOLA). Really? Must have been a student that watched too much Jersey Shore....

Lindenwood University on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website

209 S. Kingshighway St., ST. CHARLES, MO, 63301
Cake artist: John Troy  (he also decorated the Daniel Boone cake)

#206: Fort Zumwalt Park

One of the oldest parks in the St. Louis region lies in O'Fallon (Missouri, not Illinois). This was the only cake placed in either one of the O'Fallons.

The Heald house

Facts:

• Revolutionary War veteran Jacob Zumwalt and his family settled on the land where the park is now. Zumwalt (died in 1820).
• Parts of his house that remain (in the park) include his stone chimney and his fireplaces.
• There is a replica of a War of 1812 fort in the park as well.
• The Darius Heald Home (where the cake is located on the outside) was built in 1884. 
• The land was purchased by the state of Missouri in the early-20th century, and eventually to the city of O'Fallon
• Park has a 4-acre lake and plenty of shaded areas, even places to play disc golf.
• Today, Fort Zumwalt Park hosts several annual and weekly events. This includes 'Founders Day Celebration' in May and the 'Festival of Lights' during the holidays.

Left side of the cake

Back side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Top of the cake

Wikipedia link

1000 Jessup Drive W, O' FALLON, MO, 63366
Cake artist: Leah Pruitt

#203: Mount Pleasant Estates

Entering....wine country! I kid you not. Once you travel the country highway MO-94, you'll see plenty of wineries as well as the fields that come with them. Still, its a nice drive, especially on the narrow roads and driving through the towns. I had never been to Augusta before, nor have I heard of it until this year, but this town does show plenty of old-school pride. Since I've driven a lot that day already, I had to get gas somewhere. I forgot from Washington to St. Charles, a gas station would be rare. Here I am, spoiled from back home, where there's a gas station every 5 miles. Turns out there was an 'old-school' but refurbished small gas station (with old-school pumps that take credit cards!) in Augusta. Then it was off to Mount Pleasant Estates. I took plenty of pictures as well as walked around when I was there.

• There is also a second location, which was put in Branson in 2008.
• Mount Pleasant is the third-largest winery in Missouri.
• The village of Augusta was originally called Mount Pleasant, but for unknown reasons, was changed to Augusta.
• The winery was founded in 1859 by immigrant Georg Muench. 
• It had to be closed (but only temporary) for Prohibition starting in 1920.
• It has a land spanning of 85 acres of vines, as well as 16 different kinds of grapes in production.

Another great thing about Mount Pleasant Winery: the views!

An awesome view

You can also take a cell-phone tour of Mount Pleasant. All you have to do, when you're there, is call 314-885-1098, stop #16.

This is the second cake in a row that I saw focus on wines:

Left side of the cake

Right side of the cake

Mount Pleasant Estates/Winery on FB
Wikipedia link
Official website

5634 High Street, AUGUSTA, MO, 63332
Cake artist: Christy Martin