How The Lemp Family's Legacy Was Saved

One of St. Louis’ greatest sins has been its willingness to tear down its past in favor of something new. This was almost the fate of the Lemp Mansion and Lemp Brewery.

In 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Interstate Commerce Act. This revolutionary bill paved the way for the construction of our present-day interstate system. Forever changing how Americans travel and conduct commerce across our vast country.

St. Louis’ geographical location made it a prime candidate for the routing of several interstates. One such Interstate was 55, whose proposed route would run North and South, connecting the Great Lakes through St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico.

The initial route of Interstate-55 through St. Louis was slated to follow Thirteenth Street. Part of this iconic street was famous for its large mansion houses, such as the DeMenil Mansion, Lemp Mansion, Hoppe Mansion, and Kern Mansion, among others. Also, Thirteenth Street used to run through the Lemp Brewery. If Interstate-55 had followed its initial route, it would have resulted in the demolition of several historic sites, and the legacy of the Lemp Family would have been lost forever.

Fortunately, the Lemp legacy had a savior: the DeMenil Mansion. St. Louis was so eager to tear down anything perceived as old that it almost erased the history of its own founding family, the Chouteaus. The DeMenil Mansion, built in 1849 by Henry Chatillon, was one of the last physical vestiges of the Chouteau Family’s legacy.

In 1836, Nicholas DeMenil married Emili Sophie Chouteau, the great-granddaughter of Madame Chouteau (Mother of Auguste Chouteau) and Pierre Laclede, the founding fathers of St. Louis. In 1855, Nicholas DeMenil purchased the mansion along with the surrounding eighteen acres. Shortly after, Nicholas and Sophie moved their family into the residence.

If you're traveling down Interstate-55, you will notice that the highway makes a strange bend around the Lemp Mansion. That’s because, in the 1960s, the historical significance of the DeMenil Mansion and its ties to St. Louis’ founding family made it eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. Forcing the State of Missouri and the Federal Government to reroute Interstate-55 to travel around The Lemp Mansion, DeMenil Mansion, and the Lemp Brewery. Preserving the Chouteau family’s legacy, fortunately for St. Louis, there was an unintentional consequence: it also preserved the legacy of the Lemp family.

Some of the information contained in this blog is from the DeMenil Mansion Tour. The photograph is from the Missouri History Museum Photographic Archive.