In Part 1 of a 2 part series on the restoration of The Utz-Teson House Hazelwood Patch discusses the City of Hazelwood restoring the house.

Now in Part 2, take a look at the history behind the house.

1782

It began as a simple one-room log structure, hand hewn from the forest around 1782 just after the United States gained its independence. 

A French-Canadian farmer named Joseph St. Germain is believed to be the person who built this home for him and his wife.  They were among the first pioneer settlers who starting farming in the St. Ferdinand Common Fields, which is now the Hazelwood area, after the British and Indians were defeated at the Battle of St. Louis in 1780.

1819

A second log cabin was built after Judge Alexander Stuart purchased the property in 1819.  Since the property he owned quadrupled in size, he needed to add more room for the slaves who farmed the land.  He added another log cabin, extended the roof with dormer windows, created a new enclosed entrance hallway and put in a Creole porch. 

Stuart later sold the farm to Julius Utz in 1832. 

Utz is the one who covered the logs with weatherboard and transformed it into the home seen today.

Original Location

The original location of the Utz-Teson (Tesson) House was at the northwest corner of Utz Lane and Tesson Park Drive. 

In 1997, it was offered for sale by RCW Corporation, a developer who wanted to put in a new subdivision of 19 homes known as Tesson Park Estates. 

Unless somebody bought it, the home would be destroyed, so the City of Hazelwood stepped in to save the home by paying one dollar to the developer. 

In 2003, another developer, the Mills Corporation, paid to have the historic structure moved in one-piece to its current spot at Brookes Park. 

Property Owners        

In 1804, St. Germain sold his farm to Auguste Chouteau, who at age 14 gained the reputation as the co-founder of St. Louis (1764) with his step-father Pierre Laclede.  This land sale is the first documented deed (Item, Page 1 of Deed Book A) found in the City of St. Louis Archives.

In 1819, Chouteau sold the property to Alexander Stuart who was a distinguished lawyer and the son of a Revolutionary War hero.  President Madison sent him to the St. Louis area in 1809 to help bring order to the chaos of the new Louisiana Territories.  Also, he was a close friend of Lewis and Clark and was appointed co-executor of Lewis’ estate.  From 1823 to 1826, Stuart served as the 4th Circuit Judge of the territory and played a key role in bringing the rule of law to the new state of Missouri.  Additionally, he is the grandfather of J.E.B. Stuart, the Confederate General.

In 1832, Stuart sold the house and farmland to Julius Utz who subdivided the property among his relatives and gave the house to Franklin Utz, his nephew.  Franklin’s son, Maj. James Morgan Utz, was arrested by Union soldiers as a Confederate spy and condemned to hang.  He was imprisoned at the Gratiot Street jail.  A party consisting of Catholic Bishop Ryan and family members rushed to Washington, DC, to plead the Major’s case to President Lincoln.  They succeeded in convincing Lincoln to grant the pardon, but upon their return on December 26, 1864, they discovered sadly that the prisoner had been executed shortly before their arrival.

In 1914, Mary Herzog, the sister of Maj. James M. Utz, sold the property to Gregory Teson.  He had two sons, Lawrence V. Teson and Chester J. Tesson.  Chester was about 12 years old when he moved into the house and he maintained it and preserved its historical status for most of the 20th century.  The house was never wired for electricity or inside plumbing.