The City of Hazelwood has some historical gems well-deserving of preservation. In recent years the city through grants and other fund sources has been able to renovate and update The Knobbe House, the Little Red Schoolhouse, and in 2012 the Utz-Teson (Tesson) House. All are housed in the Hazelwood Parks and Recreation Division's Brookes Park and the community can become part of the effort to keep said projects moving forward through the newly launched Friends of Brookes Park Commemorative Brick Program. (Get instant news updates. Like Hazelwood Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.) The…

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, …

A large crowd of residents, elected state officials, city council members, city employees, as well as regional history enthusiasts recently attended an open house dedication ceremony for the City of Hazelwood’s oldest home, the Utz-Teson (Tesson) House.  The event took place at Hazelwood’s historic Brookes Park, which is located at the end of Brookes Drive alongside I-270 and next to the Bommarito Volkswagen of Hazelwood dealership.  The Utz-Teson House is the oldest and most significant of the three structures on display at Brookes Park. The other two buildings include The Little Red …

You many not know, but when you look at The Little Red Schoolhouse located inside of Brookes Park, you're looking at an immense piece of history for not only the City of Hazelwood, but the Hazelwood School District and North St. Louis County. The water pump you see outside of the house itself is original from a time long ago. The desks...you bet...the same desks that were situated in the schoolhouse on the day it closed. Rebuilt for preservation in June of '70, The Little Red Schoolhouse is about as close as it gets to its original condition. It was an immense undertaking, but brick-by-brick …

When it comes to hot exhibits sure to get visitors fired up, the First Due Fire Museum at St. Louis Mills in the City of Hazelwood is sizzling. Firefighters Eric Kiehl, Chester Jones and Steve Arnold founded the museum on May 10, 2004, as a way to promote fire safety education. “The goal for the museum was education,” Kiehl said. “Letting the public know what firefighters are all about – the type of work that we do, the type of equipment that we use, the gear that we wear – mainly it was an educational thing.” Jam-Packed with Memorabilia But there was another reason the three decided to open …