We visited Illinois recently without having to cross the Mississippi River. Yes, it’s possible, in what of the stranger parts of the greater St. Louis region south down Interstate 55. Back in November of 2010, we saw the remnants of the colonial town of Kaskaskia, that once sat along the banks of the Kaskaskia River,…
Tag: Historic Sites
Interior, St. Mary’s of the Barrens, Perryville
The interior of St. Mary of the Barrens can easily rank as one of the most beautiful church interiors in the United States, and I’ve seen a lot of churches in my life. If you don’t remember my post on Il Gesù from back in November, go back and read it, and then come back…
St. Mary’s of the Barrens, Perryville
St. Mary’s of the Barrens takes its name from the prairie early settlers could not plow; instead, they turned to the loamy soil of the bottomlands along the river to farm. Established in 1818, the church also served alongside the oldest seminary west of the Mississippi. The Vincentians have long been associated with the church…
The Streets Around Downtown, Perryville
Around the courthouse square in Perryville are an assortment of brick houses, which I suspect are from around the time of the Civil War or earlier. The houses are simple, with gable roofs and four bays wide facing the street. I suspect many were built by German immigrants. A highlight is the Faherty House, which…
Perryville, Perry County, Missouri
We visited the town of Perryville in Perry County last weekend to check out the area and in particular the Shrine at St. Mary of the Barrens, which we’ll look at later this week. It’s an interesting and extremely old part of Missouri, with origins dating back to 1820, right around the founding of the…
Meramec Highlands, Revisited
The Meramec Highlands Hotel must have been a sight to behold. Sitting high up on the bluffs, just to the east of the eponymous train tunnel, it was a short ride out from the city on the St. Louis and San Francisco (Frisco) Railroad. Guests could stay at the hotel, as well as the cottages…
Meramec Highlands Tunnel
Nestled behind the backyards of a subdivision is a surprise. Near the West and East Barrett Tunnels is a third tunnel, the Meramec Highlands Tunnel, high up on a bluff overlooking the Meramec River Valley. It was constructed in 1883 by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad. Like the other two, it was replaced just to…
East Barrett Tunnel
Moving past Barrett Station, further on down the tracks is the East Barrett Tunnel. The western entrance to the tunnel has been covered up, most likely by the northern approach to the Barrett Station Road bridge over the train tracks. The eastern tunnel is much larger and longer than the western tunnel. Due to the…
West Barrett Tunnel, Revisited
I originally looked at the eastern entrance of the West Barrett Tunnel back in December of 2013. I felt it was time to do some more investigation and find the western entrance. Supposedly this tunnel and its eastern mate are the oldest train tunnels west of the Mississippi River. As I wrote back in 2013,…
Nauvoo, Illinois
We visited the historic Mormon settlement of Nauvoo on our journey north up the Mississippi River looking at Iowa cities back in May. Of course, Nauvoo is in Illinois, and it is in an isolated corner of the state. There are numerous houses and other buildings from the historic period that have been restored, and…