Wood in St Louis buildings The earliest wood buildings in St. Louis - the log structures built by the fur traders - were mostly demolished as the original townsite became a commercial area. Most of the early frame houses that remain in the City are in Carondelet, but the majority of these have been covered with modern siding so you can't tell what they're really made of. There is another good cluster of late nineteenth century frame houses in the Clifton Heights neighborhood. Because of the fear of fire, most houses after the mid-1850s were not made of wood - the ones which remain are most often found near the city limits. The antebellum Lyle Mansion in Carondelet Park is the oldest frame house in the City. The Kennon House in Carondelet dates from 1868. The wood of this 19th century house in the Shaw neighborhood was hidden under asphalt siding until recently. Some of the houses on West Cabanne Place are built in the Shingle Style, which was popular on the East Coast in the 1880s. Even if there aren't many whole houses made of wood, just about every house in St. Louis uses wood both inside and out. On the exterior of houses, wood is usually painted to protect it from the weather. This porch and window have lasted over a hundred years because they have been protected from rot with paint. One of the reasons that people admire the old houses of St. Louis is because of the woodwork inside - including molding (shaped wood strips used on walls, around doors, etc.) and wood floors. Wood Clay Stone Identify It!		More About Wood Wood Home How a tree becomes a building Related Links Lyle Mansion Shaw Historic District
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