Volunteers Helping to Restore House in
St. Ferdinand Park; Donations Needed

Historic Florissant, Inc. has been working to restore the Bockrath-Wiese House in St. Ferdinand Park. The house has fallen into grave disrepair and has water damage to the front of the house causing one window, the front door, floor, and wall to deteriorate. In addition, the basement dirt floor needs a moisture barrier and the house needs a new roof.
Several volunteers have come forward to help with this project. B&B Heating and Cooling and Goldkamp Heating and Cooling combined forces to provide a new HVAC system at no charge. Currently, Florissant Glass volunteers are working to reglaze windows at no charge. Historic Florissant volunteers removed mold, removed decayed walls and floors, replaced floor joists and plan to do much more.
Joe Gilliam and Randy Jones, professional painters, have volunteered to paint the interior and exterior of the house. Bob Donton and Steve Siebe will replace the front window with a replacement window from an 1860 farmhouse and make other repairs. Currently, a bricklayer is needed to repair the area around the damaged window.
Funding is also desperately needed to replace wood flooring, to rebuild the damaged wall, to repair window sashes and window sills, to create a moisture barrier in the basement, to purchase primer and paint and much more. The Bockrath-Wiese house is listed on the National Register for Historic Places. It was built by Henry Bockrath sometime before 1870. Henry was both a farmer and a grocer. He and his wife Elizabeth (Lott) had 12 children in this house. Henry also built a grocery store at St. Denis and Jefferson Street (Hendel’s Restaurant). George Wiese and his wife Margaret (Busken) bought the house in 1904. It remained in the Wiese family until 1976 when it was sold along with the farm acreage to the City of Florissant to be used as a park.
The hope and plan is for this house to transform into a beautiful example of an 1870s farmhouse. As soon as the floors are secured it will be open for public viewing at given times. If you would like to help, please send donations to:
Historic Florissant, Inc. 1067 Dunn Rd. Florissant, MO 63031.

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