Magill House Showcases German Architecture Style

This week, we check out the Magill House at 410 Harrison Street, which provides some great historical features not only for the city but for the state of Missouri.

The National Register Application for Florissant’s Historic District states, “this is the finest example of the Missouri German style in the Multiple Resource Area. Its brick exterior boasts a fanciful corbelled, toothed cornice which is unique in Florissant.”

The original residence consisted of only two rooms built in 1834. Many additions and alterations have been made to the house with the most extensive changes in 1932 by owner/architect Harry Hallmuth.

(Details of these plans and drawings can be found in the archives of Historic Florissant, Inc. in the Gittemeier House.)

The house’s association with the development of Florissant and the state of Missouri is significant. Its age and structural beauty represents an important period in the development of Florissant’s Old Town and has been included in the Historic American Buildings Survey.

The house is named for the family of Dr. Samuel Magill, Jr., a prominent family in Florissant throughout the mid to late 1800s. After the death of the doctor in 1854, his widow and children moved into this house. None of his three children ever married, so their family line in Florissant ended with them.

Sisters Jane and Ellen lived together in this home until about 1880.

Their younger brother, William, was educated at St. Louis University but went west to the Pikes Peak region in search of gold in the late 1850s. A collection of letters between the siblings paints a colorful picture of Florissant during this period. These letters, along with other family documents are preserved in the Historic Florissant archives.

The Magill House has been beautifully restored both inside and out, and the current owners often generously open their doors to the public on our local house tours.

Information for this article was provided by Historic Florissant, Inc.