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Louis Bolduc House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property
Louis Bolduc Historic House
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Location	123 S. Main St., Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
Coordinates	37°58′43″N 90°2′35″W / 37.97861°N 90.04306°W / 37.97861; -90.04306
Built	1788
Architectural style	French Colonial
Part of	Ste. Genevieve Historic District (ID66000892)
NRHP reference No.	69000305
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 16, 1969
Designated NHL	April 15, 1970
Designated NHLDCP	October 15, 1966

The Louis Bolduc House, also known as Maison Bolduc, is a historic house museum at 123 South Main Street in Ste. Geneviève, Missouri. It is an example of poteaux sur solle ("posts-on-sill") construction, and is located in the first European settlement in the present-day state of Missouri. The first historic structure in Ste. Genevieve to be authentically restored, the house is a prime example of the traditional French Colonial architecture of the early 18th century in North America and was designated in 1970 as a National Historic Landmark.

History

Ste. Genevieve was founded in the mid-eighteenth century by French-Canadian settlers, most of whom migrated from villages on the east bank of the Mississippi River, such as Prairie du Rocher, Illinois. Because of repeated flooding from the Mississippi River, with an especially bad occurrence in 1785, they decided to relocate to a higher site further away from the river.

In 1792 Louis Bolduc, a successful merchant and trader, who also had lead mines to the west, built a one-story house at the new village site, about three miles north of the first. First to be built in the one-story house was a large "keeping room", about 26' × 27', where the family conducted most of its activities. It has a large fireplace at the north end, and a wide-plank puncheon floor, made of logs cut flat on only one side, with the curved side laid down. Storage for lead, corn and other goods was in the attic above the room. In 1793, Bolduc had the wide hallway and a large sleeping chamber added, the latter also about 26' × 27' in size. Historians believe the sleeping chamber had two "sleeping cells," areas partially walled off for privacy: one for him and his wife and one shared by their three children. Bolduc had tall windows with glass installed in both large rooms, another mark of his wealth.

The walls of the house were built with heavy oak timbers set about six inches apart and infilled with bousillage, a mixture of mud, straw, and horsehair that hardened to a cement-like texture. Sometimes other animal or human hair was added to the mixture. Diagonal timbers on each supporting wall added stability. The steep hip roof, made of cedar shakes, was supported by heavy, hand-hewn Norman trusses held together by mortise and tenon joinery. It extends over the four sides of the house's porches to provide shade and cooling. The house is surrounded by a reconstructed stockade fence typical of the time (to keep out livestock that roamed in the area). Gardens have been reconstructed on the grounds.

Located at 123 South Main, the property was owned by Bolduc family descendants until the 1940s. Furnished with pieces typical of the period, today it is operated as a historic house museum. Three items are original to the Bolduc family. The property has been owned since 1949 and operated by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Missouri. It was restored in 1956–1957, under the direction of the architectural historian, Dr. Ernest Allen Connally. As may be seen by a comparison of photos below, the house was restored to show its original colonial style, whose elements were intact under later changes. In 1970 the house was designated a National Historic Landmark. It is a contributing property in the Ste. Genevieve Historic District, which has National Historic Landmark status.

Photos of the Bolduc House

Recent

• Front view, showing post-on-sill construction and bousillage infill.
• Model of the Bolduc House; shows diagonal framing timbers
• View of typical stockade fence; also view of side and front of house
• Garden area of the property, showing detached kitchen and rear of house.
• Reconstructed kitchen building at rear of house
• Rear view of house and detached kitchen

Archival

• 1930s–40s photo of the front of the house
• 1936 photo of the front and side
• Norman truss components in the attic
• Restored bedroom

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Missouri
• List of the oldest buildings in Missouri
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
2. ^ "Louis Bolduc House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
3. Carl J. Ekberg and Anton J. Pregaldin, Louis Bolduc: His Family And His House, Tucson, AZ: The Patrice Press, 2002
4. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Louis Bolduc House" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying photos, exterior and interior, from 19 (32 KB)

External links

• Media related to Louis Bolduc House at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. MO-1105, "Louis Bolduc House, 123 South Main Street, Sainte Genevieve, Ste. Genevieve County, MO", 35 photos, 2 color transparencies, 17 measured drawings, 14 data pages, 4 photo caption pages

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
Lists by county	Adair Andrew Atchison Audrain Barry Barton Bates Benton Bollinger Boone Buchanan Butler Caldwell Callaway Camden Cape Girardeau Carroll Carter Cass Cedar Chariton Christian Clark Clay Clinton Cole Cooper Crawford Dade Dallas Daviess DeKalb Dent Douglas Dunklin Franklin Gasconade Gentry Greene Grundy Harrison Henry Hickory Holt Howard Howell Iron Jackson: Downtown Kansas City Jackson: Kansas City other Jackson: Other Jasper Jefferson Johnson Knox Laclede Lafayette Lawrence Lewis Lincoln Linn Livingston Macon Madison Maries Marion McDonald Mercer Miller Mississippi Moniteau Monroe Montgomery Morgan New Madrid Newton Nodaway Oregon Osage Ozark Pemiscot Perry Pettis Phelps Pike Platte Polk Pulaski Putnam Ralls Randolph Ray Reynolds Ripley St. Charles St. Clair St. Francois St. Louis (city): Downtown and Downtown West St. Louis (city): Northwest St. Louis (city): Southwest St. Louis County Ste. Genevieve Saline Schuyler Scotland Scott Shannon Shelby Stoddard Stone Sullivan Taney Texas Vernon Warren Washington Wayne Webster Worth Wright
Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks
Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

v t e Buildings and Structures of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri
Historic Buildings	Amoureux House Felix Vallé House State Historic Site Jacques Guibourd Historic House Louis Bolduc House Nicolas Janis House Ste. Genevieve Historic District
Churches	Sacred Heart (Ozora) Ste. Genevieve Catholic (Ste. Genevieve)
Highways	Interstate 55 U.S. Route 61 Missouri Route 32

• Historic house museums in Missouri
• Museums in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri
• National Historic Landmarks in Missouri
• Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri
• Historic American Buildings Survey in Missouri
• Houses completed in 1785
• French-American culture in Missouri
• French-Canadian culture in Missouri
• French colonial architecture
• Colonial architecture in the United States
• Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Missouri
• National Society of the Colonial Dames of America
• Houses in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri
• National Register of Historic Places in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri
• National Historic Landmark District contributing properties