2007-09-24 Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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This brochure will be one facet of a multi-pronged community outreach effort, but it is the first, important step to gain the visibility this project will need to succeed in the future. Historical Background of Sutter-Meyer farmhouse and project: In 1873, the building known as the Sutter-Meyer farmhouse was built in the country outside of the City of St. Louis. The house stood on a working farmstead, just off the plank road now known as Olive Boulevard. The building owners grew fruits and vegetables to sell on Produce Row in St. Louis. The building was a nice, typical farmhouse for a successful working farm of that era, in this region. The two-story, two-bedroom brick building with a full-length bracketed front porch was surrounded by farm outbuildings, including a kitchen, a barn and a smoke house. All those buildings are now gone and the building has been modified by the additional of a brick two-car garage on the north side of the house. The building is now located on a suburban cul-de-sac, surrounded by 1950s-era ranch homes. The old plank road is a major state highway, home to almost 400 businesses, including a thriving international district. The Sutter-Meyer farmhouse access to that road has been destroyed. This historic home is now, for most people in the area, just a glimpsed roofline from Olive Boulevard, a remnant of the past barely making itself known in the present. The Sutter-Meyer farmhouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and was designated a University City landmark in 1986. The farmhouse stayed in private hands until 2004 when it was purchased by the City of the University City, where it is now located. In 2005 the city purchased an adjacent lot which was the front yard of the farm house. The building has been uninhabited since University City purchased it. In the fall of 2006 a group of University City residents met to discuss ideas on how this building, believed to be the oldest building in University City, could be preserved and utilized by the residents of University City. This group called a public meeting, inviting other people to attend to talk about the possibilities for the building. From that and other meetings, a group formed to become the Board of Directors of the Sutter-Meyer Society (SMS). The Society filed incorporation papers with the State of Missouri and was formally incorporated on February 15, 2007. And in the spring of 2007 the City Council of University City gave the Sutter-Meyer Society the go-ahead to lease the building to use as a museum and educational center as a museum and educational facility. The Board of Directors conducted monthly meetings, forming active committees for Fund Raising, Facilities, and Public Relations and Marketing. The group set up a sub- committee to work on filing a 501c (3) application with the Internal Revenue Service. Board members began searching for sources of revenue for the group. Public outreach K-1-d was undertaken – in the print media, at local meetings of historical groups, and in University City neighborhoods. September 24, 2007