There was excitement hanging in the air last week as we anticipated the arrival of the Southeast Missouri State University students who would conduct an in-depth survey of the John Heil House. The university group has been in Ste. Genevieve for a two-week summer field school, studying French Colonial architecture and historic sites. The John Heil House was chosen by the Missouri State Park Service and the SEMO State University Historic Preservation faculty as one of the places of interest.
Very little research has been done on Heil House through the years, unlike other homes in the area. So, this was very exciting to have the group go over our house with a fine tooth comb. . .and when I say that, I mean it.
They crawled through the tiny spaces in the attic and cellar "where no other man wants to go," as well as down a maybe three foot wide alley between our home and the adjacent two-story building.
There was no place inside or out that wasn't measured, photographed, or recorded. Detailed architectural drawings and sketches were also made. Many unknown factors were revealed, one of which was the plaster in the front room attic contained horsehair, possibly dating that section as far back as 1818. Until now, the building has been loosely dated at 1865. Of course, more research will be necessary.
For two days, this group's total focus was on documenting every detail of our home. We won't know all the discoveries until the University has time to put the data together, but hopefully by fall, we will be able to read the findings. It will hard to wait. . .
Our deepest thanks to all who made this survey happen. . .
and to every person who participated in it.
It was an amazing two days. . .
"Southeast has the only undergraduate historic preservation program in Missouri certified by the National Council for Preservation Education, and is one of only nine bachelor’s degree programs nationwide. Program faculty have demonstrated expertise in museums, historic sites, archives, public programming, architectural history, the National Register of Historic Places, and the preservation of the built environment."
"The program is designed to not only provide students with depth and breadth in the field of historic preservation, but to also give them a broad-based understanding of the larger field of public history. In addition to core classes in the preservation of the built environment, students take breadth requirement courses in various aspects of public history, such as museums, historic sites and archives. As part of these breadth requirements, a practicum course involves students in a semester-long project, such as developing an exhibit at a local museum, processing an archival collection, or developing an interpretative plan for a historic site."
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