Historical Grant's Farm, St. Louis, Mo. 



L'ne oi the oldest and iiicjst hi-tiiric i)laces in the vicin- 

 ity of the city of St. Louis, Aio.. is the old drants Farm. 

 It is located about twelve miles from the citv. on the 

 Gravois Road. Its owners, from the first, were people 

 of distinction, but its chief historical interest centers in 

 the fact that it was the property of General i later Presi- 

 dent) Ulysses S. Grant durinjj; the season of his greatest 

 lirosperity. Mrs. Grant, nee Julia Dent, was born and 

 reared on this place. It was here also where most of 

 his children were born. Grant's Farm wa^ originally 

 settled Ijy Captain John Lung in 1807. lie was a revolu- 

 tionary hero, and fought under (ieneral Lafayette. I'rum 

 the Longs the farm passed into the hands of 'llieodnre 

 Hunt, and from Mr. Hunt to Frederic Dent, Mrs. lirant's 

 father, and then to General (irant who, shortly before 

 his death, sold it to Luther H. Conn. Twelve vears ago 

 .\ugust A. Lhisch, the present owner, acquired the prop- 

 >.erty, which is now his home. 



.General Grant li\ed on this farm frnm the time of his 



liy the Kusch family fur week-end stays and for parties. 



During these years the place was particularly noted 

 for its simplicity. The natural features were preserved, 

 as far as possible, the growth of the native plants en- 

 couraged and the number of species extended, until now 

 almost all plants, liard\- in this locality, are to be found 

 there, growing in natural situations and surroundings. 

 Walks were made through the wildernesses, and to over- 

 come obstructions in the way, as well as to add interest 

 to the scenes, rustic structures of various kinds were 

 built, carefully observing their practical i.se as well as 

 their proper fitting into their surroundings. 



These structures were built of .Arbor vitae and white 

 iiirch, with floors of oak. To ]jrevent their early decay 

 by rot, none of these structures were permitted to touch 

 the soil, but were anchored to concrete piers which pro- 

 jected a few inches above the surface of the soil. After 

 eight years these structure^ are .still in s'llendid con- 

 ditiun. 



"C.R.'WT'S LOG CABIN," Ut'ILT AND FORMKRLY OCCUPIED P.V PRESIDEXT U. S. CR.WT. 



marriage to Miss Dent until shortl}- Ijefore the Civil 

 War. About 1854 he built the now famous "(Irant's l^og 

 Cabin," which is still carefully preserved mi the farm. 

 The Grant's Farm contains 2.^0 acres, the greate'-t part 

 of which is utilized as a park. 



Previous to the iiurchase of the pnjjjerty liy Mr. lUisch 

 it was utilized for pasture, and at the time was a prac- 

 tically unspoilt wilderness where most of the plants na- 

 tive to this region abounded. With the exception of a 

 meadow of about 15 acres, through which flows the 

 Gravois Creek, the property is very irregular in contour 

 and largelv woofled. The principal predominating sjje- 

 cies of trees are ; oaks, hickorv, svcamore, western sugar 

 maple, ash, black walnut, elm, liackberry, Ohio buck-eye, 

 red-bud, flowering dogwood, crab apple, wild black 

 cherry, hawthorn, etc. 



The first development of the property was very simple 

 and consisted of the building of a rustic cottage, barns, 

 artesian wells for water supply, and essential drives and 

 paths. For n numher df \ears the farm was utilized 



F'ive years ago Mr. Busch decided to make Grant's 

 Farm his permanent home, and this meant an entire 

 change of the general lay-out of the ]jlace, from a teni- 

 jiorary retreat to a gentleman's country home, and in 

 doing this the aim has been to preserve the natural 

 charm of the place and harmonize this with the archi- 

 tectural structures essential for the comfort and conveni- 

 ence of the owner and his family. 



The residence is of classic architecture, and is located 

 on an eminence, surrounded by woods. At the entrance 

 front the native wilderness almost touches the balustrade 

 of the building. The garden front consists of closely- 

 mown lawn, which forms long open ^-istas into the 

 distance. 



Along tile borders of the lawn and along the main 

 driveway are large, irregular masses of introduced hardy 

 plants, intermingling with the native woods in the back- 

 ground. 



( )n entering the main gate, which is constructed to 

 harmonize with the residence, a long vista of meadow. 



