St. Joespeh, while a small quaint town, offers many small historic sites and diamonds in the rough to visit and enjoy yourself. From Mini Golf to historic museums, venturing off campus can be rewarding for students.

House full of history and homemade dishes

An old house is not just a tarnished piece of architecture; it is a glimpse of a past forgotten by the modern age and a window leading to stories and history that once lied within its walls. This window of history for the Gothic House was about to be smashed by the wrecking ball of modernization until Pat McNaughton saved it and restored it into the Gothic House Tea and Eatery where the community can now enjoy both its past and future.

The Gothic House, located on 720 S. 10th street, was constructed in 1869 by an ironworker named John Burnside. It is the only standing brick example of a gothic revival style house in St. Joseph today. McNaughton undertook this restoration project in December 2000 in an effort to stay busy to help cope with her husband’s recent death in 1998.

“I needed something,” McNaughton said. “I was looking on the Internet and I was looking at all the houses and then I saw the house. It looked like a cute little cottage and had a business route by the museums. When I went to see it, I opened it up and saw the staircase and I could see what it once was.”

Though McNaughton could envision the past beauty of the house, in reality, the house was far from its former glory and suffered from years of wear and batter from the elements. It would take McNaughton eight years of hard work to make her dream a reality.

She did 40 percent of the work herself, replacing most of the hard wood floors, sand scraping, insulating the whole house and making it an energy efficient vintage home.

“It has been the best money I’ve ever spent,” McNaughton said.

She was also a former sign painter and muralist for 20 years and she painted the beautifully intricate sign in the front of the house.

All the efforts to revive the house to its former condition were not enough. She also wanted to save its future. She went to the courts in an effort to save the house.

“It will take a court order to get it taken down now,” McNaughton said.

The hard work is worth it to McNaughton because it gives back to the community.

“This is what St. Joe really was. This town was glorious in the late 1800’s.”

The Gothic House not only offers history but also a delicious menu from an assortment of homemade soups, salads, quiches, sandwiches and desserts. All dishes are made from scratch and the menu is frequently rotated between McNaughton’s signature secret family recipes. There are also large varieties of hot teas, or, for a cold drink, a glass of her ice-cold lemonade.

Sophomore Leslie Bembrick said she loves the freshly made dishes and large variety of teas.

“There is no restaurant like Gothic House and the food is great for a luncheon or a girls night out,” Bembrick said. “The Gothic house isn’t just a relic of the past but also a symbol of St. Joseph’s future.”

Employee Peter Bryan says he likes the environment an atmosphere that both the house and veranda creates for guests.

“It’s out of the norm, it’s more intimate and you can enjoy who you’re with,” Bryan said. “It’s also a good place to take someone out on a date.”

The Gothic House tea and eatery is open by reservation or drop ins from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every day, execept Tuesday which is open by appointment from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Cool Crest mini fantasy land

Flowing waterfalls, colorful flowers and a majestic castle are all present here in St. Joseph at one location. This mini fantasy land called Cool Crest can be discovered at 1400 N. Belt and was founded by an Irish man named Irvin E. Patterson. He was laying the foundation of his American dream one mini golf course at a time.

Among these exploits of the past were the enjoyable log cabin courses in South Dakota and Nebraska. These mini golf courses were revolutionary for the late 20’s and early 30’s when they were constructed. However, this simply didn’t matter as the nation was entering the turmoil of the Great Depression. Most families couldn’t even afford to spare 20 cents for one enjoyable game. After many obstacles and setbacks of his American dream, Irvin finally decided to settle in St. Joseph, MO.

He had no more than $600 to his name and a vision. With that vision, he purchased Barron field on the then empty belt. Next he transformed this wilderness into a magical experience for all those who set foot on its grounds. The atmosphere is appealing to families and people of all ages.

Cool Crest opened its first course to the public on July 4, 1948 and now it serves as a beam of entertainment for all those who choose to participate in its amazing and challenging courses. Anyone can immerse themselves in some Putt-Putt excitement for a small $5 fee which is less than almost any other form of entertainment in St. Joseph. Plus, it provides a concession stand that provides signature root beer floats in frosted mugs, ice cream, drinks and an assortment of candy.

Derby Mechan is the grandson of the owners and manager at Cool Crest.

“My grandparents call it a taste of the American dream,” Mechan said.

They have also kept the business in the family as Irvin’s daughter Jan and her husband Guy own and operate Cool Crest. Their 7 1/2 year old great grandchild Kylee is already helping around the business. The whole community takes pride in their efforts and appreciates all the time their family takes in creating a relaxing atmosphere.

Examining the many gardens throughout Cool Crest one can see an example of this dedication. It takes between 5000-7000 freshly planted flowers every year to fill all the flowerbeds.

Dan Nowalk Jr., a Louisiana native playing at Cool Crest with his dad, really enjoyed playing on the course.

“We have traveled to many places, but I have never been to a miniature golf course this well run and kept up,” Nowalk said.

This wonderful experience received by countless people both locally and abroad would have never been achieved if it weren’t for Patterson’s vision. Likewise, the dream of cool crest couldn’t go on without the good business sense of the owners, Guy, Jan and their wonderful family and all the hard working employees that bring this world class experience to the quaint city of St. Joseph.

Flashback to the Wild West with the Pony Express

The famous Pony Express started in April 1860 and lasted only 19 months but still impacted a changing nation torn by civil war and, even today is continuing to spark American curiosity of the Wild West.

Even though the days of the Pony Express are long gone, St. Joseph is still largely known for its young heroine riders racing through hazardous country and harsh conditions to bring the news.

The Pony Express legacy and memory is continuing to thrive by attracting the local community as well as visitors from all over the world to the Pony Express Museum located on ninth and Fredrick.

Yvonne Crowley enjoys working at the museum on the weekends because she said it is important to educate people on history.

“I love working here,” Crowley said. “It’s an exciting piece of history. The Pony Express’ 150 year anniversary is coming up which shows how long its legacy has lasted.”

The museum underwent renovation in 1993 that restored the remaining portion of the stables to its original size and also had more educational exhibits created.

Rick Vittitow, visiting from Louisville, KY, said the Wild West has always fascinated him, and the Pony Express is a very interesting part of our American history.

“My friend referred me to this museum and said it would be something good to bring my daughters to,” Vittitow said.

History teaches us about our past, but also teaches us lessons about our future, history buff Richard Brookshire said.

“It’s quite educational and interesting what all the Pony Express riders went through,” Brookshire said. “The Pony Express almost went bankrupt to get started, but they are now a legend in our history forever.”

Patee House Museum

Another interesting location to visit in St. Joseph is the Patee House Museum. This museum used to be a hotel and is most widely known for being down the street from the location of the death of the outlaw Jesse James.

Patee House was opened as a hotel in 1858 by John Patee. Patee House was also an important tool for the Pony Express in 1860. This is where the Pony Express headquarters were located and, because of this, Patee House is one of St. Joseph’s only national landmarks.

Weekend manager of Patee House Julie Mcbeth believes keeping this museum open is vital to keeping St. Joseph a popular attraction.

“It’s important to save St. Joseph’s history because it’s a key to our history,” Mcbeth said.

High school student Tonya Greer has volunteered at Patee House since the middle of August and became interested after a school field trip there.

“It’s a great way to learn and help out the community,” Greer said.

Many visitors of Patee House are simply people from St. Joseph and its surrounding areas. Heather Campbell, a citizen of St. Joseph, is one of those people. She enjoyed the big arrays of displays in the museum.

“I think it’s amazing how St. Joseph has kept the museums alive and continues to put money into them,” Campbell said.

Patee House is perhaps most important to St. Joseph because the things the town is most known for, the Pony Express and the death of Jesse James, were directly linked to Patee House.

1 Comment

1.   Lahoma Free   |  Friday, 08 January 2010 at 9:30 am

   Interessanter Post, danke.