This small Second Empire house in Dutchtown is an example of the types of structures built in the late 19th century, when urban development began to arrive in the area. Initially, Dutchtown was settled by German settlers looking for cheap land to purchase and build upon, and this was the case until the late 1870s. However, the streetcar lines at Meramec and at Chippewa brought businesses and urban development further south, and the neighborhood began to fill up. This particular type of Second Empire house would have arrived in the early 1880s, and would have been home to middle class German residents of the neighborhood. Over the years, the area became known as Dutchtown, after a mispronunciation of the word Deutsch, as nearly all of the residents were of German descent. The area began to decline as people moved to other neighborhoods further west, as well as into the suburbs, beginning in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the area has had many efforts at revitalization, and although there is still work that needs to be done, many areas have seen extensive restorations, such as this building.
