This small Federal Transitional style house in Soulard was built around 1860, and today it serves as the alley house for the larger three story structure in front. At the time that this small house was built the development of Soulard had not really made its way this far south, and the structures that were built consisted mainly of small German settlers houses like this, and in some cases, a few of the earlier mansions overlooking the river. By the 1880s, this area began to fill in, and as this house was set back far from the street, it became ideal to be turned into an alley house. By 1890, the area had been almost fully developed, and the new development had moved into Benton Park to the west by that point. Today, the majority of structures to the south of Barton Street were built after 1875, but a closer look reveals that some of the older houses have been hidden in the alleys.
