Mudd's Grove

302 West Argonne Drive, Kirkwood, MO
314-965-5151

Admission is $2 and parking is free.

www.kirkwoodhistoricalsociety.com

Opened in 1994.

Located in Kirkwood, Mudd's Grove is a red brick antebellum house. The home takes its name from Henry T. Mudd, who purchased the house plus 100 acres in 1866. Mudd lived in the home with his wife and seven children until 1882. He was a county auditor, a member of the Kirkwood town board, served in the Missouri state legislator and on the committee that drafted the Missouri Constitution in 1875, was a curator of the University of Missouri, and was president of the state horticultural society. 

The house was built in 1859 shortly after the town’s founding and shortly before the start of the Civil War. The house is among the largest houses built in the Greek Revival style in St. Louis County. 

Entering the front door finds you in the center of the building with public rooms on both sides and stairs leading to the upstairs bedrooms and exhibit rooms. We obviously visited when it was decorated for Christmas. 

On the left is a parlor complete with a portrait of Mr. Mudd hanging over the fireplace. The house is fully furnished.  None of the furnishings are original to the house but all of them are similar to furnishings of the 1860's and 1870's.  

This candle-lit piano and Victorian birdcage are in this parlor. 

The dining room includes portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, early Kirkwood homeowners. 

There is a larger parlor to the right of the center hallway that is used today for meetings and parties.  The room includes a Victorian square piano donated by the last resident of the house. This room also has one of the nine Greek Revival mantels that are still in place. The fireplaces were obviously used to heat the house.

On the day we visited, we were entertained by live musicians performing in this parlor. 

The original kitchen was a separate building as was typical in the 1860's.  Today this room is attached to the main building. The stove in this room represents George Dana, founder and president of the Charter Oak Stove Company, who with his wife Virginia purchased the home in 1889 and lived in it until 1921.  

This antique book press is also in this room. 

The chandelier is a period piece.  

This Christmas tree is decorated with period ornaments. 

Upstairs the East Bedroom is considered the children's room of the house and has antique toys, books, and other items of interest to children on display. There are Italian tiles around the original fireplace on the right. 

The West Bedroom has a sleigh bed and displays period clothing along with period furniture.

Behind the west bedroom is what is referred to by the Historical Society as the chapel.  This room has displays and exhibits that are featured throughout the year. Each exhibit is offered for 3 to 6 months.  Every year at Christmas, the display features dozens of antique and fragile glass ornaments from many different generations which were used to decorate the family Christmas tree.

This is a large replica of the previous Kirkwood Historical Society History House which sits on Argonne Avenue farther east. 

The upstairs hallway is lined with display cases.  

The wedding dress (left) is from a 1900 wedding. The formal day dress (right) is from 1883. 

Behind the Children's Room is the Harlan Gould library, a non-lending repository that offers an extensive collection of historical resource materials from books, newspapers, periodicals and maps to an assortment of other publications. Also in this room is Gatehouse Gifts, the gift shop for Mudd's Grove which has books on local history, cookbooks by local organizations, post cards, and other items for sale.

The house originally had a two-story porch but while the Dana's lived there they enclosed it. Now on the first floor is a large catering kitchen and on the second floor is this exhibit room. 

Among the mementos from Kirkwood's history is this veterinary medicine kit carried by Dr. Harrison about 1900. 

Also a number of articles have been donated by the late Kirkwood photographer, Francis Scheidegger. 

The third floor is off-limits for safety reasons. 

The grounds include several gardens, including a number of herb gardens. 

Mudd's Grove is available for rent for weddings, parties, and meetings.  The landscaped grounds hold 200 people while the house can hold 75. 

 After touring the house we walked one block for lunch at  Great Harvest Bread Company also on Argonne.
This bakery is known for its wonderful breads and at this counter they offer free samples! 

We enjoyed soup and sandwiches!  

Comments: I have lived in the Kirkwood community for over 40 years and my son even worked on painting the house's porch back in the early 1990's as part of a Boy Scout project but I had never before stepped foot in Mudd's Grove which is a shame because it is truly a treasure.  A great deal of effort has gone into rehabbing the house and the furnishings are wonderful.  

Because the historical society has made this house their museum one sees displayed many items out of the town's history.  For example although they did not live in this house, there are portraits hung of a number of early town founders .  There are also quite a few museum display cases particularly upstairs. 

The library upstairs seems wonderful.  It centers on the history of Kirkwood and its homes and is open to the public for research during those times the house is open for touring.  The house museum is open Thursdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tours are available during these times. Several docents helped with our tour and they all were knowledgeable.  

Their website has much information about renting the house and grounds.  

The house is within walking distance of a number of excellent eating establishments. I love the bread at Great Harvest Bread Company as does everyone so that is where we went!  It is hard to turn down free samples with real butter!  They have a nice lunch menu and we all enjoyed our meal.