Streep and Eastwood at Rossman Bridge in Madison County. Warner Brothers photo

Jefferson County’s Sandy Creek Covered Bridge near Hillsboro twins the Rossman Bridge in Madison County, Iowa, as a setting for encounters between a farm wife and a freelance photographer who become lovers in a powerful movie romance starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood.

The best-selling novel by Robert James Waller captured readers’ hearts around the world making Jefferson County’s Sandy Creek Bridge a getaway place for local folks to meet for picnics, photography sessions, slow walks, long talks, rendezvous, and stolen kisses.

Sandy Creek Bridge was a site accommodating all of those activities more than a century before the novel appeared in 1992, the movie  in 1995, and ever since that local bridge was built in 1872. And it still is.

It was built to allow passage from the Jefferson County seat of Hillsboro to villages that would be incorporated as the City of Arnold 100 years later, and also to St. Louis.

Sandy Creek Covered Bridge. Missouri State Parks photo

The Missouri State Parks Department says, “Sandy Creek Bridge boasts the picture-perfect appearance of an old red barn…Three of the four remaining covered bridges in Missouri (which once numbered about 30) were built using the Howe-truss design, including Sandy Creek, Burfordville and Locust Creek covered bridges…It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.”

For Arnold residents, it’s fun to picnic at Sandy Creek or getaway weekends to visit Missouri’s historic covered bridges in other counties. Covered timber truss bridges can last up to a century before much work is required while uncovered wooden bridges usually last maybe twenty years before needing repair, replacement or demolition. Covered bridges are romantic indeed but rare – only about 1,400 exist worldwide.

Most bridges in Jefferson County are about more than enjoying afternoon strolls and moonlit walks. They are about railroad companies that built them starting in the 1850s; Civil War soldiers that destroyed them; and vehicles that today drive over local bridges day and night. For example, in 1883, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (PPG) opened a glass manufacturing plant in Crystal City, employing hundreds of people, and built a riveted metal bridge across a creek to a sand mine. The PPG property remains empty since closing in 1992 yet that restricted PPG bridge still stands. Right now, there are approximately 167 bridges in Jefferson County. Current bridge building and repair project information is shown at https://www.jeffcomo.org/160/Projects.

Civil War

During the Civil War, a three-tiered suspension bridge was built by U.S. Army engineers over the Meramec River near the site of today’s Arnold City Park. One of the first three-tiered suspension bridges ever constructed, its purpose was to allow Union troops from Jefferson Barracks to reach Confederate encampments in Jefferson County and throughout Missouri. The bridge also was crossed by notorious “Bushwhackers” and “Jayhawkers” galloping through Jefferson County to conduct brutal guerilla warfare.

Confederate Brigadier General Jeff Thompson was called the Swamp Fox during Civil War in Missouri. Public Domain photo

Just before that war, railroad companies had started building bridges for transporting iron ore, lumber, livestock, people and troops. One Confederate Army objective in Missouri was to burn every railroad bridge from St. Louis to Pilot Knob in Iron County.

Confederate General M. Jeff Thompson, called “The Swamp Fox,” led a cavalry attack to the Iron Mountain Railroad Bridge over the Big River in Jefferson County near De Soto October 15, 1861, capturing 50  Union soldiers, burning the bridge, then escaping with his troopers, who were called “Swamp Rats.” That event was the only real battle in Jefferson County during the Civil War, though many skirmishes occurred near local hamlets.

Today, six historic iron and steel bridges in Jefferson County still stand. Photos of those six historic bridges are shown on the website www.HistoricBridges.org managed by webmaster Nathan Holth, who lives in Port Huron, Michigan. Historic Jefferson County bridges that Mr. Holth’s site features are:

• Byrnesville Bridge
• Crystal City Underground Bridge (PPG)
• MO-21 Meramec River Bridge
• Morse Mill Road Bridge
• Windsor Harbor Bridge
• Windsor Harbor Railroad Bridge.

The MO-21 Meramec River Bridge, also known as the Tesson Ferry Road Bridge, was built in 1940 and renovated in 2009. HistoricBridges.org reports: “This is a bridge of unusual design and was reportedly the first of its kind in the United States.

“The unusual design of the Meramec River Bridge was the result of a desire for a particularly beautiful bridge at this location which was traditionally part of a route to recreational areas for St. Louis area residents. Designed by the Missouri State Highway Department…The bridge today retains good historic integrity. It remains today as a striking, aesthetically pleasing bridge and, as the first of its kind in the country, enjoys high levels of historical significance.”

In an interview, Nathan Holth explains why he is so enthusiastic about bridges and how he chooses them for to taking photos that will appear on his website:

“I grew up in Port Huron, Michigan which at the time had a variety of interesting bridges but began to lose that population to bridge replacement. In terms of photography, we prioritize bridges that are at risk for demolition or collapse, or otherwise not preserved, as well as bridges with high levels of historic significance.”

Windsor Harbor Bridge in Jefferson County. Photo by Nathan Holth and and Rick McOmbe Photo Copyright HistoricBridges.org.

Holth’s photo of the old Windsor Harbor Road Bridge near Kimmswick in Jefferson County shown in this article is a multi-beam fixed roadway bridge built in 1874 that is the oldest Pratt Truss bridge in Missouri. Its photo here was shot on August 28, 2021. HistoricBridges.org reports, “The oldest Pratt truss in the state, this is one of the most unique and ornate surviving examples of a rare Keystone column truss bridge.

“The bridge was originally built over the River Des Peres at Lemay Ferry in St. Louis, and was relocated to Kimmswick in 1930, and bypassed by a new bridge in 1985. Seeking to prevent demolition of this bridge and retain it for use by non-motorized traffic, the Kimmswick Historical Society took ownership of this bridge in 1985 when it was replaced. The bridge appears to have been left in place with no major changes since this time. The time for planning and seeking funding for a full restoration of this bridge is now. The bridge shows numerous indications of deterioration.”

Another website showcasing Jefferson County bridges is www.BridgeHunter.com managed by the Historic Bridge Foundation, a 501 C 3 nonprofit organization based in Austin, Texas. Its pages show, for example, the so-called Hollywood Beach Bridge in Arnold, a three-span through-truss bridge over the Meramec River originally built in 1903 for the Frisco Railroad, now run by BNSF Railway. It also shows, among others, the Joachim Creek US 61/67 Bridge that was washed over and temporarily closed by flooding in 2011. Joachim Creek is known by local fishermen as a mecca for smallmouth and spotted bass.

Kitty Henderson, executive director of Historic Bridge Foundation, says on her website, “Saving a historic bridge is frequently a complicated and time-consuming process. . . .  Federal procedures are in place to help us save bridges, but the ways these federal rules and regulations are implemented seem to vary from state to state…  Many times federal money is available. Sometimes state and/or local funds can be found.  But regardless of the money source, replacement is almost always seen as the cheaper. . . Somehow we must elevate the importance of our historic bridges in the stories that identify the communities of our nation and say, ‘This bridge is part of who we are and it must be saved.’”

Sunset Park Stone Bridge. City of Festus photo

Indeed, bridges are among the most essential aspects of infrastructure in world history and in the modern world. They connect us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They allow us to travel to new places with hope for the future. They connect us with new avenues to explore and new possibilities. Songs about bridges – or burning them – are performed in every musical genre by artists including Adele, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aretha Franklin, Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift, The Judds, Simon and Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles and many more.

We cross bridges when there is need within us to discover something new, to see a different place, find something we have lost or want to find again. We cross them to get somewhere fast, or to simply get out of town but never come back.

Depending on where you go and what you need, every time you cross a bridge your life will change a little, maybe a lot.

Missouri Osage warrior painted by George Catlin early 1800s Public domain image

Fifteen miles from Arnold, some folks believe the unincorporated House Springs area is haunted by ghosts of massacred pioneers, dead children, murderers, thieves and Native American Indians.

It just might be. Why?

House Springs history is fraught with tragedy, sadness, bankruptcy, violence, poverty, illness and disappointment – not to mention unnatural death. Originally named House Spring, House Springs is for certain very much different today than it was years ago. Yet people still wonder.

In 1673, French Jesuit priest Jacques Marquette and fur trader Louis Jolliet canoed thru the Meramec River’s confluence with the Mississippi River near Arnold. Marquette later drew a map naming both a Native American Indian tribe and the territory Missouri.

In 1682 French explorer La Salle claimed the entire Mississippi River basin for France, calling it the Louisiana Territory. Pioneers were permitted to settle if they cleared land and built a dwelling. President Thomas Jefferson purchased the entire territory in 1803, ordering Lewis and Clark with 46 men on a keelboat to find the Pacific Ocean.

House Family Deaths

A pioneer named James Head settled in the House Springs area in 1795. He named a tributary  of the Big River “Head’s Creek.” Mr. Head, about whom little is known, sold his land to German immigrant Adam House, who was lured by its river, natural spring, fertile soil and abundant sugar maple trees.

House built a cabin near the spring that, regrettably, was a rest stop for Osage Native Americans traveling to St. Louis to trade animal furs. History is unclear about why Osage warriors brutally murdered Adam House and one of his sons, yet they did. Apparently, when he saw the Osage warriors House sent two of his three children to get help as his youngest son Jacob stayed with him. Here is an official report about the horrid fate of Adam House and young son, as translated from the original French dated  March 19, 1800:

“I, Pierre Treget, commandant at Carondelet, pursuant to orders from Don Carlos Dehault Delassus, commandant at St. Louis, repaired to the Renault Forks, with the few militiamen I could assemble, in pursuit of the Indians. On reaching the place, I found an old man dead, head cut off and laid at his side, scalp taken and body full of wounds from musket shots; and a few paces off, a boy eight or nine years old, head cut off and lying near him, face smeared with blood, with a small piece of maple sugar in his mouth, no wound on his body from either musket or knife; a dead cow, one horn carried off, dead calf, head cut off, beds in the house cut to pieces, utensils broken and strewed about the house. Ascertained that the murders had been committed by the Osages. Buried the bodies.”

When word spread that Osage warriors murdered House and his young son, settlers nearby named the area House Spring to honor them.  In 1826, when Jefferson Barracks was established about 30 miles from House Spring, the U.S. Army began to vanquish native Americans. The vanquishing intensified when former general Andrew Jackson was elected President in 1828. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 promoted by Jackson was enacted by congress and harshly enforced by the U.S. Army.

Town of Demaree

Cornelius Demaree house built 1837 shown soon before demolition in 2017. Historic Barnhart-Imperial Facebook page photo.

In 1837 Cornelius H. Demaree moved from Kentucky to buy House Spring land parcels. He became Jefferson County’s first postmaster and a merchant with his general store Demaree & Co. Mr. Demaree had high hopes for getting rich by creating a town but he bankrupted in 1857, forcing sale of his land on Jefferson County’s Courthouse steps. Early pioneer Patrick Byrne of Byrnes Mill handled Demaree’s estate.

Ginger Brickey, senior genealogy clerk at the Northwest Branch of Jefferson County Library whose local family dates to about 1800, notes that In 1860, English-born physician George A. Smith purchased the property from Demaree’s estate. That  year, Smith renamed the House Spring village Demaree, platting along the west side of what is now State Route MM.

Brickey asserts, “Dr. Smith really oversold the place. He boasted about building a gravel road all the way to St. Louis and making Demaree a new Jefferson County seat, yet none of that happened.” The gravel roadway Dr. Smith envisioned is now Missouri Route 30. According to Missouri Preservation, Cornelius Demaree’s house was built in House Spring near Main Street and State Route MM:

The Burgess House in House Springs built in 1883. Many years later the land hosted a Hardees Restaurantt. Jefferson County Library photo

“The building was originally a log structure completed circa 1837. Mr. Demaree lived on the several-acre plot with his family until his death in 1857. By 1860 the property was auctioned off in parcels by Dr. George Smith, who marketed the plots as ‘The Town of Demaree,’ claiming that there were already fifteen buildings in the town. According to probate records at the time, these buildings included the dwelling, a stable, a blacksmith shop, and several well houses. Eventually the Demaree family disappeared from the area and the town was re-named for the House family House Springs. Over the years the Demaree house was expanded from cabin to a two story center hall with a columned two-story gallery extending the entire length of the house’s principal façade. This house was important in the history and settlement of this area in Jefferson County.”

According to the Historical Barnhart/Imperial organization, the Adam House cabin stood 50 yards north of the spring. When a large home was built near this spring in 1883 by Edward Burgess and his wife Josephine Cromwell a headless skeleton was unearthed – presumably, the bones of decapitated Adam House or his son. The bones were boxed and re-buried in a location unknown.

The historic Burgess House built on Adam House’s land was sold to another family in 1942. The Burgess site is near the intersection of Highway 30 and Highway W that runs northwest to Eureka and Highway MM. After a losing battle by preservationists in House Springs, the old Burgess home, shed and barn were demolished.

Civil War Ghosts

Civil War Bushwhackers supporting the Confederacy holding pistols. Wikipedia Commons photo

It’s hard to know how many Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers may have died fighting near House Springs during the Civil War. Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers rampaged across Jefferson County killing each other during that tragic conflict. Civil War guerillas were generally not enlisted in military forces on either side but sympathized with one cause or another. Many deadly skirmishes occurred between those guerilla fighters. Some fatalities are presumed buried in graves or unmarked caves. The graveyard nearest to House Springs at St. Martins United Church of Christ in High Ridge didn’t open until 1869, four years after the war ended.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that after the Civil War  “Main Street in House Springs became lined with stores, a tavern, a grocery store… The old building sits in a line with some of the oldest buildings in Jefferson County.” A two-story frame building on Main Street became the mercantile store of J.E.C. Wilson. The building was a tavern called Votaw’s Saloon…that supposedly dates pre-Civil War and its bricks were allegedly made by slaves in the area. There was also a blacksmith shop and a grocery store. Valentine Leight General Store, also known as V. Leight New Store, Leight Mercantile Co., and Garden of Eva, also were historic general stores in House Springs. The commercial structures were built in three stages between 1894 and 1910 with Late Victorian style details.

In 2012 the Red Brick Saloon hosted the Red Brick Sporting Goods Store . Jefferson County Library photo

A huge fire on October 14, 1940, totally destroyed the Charles Boemler Store in House Springs burning down the store, U.S. post office and Brimmer’s Funeral Parlor, likely containing caskets of dead people. Yet news of the fire and charred caskets was eclipsed by news that an ancient Native American burial ground with “cist” graves was found. The cist graves each had a single body placed in a hole covered with stone, according to the Jefferson County Leader. A longtime local resident whose two great grandmothers were Native Americans reported that a large camp of Indians lived along the Big River in the early 1800s. That area beside the Big River was rich in Native American artifacts. The name of the road that runs along Head’s Creek near the spring was changed to Indian Springs.

Ginger Brickey, senior genealogist at Jefferson County Library, concludes, “There were definitely many historic tragedies and killings in this area and if there are stories of hauntings and ghosts going back in history it would not be surprising.” Indeed, it would not be surprising.

The popular Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” reveals how a monarch trudges through a snowstorm to give alms – money – to a peasant. The last line of the song is “Ye who now bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.”

In the 10th century Wenceslas was a Duke of Bohemia whom Christians in Europe venerated for his good deeds. A 12^th century historian declared, “Rising every night from his noble bed…he went around to God’s churches and gave alms generously to widows, orphans, those in prison and afflicted by every difficulty.”

As a Christian duke in a largely atheist territory Wenceslas welcomed German priests into his realm and founded a rotunda that was consecrated as a cathedral.  Murdered in a plot by his jealous brother in year 935, Wenceslas became a martyr and patron saint of Bohemia.

In 1853, nearly 1,000 years after Wenceslas died, an Anglican priest in England, John Mason Neal, wrote lyrics for what became “Good King Wenceslas.” The lyrics were set to the melody of a 13th century song about springtime.

Good Duke Wenceslas was conferred with the title of king by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I as a tribute to Germans. When hundreds of Germans immigrated to Jefferson County in the 1860s and beyond, they brought “Good King Wenceslas” with them and sang the song around the family hearth at Christmas.

Christmas Trees

Germans left their homeland to settle in Jefferson County and elsewhere in Missouri because journalists described the area as a place with plentiful land, few taxes, few regulations, freedom of choice and opportunities to prosper. The Meramec, Missouri and Mississippi rivers reminded them of the Danube River of their homeland. Today, 38 percent of Arnold’s population has German ancestral roots, and German is the number one claimed ancestry on Missouri census forms.

Saint Nicholas of Myra . Image copyright Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church

German pioneers who became farmers and shopkeepers preserved many of their holiday traditions when they reached this area. One custom was to adorn cedar or pine trees with small toys or candy canes. The book Stories behind the Great Traditions of Christmas explains the typical red, green and gold colors of Christmas decorations.

Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus shed in his crucifixion; green symbolizes eternal life of evergreen trees; gold is the color of one of three gifts the biblical Magi, symbolizing royalty, brought to baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

Born in Greece in year 370, Saint Nicholas of Myra is the patron saint of children. More than 1,300 years later his legendary gift-giving inspired images of Santa Claus (“Saint Nick”) based on the Dutch Sinterklaas. Christmas trees with decorations first appeared in the 16th century. Church archives confirm that a Christmas tree was placed in the Cathedral of Strasbourg in 1539. Germans introduced the Christmas tree tradition to Jefferson County and America.

Christmas is Germany’s most special time of year. German Christmas traditions celebrated in Jefferson County and elsewhere grew more popular across America as the 20^th century approached.

Homemade Gifts

Christmas stollen © Couleur . Pixabay

Many Jefferson County residents in the mid-1800s had Christmas in their hearts but could not afford gifts for their family. After cutting down a fir tree and bringing it to a humble home, many parents made toys for their kids. Perhaps papa carved a wooden toy for sons and mama sewed a rag doll or a dress for daughters. Most decorated their Christmas trees with strings of nuts, popcorn or home-made trinkets, not store-bought ornaments.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, founded here in 1840, and St. John’s Lutheran Church, founded in 1848, hosted Christmas services to celebrate the birth of Jesus, nurturing the region with righteous spirit, family values and hope for the new year, as they do today.

For winter recreation, many settlers built bonfires on snowy, moonlit nights on hilltops for sledding and sleigh riding. If someone passed around a jar of Jefferson County moonshine to keep warm, nobody informed the sheriff. A long steep slope called Martin’s Hill was a favorite that every snowfall attracted bundled-up kids with wooden sleds for speedy rides to the bottom with long walks back to the top as noisy dogs jumped and yipped all the way.

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder, circa 1885, wrote Little House on the Prairie. Public domain photo.

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder, born 1867 in Kansas, was the celebrated author of Little House on the Prairie which, in 1974, became a hit TV show. Later in life she lived in a Mansfield, Missouri farmhouse. One of her books described holiday preparations this way: “Ma was busy all day cooking good things for Christmas. She baked salt-rising bread and ‘Injun bread, Swedish crackers, and a huge pan of baked beans, with salt pork and molasses. She baked vinegar pies and dried-apple pies and filled a big jar with cookies.” On Christmas day Laura found a tin cup, a peppermint candy, a heart-shaped cake and a brand new penny in her stocking.

Jefferson County’s German settlers may have participated in some of these homeland traditions 150 years ago or even nowadays:

Saint Nicholas Day (Sankt Nikolaus Tag). On December 5, children polish their boots to leave them outside before going to bed. Next morning, they find their shoes filled with nuts, candy and small gifts from St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas Day, December 6, is observed in many Christian countries.

Krampus Night (Krampus Nacht). Krampus is a devilish sidekick of St. Nicholas. Men in scary Krampus costumes patrol streets on Krampus Night. They are sometimes invited indoors by parents of naughty children to lecture the kids to be good.

Advent calendar (Adventskalendar). Every day for four weeks before Christmas, a window in the calendar is opened to reveal a poem, parts of a story, a picture of candy or small gift. Many families make their own Advent calendars. “Advent” generally means something is coming.

Christmas angels photo (c) HansLinde

Advent wreaths (Adventskranz) showcase four candles in a bed of pinecones, berries, dried flowers and ornaments. Different families vary traditions. Some display it the first week of December, lighting one candle each Sunday before Christmas.

Mulled wine (Glühwein). This classic warm, spicy Christmas beverage sold in big mugs is considered vital for beating winter chill and spreading cheer.

Christmas angels (Weihnachtsengel), perhaps the most loved Christmas ornaments displayed in homes during the season. Childlike angels may be made of wood and seen playing harps or trumpets.

Christmas stollen is a German cake deliciously made with chopped candied fruits, dried nuts and spices, sprinkled with powdered sugar – sometimes with added orange zest.

Civil War

Thomas Nast illustration from 1863 shows a couple separated by Civil War . Public Domain

An article by Jason Roe published in “Civil War Christmases in Missouri and Kansas” reports that food during holidays was increasingly meaningful in the Civil War.  Letters written to loved ones described meals in detail, as this 1861 letter from Daniel R. Anthony, Missouri commander of 1,500 Union troops: Anthony describes capturing a household to serve as his headquarters and celebrates Christmas by dining on “biscuits, coffee, roasted goose, chicken, butter, and molasses.”

Leigh R. Webber, a Union soldier, wrote from Lexington, Missouri in 1861 about hardships and poor discipline in his regiment, admitting, ‘On Christmas eve day most of the men and officers were drunk and riot and noise reigned triumphant.’”

In Jefferson County, roving bands of Confederate guerillas called Bushwhackers shared simple Christmas meals with southern sympathizers in log cabins appreciating the food as much as a warm fireplace. During the war, many Bushwhackers lived in caves.

As war dragged on, Missouri letter writers described special moments. Eugenia Bronaugh wrote her fiancé in December 1863: “This is Christmas week but persons do not seem to be enjoying it much. Last Sunday it snowed faster & prettier than I ever saw it…As I sat by the window I wished so much for you to be here to look at the large flakes that fell so silently for somehow I felt sad & would like so much to have talked to you. Christmas day we had no company. I frequently managed to be alone to think of the last Christmas that rainy day when you were here.”

“History Today Magazine” explains that the Civil War intensified Christmas’ appeal. “Its sentimental celebration of family matched the yearnings of soldiers and those they left behind. Its message of peace and goodwill spoke to the most immediate prayers of all Americans.”

German immigrant Thomas Nast drew this image of Jolly Old Santa Claus in 1881. Public domain illustration.

The Jewish celebration called Festival of Lights coincides with Christmas season. According to History.com, the eight-day observance known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Hanukkah, meaning “dedication” in Hebrew, begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar usually in November or December. The holiday is celebrated with lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, games and gifts. Coinciding celebrations mean some Jewish families participate in Christmas activities and vice versa.

The blogger Patrick Young wrote that popular editorial artist Thomas Nast, a German immigrant, “developed the iconic image of central celebratory figure Santa Claus. Nast’s Civil War era cartoons in ‘Harper’s Weekly’ established the fat jolly elf from the North Pole with a big sack of presents as the focus of Christmas Eve dreams for millions of children worldwide.”

Many Americans know the story of a little girl named Virginia who wrote to a newspaper in 1897 asking if Santa Claus is real, and the newspaper’s response “Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus.” Yet few know the  longer response published as an anonymous editorial. Here is the important part:

Dear Editor,

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus… Please tell me the truth: Is there a Santa Claus?   Virginia O’Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

The man who wrote it at “The New York Sun” was Francis Pharcellus Church.

St. David Catholic Church

Arnold’s two Catholic churches – Immaculate Conception at 2300 Church Road and St. David’s at 2334 Tenbrook Road – have plenty in common. Differences, too.

Each is in the holy pursuit of saving souls. Each hosts religious services in beautiful ecclesiastical buildings. The pastors, priests and nuns are committed to Catholic ways of life, sacramental worship, charitable practices and helping parishioners grow heartfelt relationships with Jesus Christ.

Both are in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, a Roman Catholic territory that covers St. Louis and ten regional Missouri counties. The first Catholic parish of St. Louis was created by French settlers in 1770. Immaculate

Conception was founded by settlers in 1840 who rode horses and mules. St. David’s was founded by citizens in 1963 who drove cars and trucks.

Immaculate Conception serves about 2,000 parishioners, St. David’s about 800.  The difference? “Many of our parishioners live closer to our church than to St. David’s, so they attend the closest church,” explains Reverend Jeffrey Knight, pastor of Immaculate Conception. It’s true: More Arnold residents live near Immaculate Conception than St. David’s.

Early Days

In 1838, Bishop Joseph Rigali of the St. Louis Diocese (not yet an Archdiocese) sent Father John Peter Fischer to serve German Catholics in Jefferson County because Fr. Fischer spoke German. When he got to the area where Immaculate Conception is located 14 men, their wives and children lived in log cabins, including Christopher and Peter Frederici from Alsace-Lorraine in France.

Fr. Fischer purchased 160 acres of land with his own money if not Archdiocese funds, from Christopher Frederici. January 4, 1839, is the closing date shown on Jefferson County property records. Fr. Fischer hired a man to clear 40 acres and build a church. That task took almost three years; Fr. Fischer conducted masses in parishioners’ log homes until it was built. The first church in 1843 was a humble log building, 24 by 30 feet, tiny for a church yet it became the faithful pioneers’ cathedral.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Arnold . Photo used with permission

As noted in Immaculate Conception’s historic records, “The dogma of the immaculate conception of Mary was never proclaimed by the catholic Church until 1854. Even so, all evidence points to the conclusion that from the very beginning in 1840 , the parish had been known as the Immaculate Conception. Our baptism book from 1843 bears the following inscription in Latin: ‘The church of the blessed Virgin Mary (by the Meramec River) dedicated under the title Immaculate Conception.’”

Here’s a note from the church’s archives: Numerous local parishes in the Midwest and elsewhere use the name Immaculate Conception. “Devotion to the name Immaculate Conception is particularly French. Maybe Fr. John Peter Fischer was ‘Jean Pierre!’”

The original 14 families comprised the whole parish until 1846 when five more families arrived. Fr. Fischer left in 1843 due to declining health. Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick in St. Louis – the first archbishop west of the Mississippi – sent Austrian-born, German-speaking Fr. Joseph Melcher to the parish as more German immigrants arrived in Jefferson County. Fr. Melcher, a powerful speaker, was popular with his flock and his higher ups in the Vatican for his priestly recruiting talents.

On February 2, 1849, a daughter was born to one of the church’s founding families. Peter Frederici and his wife named her Mary Louisa. The girl was educated at the parish school. On March 6, 1866, she married a Union Army private named William F. Cody. Louisa was 22; Bill Cody was 20. She called him Willie; he called her Lulu. The Cody’s love for each other endured nearly 51 years through happy and sad times, financial troubles, anger, separation and reconciliation. Immaculate Conception history documents reveal, “We still claim Buffalo Bill Cody as our ‘Almost Parishioner’ by virtue of his wife being a daughter of the parish.”

Pastor Jeffrey Knight

Pastor Jeffrey Knight of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Arnold

A native of Franklin County, Pastor Jeffrey Knight, age 62, grew up with eight brothers and four sisters; one brother is a Catholic priest; another is a permanent deacon ordained to the Catholic Church.

Pastor Knight observes of Immaculate Conception, “We are a help for people who want to strive to be people of faith. I think we help form good citizens for Arnold, for our county and our state. Of course, we don’t succeed in every case yet I believe we have helped many more people who are committed to charity and service.

“Some parishioners may be invested in Immaculate Conception because they have lived here for years and are involved with one or more of the activities we offer – we have soccer, volleyball, baseball, and many activities for men, women, children and families.

“Others are here because their children participate in sports or enrolled at our Holy Child Catholic School. Our principal, Bridget Brennell, is outstanding, very experienced, and doing a great job. She was a teacher for many years before becoming a principal.”

Pastor Knight says his greatest satisfaction is “To see people who are living their faith and following God’s direction and doing for the sake of others.

“It’s important that we have a lot of volunteers who donate much of their time as carpenters, plumbers, and electrical workers. Our biggest challenges are financial and maintenance issues. There is always some kind of maintenance governance matter we need to address.”

Pastor Charles F. Farrara

Pastor Charles Ferrara at St. David Catholic Church

Pastor Charles Ferrara at St. David Catholic Church, age 65, is also from a big family. Raised in south St. Louis with four brothers and three sisters, he attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic School and St. Louis University High School, climbing many steps of religious education to reach Catholic priesthood.

After attending the University of Missouri he entered the Jesuits’ Society of Jesus in 1977, taking first vows in 1979. He graduated from St. Louis University with a philosophy degree; then earned an M.A. in Communications from Marquette University. For two years he taught at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, then four years at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver. He entered Toronto School of Theology, Regis College, University of Toronto, graduating with a master’s in divinity, earning the Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1990 and was ordained into Jesuit priesthood.

After ten years teaching at Cardinal Ritter College Prep and DeSmet Jesuit High School Pastor Ferrara moved to  Australia and New Zealand to live for a year on a Jesuit Tertianship sabbatical. “God called me” in 2001, he admits. He then left Jesuit ministry for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. In 2013 Reverend Ferrara became St. David’s pastor.

“The role of our church in the community is to be the source and center of Catholic faith.  Mass and Sacraments are available and offered, as well as a place to pray.

“People attend our church because it is a friendly, welcoming community and it is convenient for parishioners to worship at a place nearby.

“Some of our members attend both churches because we share one Catholic School together, and that is Holy Child School on the campus of Immaculate Conception Church.  So whenever there are all-school masses, parishioners will cross-worship. We have Youth Ministry that we share with Immaculate Conception parish, as well as St. Joseph parish in Imperial. We are here to attract, evangelize, and bring folks together to form and build community.”

Many kids in St. David’s parish enjoy the Immaculate Conception Athletic Association (ICAA). It offers different sports starting with T-Ball for kids in kindergarten thru second grade, plus other sports for third graders on up who compete with age-similar kids in Arnold and other parishes. “The best thing about it is that programs are not exclusionary and kids at all skill levels can play,” asserts ICAA Vice President for Athletics Justin Ream.

Which St. David?

Image of St. David shown on statue on baptismal font at Munktorp Church in Sweden. Photo copyright Catholic Online.

Many non-Catholics know that “The Immaculate One” refers to a woman biblically known as the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. Fewer know the origins of St. David, possibly because there is more than one St. David. The first St. David was born in Wales during the sixth century, became a bishop and ultimately the patron saint of Wales.

Brother Mathias of St. Mary’s School in Baltimore saved Babe Ruth from delinquency by teaching him to play baseball. Photo copyright Catholic Journal.

St. David of the Catholic church in Arnold was born in England in the 11^th century and became a Benedictine monk. He is often known as St. David of Sweden because he migrated to Munktorp where he founded an abbey and evangelized in Swedish villages, baptizing all people who converted to Catholicism. He died in 1082.

St. David’s church website says: “He had a great desire to give his life for Christ as a martyr and proceeded to offer himself to the English mission in Sweden… He traveled from district to district preaching and baptizing with great zeal… He became the first Bishop of Vasteras, and along with Saints Sigfrid and Eskil they were the principal agents in bringing Christianity to Sweden…”

Arnold’s two Catholic pastors Fr. Jeffrey Knight and Fr. Charles Ferrara are great friends and huge baseball fans. Every priest knows that a Catholic monk named Brother Mathias at St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys in Baltimore taught a juvenile delinquent named George Herman Ruth how to play baseball.

The kid grew up to be Babe Ruth.

Hanged to death

When the county’s first reported rape and a murder occurred in 1862 the perpetrator was hanged. James Edmonds killed a man and kidnapped a 12-year old girl. Edmonds was arrested, charged, found guilty by the court and sentenced to be “hanged by the neck by Sheriff J. B. Dover until he is “Dead! Dead! Dead!”

Helen Church became Jefferson County sheriff after her husband Sheriff Leo Church died in 1962.

‘This execution came to hand March 3, 1863, and I executed the same on the 6th day of March 1863, by taking James Edmonds and hanging him with a rope by the neck until he was dead! dead!! dead!!! and buried him near the Hillsboro graveyard, on the day above written, and this execution is returned satisfied in full. [Signed] Jerome B. Dover, Sheriff.”

After the Civil War new county buildings were sorely needed. Many improvements gradually were made to court and law enforcement structures through the 19^th century and first half of the 20^th century. In the 1950s the county enlarged the old courthouse. Car radio communications were installed in 1956 and the county’s first fingerprinting system was activated.

Only a few inmates have escaped from the county jail.  In 1965 a skinny prisoner cut through a bar in his cell, soaped himself down and slipped through the gap.  Eight inmates attacked the only officer on duty and all escaped.  The Sheriff’s office reports, “Five were apprehended within a day; the remaining three were caught the following Saturday.  Another escape occurred in 1993 when a single prisoner, Kevin Hahn, escaped but was apprehended the same day. In 2011, prisoner Stephen Brooks was freed by mistake when he pretended to be an inmate scheduled to be released. Brooks was captured two days later hiding in a creek.

Walter “Buck” Buerger served as Jefferson County Sheriff for 28 years.

Only one Jefferson County Sheriff was a woman. When Sheriff Leo Church died in a car accident in 1962, his wife, Helen Church, was appointed to finish his term.  To date, Walter “Buck” Buerger, sheriff from 1965 to 1992, served the longest.  Sheriff Oliver “Glenn” Boyer, who retired on December 31, 2016, served for 24 years.

During Sheriff Boyer’s tenure, the office achieved many improvements. Jail renovation boosted housing from 116 beds to 334.  New communication and computer technologies advanced the office into the 21st century.

More than two centuries since its origin, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office today serves a population of about 240,000.  Sheriff Dave Marshak entered the office on January 1, 2017. He continues improving the office through advancements in training, equipment and technology.

According to the website CountyOffice.org, Jefferson County’s 10 Police Departments serve a total of 657 square miles – one Police Department for every 23,263 people.

Arnold Police

Arnold Police cruiser from the 1970s

The City of Arnold’s original Police Personnel Board was appointed November 2, 1972, to hire officers to help keep the peace. The first Police Board members were Ray Adams, Chris Hansen and Gene Whiteaker.

On November 15, 1972, Joseph Beil was named the first Chief of Police and Adrian Barrett was appointed Assistant Chief by Arnold’s first Mayor Ferd Lang. Initially, the department was housed with City Hall in a rental space at 522 Jeffco Blvd. (It is now at 2101 Jeffco Blvd.) Money was borrowed to purchase the first police car. On December 21, 1972, it was delivered with a set of red lights donated by the St. Louis County Police Department. More early department history is shown at https://www.arnoldmo.org/government/police/history/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ArnoldMOPoliceDepartment/.

Kahn joined the Arnold Police Department in 2016 and retired in February 2022 after helping in 130 arrests

Brian Carroll assumed command of the Arnold Police Department, replacing retired Chief Bob Shockey, when City Council members voted unanimously on April 21, 2022, to promote Carroll from major to chief. Mayor Ron Counts said at the time, “Brian served as acting police chief for several years when the chief wasn’t here… He is ready to go, and we are looking forward to him in this role.”

Carroll, 49, of Imperial has been with the Arnold Police Department since February 2000. He was promoted to corporal in December 2006, sergeant in November 2011 and lieutenant in June 2016 before promoted to major. As a lieutenant, one of his roles was K-9 Unit supervisor.

Brian Carroll – City of Arnold Chief of Police.

Carroll earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Radford University in Virginia, and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University in East Lansing.

“I have known I wanted to be a police officer since I was eight years old,” he says. “My best friend growing up and next door neighbor’s father was a sergeant for the Rochester, New York, Police Department in the Mounted Patrol Division.  He would take us to the stables to feed the horses.  Because of this positive influence, I have always had a calling to this profession.  I am passionate about service for our community and how we can make a direct impact on the lives of many.”

While at Radford University Chief Carroll completed an internship with the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia and in 1995 he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.  At Michigan State he graduated in 1998 with a master’s degree in Criminal Justice.

“Family is my top priority, says Chief Carroll, married to his wife Shannon for 12 years; they have a 9-year-old son.  “We enjoy boating and fishing.  Our son enjoys playing baseball.  He currently plays in a league at the Arnold Athletic Association.”

Handling Challenges

The Chief makes a candid observation:  “There seems to be a lack of support for law enforcement in various parts of the country.  That is not the case here in Arnold.  We are fortunate to have support from our city residents, business leaders and elected officials.   As an organization we never want to take this for granted.  Having a major thoroughfare in our city (I-55) can make us an easy target for the criminal element.  Similar to other nearby cities, our community saw an increase in property crimes.  Thefts from motor vehicles have increased throughout the region.  It’s our job as a law enforcement agency to prevent this type of crime.  Our public relations training officer works with various community enterprises to educate them on steps they can take to prevent being victimized.  Also, we have identified areas where these crimes are more common and increased our patrols accordingly.

Arnold Police Department logo

“When I became police chief in April of 2022, one of my top priorities was to continue to build positive relationships between our agency and the community.  I feel this partnership is essential for our agency to be successful.  We are fortunate in our agency to be able to assign various officers to specialized units.

“One of these units, the Business Resource Officer Unit, has helped us build a closer partnership with our business community.  This partnership has allowed us to put an extra emphasis on curtailing retail theft throughout our community.  Retail theft has been on the rise across the nation, and as such, created a need for a more specific officer response.

“Another Unit, the Crime Suppression Unit, has been instrumental in helping our department address challenges in our city.  This unit can be deployed to address increased criminal activity in a particular area so that such issues do not become permanent.  For example, this unit helped our city identify several known ‘drug houses’ and with the help of city officials these homes were condemned leading to safer neighborhoods in our community.

“Our Public Relations Training Officer Josh Lambrich has been a key to educating the public about crisis situations and  building positive relationships in Arnold.  Officer Lambrich has implemented positive programs.  School training helps prepare our educators for what to do during an active shooter situation.  Teller Awareness training focuses on situational awareness in the banking industry.  House of Worship training highlights not only active shooter situations, but theft, trespassing, and/or how to respond during a medical event.  The Neighborhood Watch program helps increase awareness among neighbors to reduce crime.  Business training combines leadership, de-escalation, theft/robbery, and active shooter situations.

Chief Carroll concludes, “In addition “We have a full time detective detached to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department to address cybercrime and related situations. This position was created because the need for this type of investigation has increased. He is currently in the Forensics Unit within the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and we are able to utilize the resources of the Sheriff’s Department to address this type of crime.”

By spearheading such law enforcement initiatives, Chief Carroll is establishing new directives for the Arnold Police Department and strengthening its dedication to public service.