# Alswel

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Historic house in Missouri, United States

United States historic place

Alswel U.S. National Register of Historic Places Show map of Missouri Show map of the United States Location 12720 Alswell Lane, Sunset Hills, MO 63128 Coordinates 38°30′21.36″N 90°24′15.75″W / 38.5059333°N 90.4043750°W / 38.5059333; -90.4043750 Area 7418 square feet Built 1911-1914 Architect Guy T. Norton Architectural style Tyrolean Chalet NRHP reference No. 88001460 [1] Added to NRHP 1989

**Alswel**, also known as the **William Lemp Estate House**, is a house in [Sunset Hills, Missouri](/source/Sunset_Hills%2C_Missouri) built by German-American [brewer](/source/Lemp_Brewery) William J. Lemp, Jr. in 1911. Designed by Lemp Brewery staff architect Guy Norton in the unusual Tyrolean Chalet style,[1] it is situated on a bluff roughly 200 feet above the [Meramec River](/source/Meramec_River) in south [St. Louis County, Missouri](/source/St._Louis_County%2C_Missouri). The estate grounds once consisted of almost 200 acres, but sell-offs and residential subdivision have reduced this to a 2.1-acre lot on which the house currently sits.

## History

Although [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis) had several [bedroom communities](/source/Webster_Groves%2C_Missouri) served by rail by the 1900s, many of its business leaders preferred building country homes in the more secluded areas of [south St. Louis County](/source/St._Louis_County%2C_Missouri), often fanning out from [Gravois Road](/source/Missouri_Route_30) in the now-municipalities of [Sunset Hills](/source/Sunset_Hills%2C_Missouri) and [Grantwood Village](/source/Grantwood_Village%2C_Missouri). The area was especially popular with the city's beer-brewing elite, including the [Griesediecks](/source/Griesedieck_Brothers_beer),[2] the [Busches](/source/August_Anheuser_Busch_Sr.),[3] and the [Lemps](/source/Lemp_Brewery).[4]

In 1910, brewer William J. Lemp, Jr. was just coming off of a very messy divorce from his first wife, Lillian, that had become sensationalized tabloid fodder in St. Louis society and was looking for a secluded retreat.[4] Purchasing 192 acres on the Meramec bluffs, construction of Alswel and several other outbuildings and servant's houses had been completed by 1914. By 1915 Lemp was remarried to the former Ellie Koehler Limberg and the couple took-up full-time residence at Alswel, away from the city.[4] By all accounts, they lived a happy life for the next several years.[1] Lemp's brother Edwin had built his own estate, [Cragwold](/source/Cragwold), on the Meramec bluffs a few miles upriver in 1911.

## Financial and legal troubles

The [Lemp Brewery](/source/Lemp_Brewery) was not able to weather the effects of [Prohibition](/source/Prohibition_in_the_United_States), with the liquidation of the brewery assets for 8 cents on the dollar contributing to Lemp's suicide in 1922.[5] Financial and legal troubles for the Alswel estate commenced shortly thereafter. In 1924, Ellie filed suit against Lillian (a successor trustee) and William and Lillian's son, William Lemp III, to force a sale of the estate[6] and it was auctioned from the courthouse steps in [Clayton](/source/Clayton%2C_Missouri) in 1925.[7]

William III would ultimately gain clear control of the estate and he and his wife Agnes were living there by the 1930s.[4] However, they carried a hefty mortgage underwritten by the [Methodist Episcopal Church](/source/Methodist_Episcopal_Church) (MEC), for which they subsequently missed several payments. MEC filed suit in 1934[8] and, when the Lemp's failed to meet an extended schedule for payment, Alswel was again sold at the courthouse in 1936, this time to MEC.[9] By 1946, developers had purchased 117 acres for residential building[10] and further sell-off in the 1980s[1] reduced the land area in which Alswel currently sits to just over 2 acres.

## Recent events

In 1989, Alswel was recognized with listing on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) of the [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service). Subdivision left some of the original estate's structures, like a cylindrical stone observation platform (see below), sequestered on neighboring residential lots. By the middle 1990s, most of the other outbuildings and servants' homes, which had been built in the same Tyrolean style but now resided on separate smaller lots in the area, had been razed.[11] The main Alswel "big house" is still a private residence today.[12]

## Gallery

		- slightly different view in southwest direction

		- back of Alswel looking up to the north

		- scenic viewing platform

		- view from the platform looking west over the [Meramec River](/source/Meramec_River) valley

## See also

- [Cragwold](/source/Cragwold)

- [Lemp Mansion](/source/Lemp_Mansion)

- [Lemp Brewery](/source/Lemp_Brewery)

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nrhpdoc_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nrhpdoc_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-nrhpdoc_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-nrhpdoc_1-3) Esley Hamilton (August 3, 1988). [National Register of Historic Places Registration: Alswel](https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63820278).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-naffziger_2-0)** Naffziger, Chris (2015). "The Falstaff Brewery, St. Louis". *Journal of the Brewery History Society* (161): 35–50.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-hernon_3-0)** Hernon, Peter; Ganey, Terry (1991). *Under the Influence: The Unauthorized Story of the Anheuser-Busch Dynasty*. New York: Simon and Schuster. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0671690243](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0671690243).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-walker_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-walker_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-walker_4-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-walker_4-3) Walker, Stephen (1988). *Lemp: The Haunting History*. St Louis: Lemp Preservation Society. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0963119704](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0963119704).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** "William J Lemp kills himself in brewery office: Business worry and illness believed to have prompted act". *[St. Louis Post-Dispatch](/source/St._Louis_Post-Dispatch)*. December 29, 1922. p. 1.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** "Suit to partition 192 acres in William J Lemp estate". *[St. Louis Post-Dispatch](/source/St._Louis_Post-Dispatch)*. December 26, 1924. p. 11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** "William J Lemp estate to be sold at auction". *[St. Louis Post-Dispatch](/source/St._Louis_Post-Dispatch)*. May 17, 1925. p. 11.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** "Church board sues William Lemp Jr". *[St. Louis Post-Dispatch](/source/St._Louis_Post-Dispatch)*. December 30, 1934. p. 3A.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** "W J Lemp Jr estate is sold for $34,670". *[St. Louis Post-Dispatch](/source/St._Louis_Post-Dispatch)*. September 22, 1936. p. 2A.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** "Agent acquires Lemp farm for new subdivision". *[St. Louis Post-Dispatch](/source/St._Louis_Post-Dispatch)*. June 2, 1946. p. 1D.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Marianna Riley (November 30, 1995). "Demolition of old Lemp cottage leaves neighbors nostalgic". *[St. Louis Post-Dispatch](/source/St._Louis_Post-Dispatch)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["12720 Alswell Lane"](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12720-Alswell-Ln-Saint-Louis-MO-63128/2909284_zpid/). Zillow. Retrieved October 4, 2024.

## External links

- [Historic photos of Alswel](https://stlouispatina.com/historic-photos-of-alswel/)

v t e National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Missouri Historic districts Babler State Park Barretts Tunnels Beaumont-Tyson Quarry District Brentmoor Park, Brentmoor and Forest Ridge District Burkhardt Historic District Carrswold Historic District Delmar Loop–Parkview Gardens Historic District DeMun Greenwood Historic District Jefferson Barracks Military Post Norwood Hills Country Club Old St. Ferdinand Shrine St. Stanislaus Seminary Wydown-Forsyth District Historic properties Abel-Griese House and Store Affton High School Alswel Archambault House Assumption Greek Orthodox Church Barton House Beverly Theater Big Chief Restaurant Gen. Daniel Bissell House Casa Alvarez City Hall Coral Court Motel Cragwold Des Peres Presbyterian Church Eliot Unitarian Chapel Fairfax House Fort Belle Fontaine Greenwood Cemetery Griese House Hanson House Herz Jesu Schule Hubecky House J. Milton Turner School Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Kirkwood station Koch, Missouri Kraus House Manchester United Methodist Church Meyer House Moynihan House John B. Myers House and Barn New Mount Sinai Cemetery Old Stone Church Olive Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church Theodore A. Pappas House Payne-Gentry House Sacred Heart Convent St. Vincent's Hospital Sutter-Meyer House Taille de Noyer Tilles Park Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site Weithaupt Store and Residence Wildwood House Wilson Larimore House See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis County, Missouri and List of National Historic Landmarks in Missouri

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alswel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alswel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alswel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.