Felix Vallé House State Historic Site

06/10/2026

N is for Nails! 💅

No, not THOSE nails. We're talking about fasteners!
From the hand-forged nails of the early frontier into the modern industrial production of the 21st century, the use of metal nails has played a significant role in the development of Missouri.
Throughout the 18th and early 19th century, nails were hand-wrought by 🔥🔨💥blacksmiths and were used sparingly in Missouri’s frontier construction. Hand wrought nails took a great amount of time to craft and because they were made… well, by hand, they weren’t always uniform or reliable. There was a great disproportion between quality of nails based on materials used and blacksmith’s skills. With all of this combined, joinery like mortise and tenons and other wood joinery were greatly preferred. 🪵🏡
That changed with the introduction of the mass produced cut nail. 🏭
In 1794 Jacob Perkins invented a water-powered nail-cutting machine and began producing machine-made cut nails in scale. This machine allowed for the mass production of uniform nails in a variety of lengths. By cutting the shaft of the nail from sheets of iron, which were then shaped and pointed, this new method of nail production was faster, more efficient, and the product was wholly more reliable than the traditional wrought nail. In addition, the ability to produce many nails en masse brought the cost down considerably. 💰
Simultaneous to the increased ability to produce cut nails was the shift in architectural design from the heavy timber framing of early 19th century design to the new balloon framing style of the later portion.🏘 A style …that was heavily reliant on nails. 🏠
As demand for easy and affordable housing increased, so did the need for developments in nail manufacturing. By the early 19th century, a new nail hit the market: the wire nail. Formed using wire stock drawn through dies to cut and shape it, this nail quickly became the preferred choice, and is the style used today.
With their speed of production, perfect consistency, and cost effective production, wire nails lead the development of more tools to aid in construction, such as automatic nailers. 🔌
From the early hands of blacksmiths to industrial machinery into modern factories, this simple fastener built a house, a state, and a nation, one blow at a time. 🔨

06/02/2026

The garden continues to grow and thrive, and we invite you to be a part of it this Thursday, June 4th.

Join staff from Missouri University Extension Program and Felix Valle House State Historic Site Thursday evenings 5:30-6:30 p.m. for our weekly Get Healthy Through Gardening Class.

This week will cover methods of seed starting and transplanting to minimize stress and plant loss. We will also discuss amendments that may be helpful to boost seedling growth.

Registration is required, and can be completed at https://icampmo.usedirect.com/MSPWeb/Activities/Search.aspx or by calling the site at 573-883-7102. Classes are for participants 17+. Youth activities will be offered for visitors under 17.

05/20/2026

Our garden is off to a great start, yours can be too!!

Join staff from Missouri University Extension Program and Felix Valle House State Historic Site tomorrow evening 5:30-6:30 p.m. for our weekly Get Healthy Through Gardening Class.

This week will cover everything you need to know about planning a backyard garden. From which types of beds to use to planning what to add to your existing garden.

Registration is required, and can be completed at https://icampmo.usedirect.com/MSPWeb/Activities/Search.aspx or by calling the site at 573-883-7102. Classes are for participants 17+. Youth activities will be offered for visitors under 17.

05/15/2026

May 16-17, 2026 Annual garden walk and plant sale sponsored by Ste. Genevieve Master Gardeners
🌹🏵🌺
Join us for the annual Garden Walk in downtown Ste. Geneviève!

Peruse our beautiful 🌹🌼🌸herb garden, make a cyanotype🖼 with herbs, and craft your own garden🔔 bell.

No matter the weather, we'll be ready! 🔆🌤🌦 So wear your comfortable shoes👟, bring a water bottle (and maybe an umbrella🌂) and join us for this fun and beautiful adventure! 🌷


https://extension.missouri.edu/news/annual-historic-garden-walk-set-for-may-16-17-in-ste-genevieve

05/13/2026

There is still time to sign up for this week’s Get Healthy Through Gardening class in partnership with University of Missouri-Extension.

These classes are every Thursday night 5:30-6:30 pm, May 14-July 2, 2026. Participants who attend 6 or more will receive a free small appliance courtesy of University of Missouri Extension.

To Register click the link: https://icampmo.usedirect.com/MSPWeb/Activities/Search.aspx or call the Site office at 573-883-7102

Garden class participants must be 17 years of age or older, children’s programming will be offered for anyone younger. Both the class and youth programming are free.

05/07/2026

M is for Mahogany! 🌳 🪑🚪
Mahogany trees can grow up to 100's of feet with branchless trunk spanning up to 60 feet, and several feet in diameter. When mahogany is cut it has a noticeably straight and even grain and is a reddish brown color that darkens with time. With the massive sizes of these trees and beautifully recognized color and design of the grain, it serves as perfect material to make furniture. Not only is mahogany used for furniture but it was also durable enough for architectural purposes as well, such as roofing, support beams, or framing of homes. In the pre-Columbian Americas, it was originally used for dugout canoes and later used for building ships as the wood is also buoyant and resistant to rotting. The “Golden Age of Mahogany” in furniture making spanned approximately from the 1720's to the late 1890's, depending on location. The majority of mahogany focused mills began to wane in the Americas in the 1860's. Although the popularity of owning mahogany pieces spanned well throughout the 20th century. At the height of production in the 18th and 19th century, these trees were being extracted at an alarming rate. Today, most all strains of mahogany are threatened, with Big Leaf Mahogany being an endangered species and extinct in native environments of El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Brazil. However, that hasn’t stopped the resurfacing of popularity in owning mahogany pieces. As fashion is often cyclical throughout time, mahogany made a resurface in popularity in the 1920's through 1940's with the colonial revival, then again in the 1970's, and even some today with grandmillenial themes that blend antiques and modern touches.
One of the first groups of people to store clothing in an armoire were French royals in the 17th century. Early armoires were tall and wide with a two door entry and bars with pegs to hang clothes, as well as drawers or storage space for bedding. Often measured by using men of smaller statures when building, of the armoire could hold 8 of these men then it was considered to be the “correct” size. Even in the 17th century, the armoire was often considered the most prized piece of furniture in the home as largely seen as symbols of status.
One of our favorite mahogany pieces that is reflective of the furniture owned by the Valles is this Late Empire style armoire. This style armoire generally had bronze, brass, or gilt settings that complimented the natural beauty of the mahogany, and the doors then made to cover the entire front hiding the interior drawers and shelving. The armoire in our collection has held through the test of time. It is easy to imagine this piece as representative of Odile’s more prized possessions. Not only was owning mahogany pieces of furniture a statement of wealth and status in the 19th century, but it can also be tied back to French roots as well.

04/30/2026

The next letter in our alphabet is L for Language!
🫵Have you heard of Pawpaw French? 👀

When French settlers came to Missouri, they spoke a dialect of French called Pawpaw French, also known as Missouri French. Although the language had mostly died out in Sainte Genevieve not long after Missouri becoming a state in 1821, it still prevailed in the isolated community of Old Mines until the 1930s when the children of Old Mines had to start attending school. Pawpaw French was strongly discouraged and equated with poverty, lack of education and backwardness. Teachers would physically punish children for speaking the language so parents stopped teaching it to their children. Along with this, and the people of Old Mines having to make a living outside of the community, because it was an independent lead mining community and absentee lead companies dominated the industry, the language slowly faded. Though several efforts to revive the language have happened, it still never came back in full force. The memory of the language and the traditions that went along with it are still celebrated in Sainte Genevieve, and other French speaking communities in the area, to this day with songs and celebrations like La Guillonée on New Year’s Eve, the annual King’s Ball (Queen’s ball, during a leap year) and La Fête de L’Automne, which is organized by the Old Mines Historical Society, in October where people can enjoy French pastries called croquinoles and listen to Pawpaw French songs performed by Dennis Straughmatt and his band, L’ésprit Creole, just to name a few.

✨For more information and learning materials visit northamericanfrench.com/missouri-french 📚

⭐️There is also a facebook group named CreoleFrench of Missouri/Illinois/Indiana (Paw-Paw French) Practice Group where you can talk with others who share your passion for the language.

🌟This video by PBS is a great introduction to the history and significance of this disappearing language.

https://youtu.be/3icbQzaeUDk?si=F2cZlWcOBqMHVp1R

A local dialect of French survived in the Old Mines community well into the 20th century, and there are a few people today working to preserve it. The langua...

04/26/2026

Are you 🫵ready 👀for the next letter in our alphabet?

🧶K is for knit! 🧶

04/23/2026

📖 For World Book Day we're highlighting some of our favorite books in our giftshop. We have a variety of books on local and state history. Swing and celebrate World Book Day with us! 📚

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day from Felix Vallé House State Historic Site!

If you want to get your hands in the dirt, check out our upcoming garden classes in partnership with University of Missouri-Extension and learn how to create and maintain a home garden, grow nutritious fruits and vegetables for your family, and gain nutrition knowledge that helps you and your zucchini thrive. Register at icampmo.com, under the Activities tab.

Want to see some beautiful gardens and enjoy a little slice of nature in an urban setting? Check out the upcoming Garden Walk May 16 and 17. Available through Sainte Genevieve Master Gardeners Facebook or Eventbrite.