As his wife Penny drove a golf cart loaded with old black and white photos slowly down Main Street in Warrenton on a sweltering May evening, Gene Cornell gave signals to stop every now and then so he could retrieve a picture. 

The photos brought to life a young and vibrant street that offered everything a county resident might need in a bygone era.

Sponsored by the Warren County Historical Society, the walking tour was designed to give residents a look back at high points in Warrenton’s past, focusing primarily on life on and around Main Street.

Cornell asked his audience to imagine life along Main Street in those early days, from storefront car dealerships; a hatchery; clothing shops; eating establishments; a fine hotel; furniture, hardware, appliance and grocery stores; service stations; telephone building and even small hospitals. Then there was the courthouse square, with the Italianate red and white brick courthouse and its towering cupola that defined the town’s skyline. 

Alongside the courthouse was its sister building, the county recorder’s office — smaller in stature — but just as elegant.  The solid square brick jail house completed the complex. It was home not only to those who ran afoul of the law but also to the sheriff and his family in the 1950s.

“Anybody know what this building once was?” Cornell asked his tour group, pointing to what is now the two-story sand-brick offices of chiropractor Michael Coons across from Friedens United Church of Christ.

“I was born there,” answered Jon Luetkemeyer, whose mother gave birth to him in the 1940s when it was a hospital. The building and practice was built in 1938 by Dr. Henry W. Eyermann who later sold it to his protégé Dr. Harold Hoelscher. Another Main Street medical facility was located across the street in a red brick building that still stands. The facility was one of two small hospitals on Main Street, the other on the opposite side of the street belonging to another of the town’s pillar physicians, Dr. Anton MacGrae. The doctor lived in one part of the duplex, making it easy and fast to check on his patients.   

Cornell began the tour at Main Street’s crown architectural jewel, the Schowengerdt residence that originally was part of a 23-acre farm that stretched as far east as present-day Highway 47 and south to Southside Street. The residence and garden now are owned by the Warren County Historical Society. 

“This beautiful home and garden now belong to you as residents of Warrenton and Warren County,” Cornell told the group. 

Historic accounts indicate that French trappers and traders helped settle the area, arriving near Charrette Creek around 1763. The trappers  secured Spanish grants for large tracts of land in what today are Warren and St. Charles counties. They later sold their interests to the son-in-law of Daniel Boone. Later part of Montgomery County, the state Legislature declared Warren County as a distinct government territorial entity to be named after Dr. Joseph Warren, who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Residents Bring Their Own Stories

Throughout the tour, Cornell successfully invited comments and questions from residents who chimed in with their own stories and recollections. 

“A big part of what makes this such a rich experience is that people add their own stories to our history, and we all benefit from that knowledge,” said Cornell. “History informs who we are now.”

Geri Hummel Murphy grew up in the area and had plenty of stories and anecdotes to contribute. One of her cousins who spent part of his childhood here — Arthur W. Hummel — went on to become ambassador to the People’s Republic of China during President Ronald Reagan’s administration. Another famous American with ties to Warrenton was Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, best known as author of Roe v. Wade whose parents met here as students at Central Wesleyan College.

As Cornell showed an enlarged aerial photo of Warrenton from the mid-1900s, he pointed out the size of the home lots which enabled residents to survive well on gardens and their own chickens and cows during the Great Depression.

In front of what now is the Firehouse Grill and Pub, Cornell noted the building’s textured past. During Prohibition, he said, owner John Drosselmeyer enterprisingly converted part of his tavern — that later would become Earl’s — to bottle the popular soft drink Orange Crush. 

Bustling With Commerce, Community Life

The main thoroughfare in town for decades bustled with commerce and places for county residents to eat and enjoy conversation. Life was centered here before strip malls, big-box retailers and fast food establishments and especially interstate highways began changing the face of Main Street here and in small towns throughout the country.

People recalled Christmastime when every year a giant decorated tree was placed in the middle of Main Street. “I heard someone ran into it one year,” one resident said. There also was a story about students of Central Wesleyan College taking a cow up on the third floor of one of the town’s buildings.  Another tale noted one of the town’s citizens had once ridden a horse through the doors of Western Auto. 

Bonnie Nelson, whose father was sheriff for many years in the mid-1900s, recalled her family life in the jail building. 

“The prisoners would help with ironing and other chores around the building,” she told the group. 

More Tours to Come

Cornell said he’s already thinking about tweaks to make for the tour, hoping to maximize interest and participation from people throughout the area. In the meantime, he said he hopes more people will visit the historical society museum this summer to get a glimpse of the community’s roots and to check out the vast files the museum has on genealogy and more. The museum attracts people from all over the country eager to find out more about their family histories. 

“Our goal is to get people talking about our history,” said Cornell. “We may not have all the answers, but if we all share our knowledge and experience, we’ll end up with a richer picture of life in this community.”