The Ghosts of Campbell House

Greetings from Hugh and Hazlett -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
In 2006, a friend and I visited St. Louis Missouri. I had never been to that fabled Gateway and enjoyed my visit thoroughly. We stayed near the downtown area and saw most of the sights including the famous Arch built in 1965 as well as the fashionable Delmar Avenue district. St. Louis is a fusion place for several American traditions. The jazz bars and BBQ joints call to mind the Deep South while gray squirrels and blustery North wind put you back into a Yankee state of mind. With blocks of deteriorating brick mansions and rows of defunct 19th century warehouses, I can’t help but think how an ambitious developer might want to gentrify all of it. Saint Louis is like a fading, but still beautiful dowager queen -- a city that once was the center of American commerce. I would heartily recommend it for someone wanting a substantial slice of American history and culture.

One site is little known or talked about and yet it made the biggest impression of all -- the Campbell House Museum near the downtown district. Campbell house is the meticulously restored mansion that once belonged to 19th century banking tycoon Robert Campbell and his family. The 1851 Federal style house was purchased by the showy Campbells for $18,000 in 1854. 18K was a bundle for that era. Campbell died with a net worth of $2 million and also was known for his dabbling in real estate, gold and the fur trade. He and his wife, Virginia entertained lavishly and even once hosted a dinner party for Ulysses Grant and retired General Sherman.

The house itself at 20 Lucas Place, was state-of-the-art for its time. It had servants’ quarters, a carriage house and (most impressively) indoor plumbing. The kitchen counter was crudely hewn wood and the upstairs toilet was also made of wood. We have to recall that those were once rooms of service and function -- not the luxuriant spaces we have now with granite counters, wine racks and garden baths. The Campbell’s had the house from 1854 until 1938 when the youngest son Hazlett died at age 83. The home was subsequently converted to a public museum and most of the Victorian-era furniture (sold in estate auction) was tracked down and repurchased. Wallpaper, paint and other effects were meticulously restored using photos and letters as reference points. The house now serves as an incredible venture into mid-19th century decadence if you will. With some minor adjustments, you might just love living there now.

But for all the beauty of the building, the human ghosts of Campbell house are by far the most gripping part of the story. From its beginning, the story has an eerie feel. Robert proposed to Virginia and she flat-out turned him down. After Robert pleaded with her in person and via mail (over some months), she finally caved and married him. The very fact that the marriage was conceived in an act of practicality and exasperated “settling” is something that did not bode well for the future…

The Campbells had 13 children -- but here is where their wealth oddly did them no favors. The indoor plumbing drew its water from a common supply that wasn’t treated for contagions. 10 of the 13 children died from various diseases -- cholera, diphtheria and typhoid. Only 3 boys survived to adulthood -- Hugh, James and Hazlett. All 3 boys were tall, athletic and handsome -- they attended Ivy League schools and traveled through Europe in the 1880’s. But the cold wind of fate wasn’t near the end of its course… James caught the flu in his early 20’s and died from that. Hazlett started having mood swings and erratic behavior in his early 20‘s -- later these might be diagnosed as manic depression or schizophrenia. He was actually treated with cocaine (labeled vials were found in his estate) -- cocaine was a legal and approved treatment for “melancholia” in the 19th century. But Hazlett remained unemployable and cloistered the rest of his days, cared for by his older brother Hugh.

Hugh actually survived into old age in a state of good health and mental soundness. In earlier years he entertained, gave to children’s charities and was a congenial, man about town. But Hugh never married or had children. None of the boys did. In his middle age, Hugh became nearly as reclusive as Hazlett -- neighbors observed that only servants and delivery people were ever seen entering or leaving the house. Hugh died in 1931, prearranging Hazlett’s care by paid nurses. Hazlett died in 1938 with no living heirs, thus setting the stage for a Campbell Museum.

Thus you walk through the Campbell’s living room, regaled by stories of civil war generals, amazed at the beautiful Victorian davenport in authentic red fabric. You love the carriage house, replete with a carriage. But then in the dining room, you gaze at the photo of three robust young men in Paris. Whom did they marry, what dragons did they slay? There must be 15 grandchildren and 50 great grandchildren. In so many families that would be imperative. But here, the sad thread, the weird curse of Robert and Virginia Campbell has its final, quiet close. The Campbell House has so many stories to tell, and so many other stories left unspoken.

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