The James Collier Marshall Home known as Fairfax was built between 1839 and 1841 at the top of a rocky prominence now known as the town of Rock Hill in the State of Missouri. The Greek Revival home (the only one for miles around) sat in the heavily forested wilderness high above the oldest crossroads in the region. Here, ten miles from the town of Saint Louis, Manchester Road, (aka known as Old State Road) met the terminus of Rock Hill Road (aka Old Military Barracks Road) as it wound north from Jefferson Barracks. Both roads had been mapped out by 1829 but these rutted and dusty roads had been in use many years before that time having been traversed first by the Osage Indians walking the dry ridges between rivers, then later by the French and Spanish explorers. After Jefferson Barracks was established, soldiers could be seen marching up Old Military Barracks Road in formation to join up with the Old State Road that led to the State Capitol in Jefferson City. 

Famous Family

James Collier Marshall, a bachelor, was a speculator, an entrepreneur, and a forward thinking pioneer. Marshall, his brother John, and two widowed sisters travelled west from the Virginia tidewater region to the new State of Missouri on the advice of cousins to begin a new life. As a result, near these crossroads, Marshall built a trading post, stage coach stop, and a school and operated a US Post Office. On the 9th day of September in the year 1840, he married an Irish lass known as Elizabeth Kyle McCausland - aunt of Civil War General John McCausland (photo above). James Marshall then built her the most lavish house in the area and named it Fairfax after their Virginia roots (family photo above).

The Structure

The lovely timber frame home known as Fairfax is built to fit the Golden Mean in architecture. The appealing structure of four rooms joined with a central hallway is held together with tenon joinery, its frame resting upon massive oak sills hand hewn on site. Each window and door is delicately held together with a series of carefully placed hand carved wooden pegs. Delicately carved muntins lay across the panes of glass in the double hung window sashes. A brick lined food cupboard reaches floor to ceiling in the dining room and two massive Rumford Chimneys reach from cellar floor through rooftop. The hand turned newel post is still pinned underneath the first floor visible from the basement (photo above) after being in constant use for some 160 years!   

The History Before the History

This home represents the very early history of the area. As one can imagine, the home is the holder of many stories. Some visitors insist that they feel a certain spirit when they visit Fairfax House, that they hear faint echos of a horrendous argument taking place, or they feel an ill will. Whatever it is, we may never know. We do know that the Marshalls raised their children in the home and many did not survive, but that was common in the Victorian era. We also know that the Marshalls were slave owners, that they built the Rock Hill Presbyterian church in 1845 on their property (next door to the current Fairfax location), and yet, due to a difference of views, James Marshall, a founding member, left his own church in 1861 never to return again.

Perhaps there was controversy because his wife, Elizabeth Kyle McCausland Marshall was the aunt of infamous Civil War General John McCausland and anger over the general’s behavior was rampant, or perhaps it was because James Marshall was a slave owner. Maybe there is unrest because the old graveyard nearby was disturbed.  

Whatever the truth is, we know for certain that Fairfax represents the history before the history - that our town began here with the efforts made by this family. Eventually Marshall owned almost 900 acres stretching from Brentwood to Ladue to Glendale and well into Webster Groves, Missouri. In the early 1850's, Marshall donated 15 acres of his land to the facility now known by the name of Edgewood Children's Center, he donated three acres of land to the Presbyterian church, and he sold off lots to form what is now known by the name of Historic Marshall Place in Webster Groves.

On June 4, 1944, The Fairfax House became the original site of the Rock Hill Public Library. Volunteers of the Rock Hill Village Library Association obtained 1600 gifts of books from Rock Hill, Clayton, Kirkwood, Maplewood, and Webster Groves. The two rooms upstairs were used for the library and local residents volunteered their time during the two days a week the library was open. In more recent history, the home was used for office space and then became vacant and largely untended for many years.

Present Condition

In 1997, the home was moved to its present location at 9401 Manchester Road, across the road from its original location and still on former Marshall property. Over the years, the home has fallen into disrepair and is now in need of extensive restoration. Significant strides were made starting in 2008 when three exterior sides were restored and a lavatory was added. However, the rear exterior wall, and complete interior are still significantly decayed and in danger of imminent ruin from the elements. Because of its current condition, The Fairfax House was placed on the Missouri Preservation Most Endangered Places List every year from 2008 through 2011.

Update April 2012: Fairfax has been relegated to the back of its current lot to make room for a UGas complex. This relocation marks the third time Fairfax has been moved. Currently up on blocks, Fairfax is likely to suffer structural damage and deterioration over time. Despite community efforts, the neighboring 1845 Rock Hill Presbyterian Church was also demolished as part of the same UGas project.

Our Mission

Fairfax Restoration Incorporated was established in 2008 as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation licensed by the State of Missouri for the purpose of saving and restoring The Fairfax House. For more information, email Donia Hunter, President, Fairfax Restoration Incorporated or contact her at 314/968-3951.

Download The Fairfax House Brochure