Saint Charles, MO Historical Series
– Grapes From Germany To Greenhouse –
By Edna McElhiney Olson in April1964
This updates the article about Parkview Gardens at 1925 Randolph Street, Saint Charles and its founder Jacob Rau who was born in Beautelsbach, Providence of Stuttgart, Germany on September 24, 1846. He became a professional grape pruner and wine maker. He married Frederika Koch on November 13, 1873.
In 1880 he and his wife and their four children left for the United States on a long hard voyage that lasted three weeks. Their infant Fred became seriously ill and with prayers for God’s grace from this devout Lutheran family the baby survived and lived almost 79 years. Records show that Jacob brought the permitted number of grape seedlings from Germany.
After landing in New York the family came to Saint Louis, hoping to find a farm where they could grow grapes. He told a hotel clerk he was homesick for Stuttgart and wanted to settle in Stuttgart, Arkansas. The clerk said “You can’t grow grapes there, but if you want good grape country, go to Saint Charles where there is suitable hilly land.”
Immanuel Lutheran Church records show that the Jacob Rau family became members in 1880.
They located on the old Senden farm (which is now Intown Suites at 1769 Fairlane) where Jacob planted his seedlings. He worked at the old Wussler Winery (which was located near Oak Grove Cemetery). Records show he walked four miles each way to the winery for a daily salary of fifty cents.
Next he became manager of the Menges Winery (located at 5th Street and Interstate-70 where Three Flags Center is today). When the Menges Winery was sold, Jacob and his family moved to 4th and Chauncey Street. Here he grew vegetables, raised grapes and the older Rau boys peddled the vegetables in baskets going from house to house. Later they used a two wheel cart to sell their wares and finally a horse and buggy.
On July 1, 1895 Jacob Rau bought a farm of six acres from the Stumberg Estate, located today at 1925 Randolph Street. Here they started a fruit and vegetable garden along with the specialty of grapes. Jacob had a problem of getting water to irrigate the land. He talked with City officials and was informed even though the farm was in the City limits his property was out too far for the City water to be piped to it. With determination to make a success of his vegetable and flower garden he installed his own water system. He got sills from dismantled freight cars at the Saint Charles Car Shops. He had his water tank made at the Car Shops’ tin shop. This tank held 6,000 gallons of water. Two inch galvanized pipe was made by Bruns Machine Company. The water was pumped from a well by a large windmill. The supply was sufficient to water celery, which was planted by the thousand, cabbage, fruit trees, grape vines, berries and flowers.
The large water tank stood up to all the heavy windstorms for about 28 years and was finally dismantled. It stood where a present greenhouse is located. Saint Charles County Historical Society has pictures of Parkview Gardens showing the water tank and old windmill.
Jacob was very proud of his large family of nine boys and two girls. The accompanying photo of his family by Rudolph Goebel was entered in a contest at the Saint Louis World’s Fair in 1904. It won the first prize for the largest healthiest family in the State of Missouri.
The Children of Jacob and Frederika Rau had interesting lives. Of those born in Germany, John G. became a blacksmith, Jacob F. Jr. a cast-iron molder, Katherine married Henry Priep and Fred W. became a carpenter. Born in Saint Charles was William C. a rug salesman, Louis W. a carpenter, Henry C. a clothing salesman, Oscar C. a painter and finisher, Arthur D. a shoe worker and Benjamin who followed his father’s trade and worked side by side with him as a gardener and florist. Emilie the youngest child married Lawrence Dye.
In an interview with Benjamin Rau he told about a fire on the roof of their old house that happened on July 4 just three days after they moved there in 1895. The family was celebrating Independence Day with the traditional fireworks. A firecracker landed on the roof and started the fire. Jacob Rau had been a member of the Community Fire department in his home town in Germany, so he knew how to handle fires. He ordered two sons to pump water from the well, four sons carried the water in buckets. The older sons stood on the ladder handing the buckets to Jacob who was on the roof. Finally the fire was extinguished. Ben chuckled when he told the story and said well that was the end of fireworks for our family.
After the death of Jacob Rau in 1915 Ben continued to operate Parkview Gardens. His great love was flowers and in 1928 he decided to specialize in flowers. His Florist Shop was very successful. He retired in 1958 and leased the business to Mr. and Mrs. Leland Gillitte. Tom and Holly Gillitte now own and operate Parkview Gardens Florist and Greenhouses. When you visit Parkview Gardens you will see where the name was derived many years ago, because the grounds face Blanchette Park. In Blanchette Park there is a Ben Rau Garden named in honor of his many years of service on the Park Board.
History
Parkview Gardens can trace its beginnings to 1880, when Jacob Rau emigrated from Germany and settled in St. Charles. Jacob bought a farm on present-day Fairlane Drive and began growing grapes and working at local wineries. The Rau family later moved to a second farm at Fourth and Chauncey streets, where they grew vegetables and grapes that the nine Rau boys would peddle door to door. In July 1895, Jacob Rau bought a six-acre farm on Randolph Street, where they expanded their vegetable and grape growing to include fruit trees, berries, and flowers.
Of the 11 Rau children, it was Benjamin who followed in his father’s footsteps, taking over the farm when Jacob died in 1915. His great love was in flowers and, in 1929, with the encouragement of friends and customers, he and his wife, Clara, decided to specialize in flowers and opened a retail florist shop they called Parkview Gardens.
One of their earliest employees was Herbert W. Wolter, the father of Dorothy Gillette. Herbert helped Benjamin operate a small nursery on the grounds and tend large outdoor beds of gladiolas and asters and greenhouses filled with mums and snapdragons. Customers each spring would buy their vegetable plants, perennials, and pansies from Parkview, taking them home wrapped in wet newspapers.
Dorothy began working at Parkview Gardens in 1944. The retail florist shop, as a member of the FTD wire service, was kept busy during the World War II years filling orders from GIs for flowers for their mothers in St. Charles or their sweethearts at Lindenwood College. The Raus had bought an existing flower shop on Main Street and Dorothy was its sole employee and manager until it closed in the 1950s. In 1954, Dorothy married Leland Gillette, one of those GIs.
In 1958, Benjamin and Clara Rau retired and sold their business to a partnership of Joe and Laverne Primeau and Dorothy and Leland Gillette. Joe had previously worked at Parkview Gardens. The Primeaus sold their interest to the Gillettes in 1961. The Gillettes’ son, Tom, joined the business following his graduation from the University of Missouri in 1979. His interest in the “growing end” prompted the construction of several greenhouses and the remodeling of the present facilities. In 1986, Tom married Holly Jost, whose family operated a greenhouse business in St. Louis County.
Tom and Holly bought the business from his parents in 1993, but even in retirement, Leland and Dorothy continued to be involved, offering advice and counsel and helping out during the busy spring and holiday seasons. Dorothy died in February 2010. Leland continued to visit the greenhouses daily even as he approached his 90th birthday in 2010. He died in July 2011. They are missed daily and Tom and Holly continue to refer back to their words of wisdom and encouragement.
Today, Parkview Gardens has progressed from a few cut flowers and vegetables grown outdoors to 11 greenhouses growing a variety of plants throughout the seasons with bedding plants, pansies, perennials, and hanging baskets in the spring, mums and pansies in the fall, and thousands of poinsettias for Christmas. In 2010, Tom and Holly planted grape vines on the hillside facing Randolph Street, just as Jacob Rau had done more than 120 years before. Each and every season, they look for new plants and creative ways to keep the love of flowers and the art of gardening thriving and growing in the St. Charles Community.
