The Baron Emmanuel de Hodiamont House sits in the far western reaches of St. Louis, out in what is now the West End. The original stone vernacular house was built in 1829, and it received its Gothic Revival accouterments in 1871. The Baron was a Trappist monk who apparently stayed behind after the other members of his order went back to France. It is in good condition, and still has a large lot around it, though it’s a fraction of the huge estate that now makes up the West End. For whatever reason, Sanborn maps show that it has a large, sixty gallon gas tank on the property. It is easily one of the oldest structures in the city, even though it was technically outside of the city limits when it was constructed. There are few of these rural Gothic Revival houses left, though there is one example in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood.