A Haunted Place
Along the bluffs of the Mississippi River south of the city of St. Louis lays acres of land overgrown with weeds, the former site of a city-owned quarantine hospital and sanitarium, and the final resting place for tens of thousands of the area’s nineteenth century immigrant poor struck down by epidemics that swept through the area. Currently for sale by the City of St. Louis, the site has entered local legend as being haunted; given its history if any place could be, this site most certainly is.
The city government of St. Louis bought the land in 1854, and used it for a quarantine station and hospital. Its remote location at the time, fifteen miles from the city’s center, was thought to be an ideal one for the isolation and treatment of people with communicable diseases such as leprosy, yellow fever, typhoid, cholera, smallpox, diphtheria and other diseases that struck seemingly from nowhere and raged unchecked through the community. The City also used a corner of the property as a paupers’ cemetery. It is estimated that 18,000 men, women and children were buried there between 1849 and 1877 according to a 1983 newspaper article.
For the next 30 years patients with yellow fever, smallpox, diptheria, typhoid fever were sent to the Quarantine Hospital. the bodies of victims of these epidemics were buried on the grounds until by the end of the nineteenth century an estimated 18,000 people were buried at what was then called the Quarantine-Smallpox Hospital. Since during epidemics, bodies were buried en masse in some of the sinkholes on the property, while at other times only wooden headboards marked the graves, little remains to mark burial sites; burial records were destroyed by a fire in the late 1880’s. (source)
After vaccinations and improved sanitation brought many of those diseases under control, focus shifted to using the site as a hospital for tuberculosis patients. In the early 20th Century tuberculosis was the leading public health crisis facing American cities, accounting for ten percent of all deaths in St. Louis. In 1910 the city’s hospital commissioner Dr. John C. Morfit transferred 70 patients from other city institutions to the quarantine station and hospital against the wishes of the rest of City Hall, and was fired. Before he left Dr. Morfit named the facility the “Robert M. Koch Hospital” in honor of the German scientist who isolated the organisms that caused TB and cholera.
For the first half of the 20th century Koch Hospital thrived. Hospital administrators established a farm on the grounds in 1922 and by 1937 it supplied fresh produce including apples, tomatoes and grapes to other City institutions. The hospital published its own newsletter from 1925-1947 providing health care news and tips to the patients and their families. Patients received job training while recuperating, and could take classes in business, sewing and other trades. Bond issues in 1920, 1933 and 1934 allowed the hospital to expand to almost five hundred beds. It wasn’t enough; the facility had a waiting list of 200 in 1939. At that time TB claimed 600 St. Louisans a year, and it was thought that at a ratio of two beds for each death, the city needed 1,200 beds to keep up with the disease’s toll. Plans were drawn up for expansion in 1939, but went unfunded when Congress killed the appropriations bill that paid for them.
During World War II a health care professional shortage lead to the closure of some wings of the hospital. After the war, improved public health prevention measures and better medication reduced tuberculosis infection rates and the need of a specialized facility. Funding for the hospital was cut during the 1950s as the City tried to sell the property. In 1961 the City dedicated Koch Hospital to the care of the indigent elderly, but after trouble with federal and state payments and high running costs, the facility was shut down in November 1983, and its buildings razed in 1989 after a successful nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
On a personal note, my father worked at Koch Hospital in the maintenance department during the 1970s. Every weekday morning my mother would wake me up and I would crawl into the backseat of our station wagon where I would snooze on the drive taking my father to work. I remember seeing him framed in the window as we dropped him off, a face that’s now a smudge after 30 years of fading memory. One day he collapsed and died on the hospital grounds, ending the morning drives and beginning a long, winding personal journey that didn’t end until I became a father myself decades later.
Is my father one of the souls rumored to haunt the hospital grounds? My intuition, thanks to my Irish blood, emphatically tells me “no”. But what about the souls of those swept off prematurely by cholera, smallpox and TB? Even though I count myself as an unbeliever, I wouldn’t want to test my lack of belief with a nightly trip there.
Maybe the last request of the Dying is to be remembered. Those interred on the Koch Hospital grounds deserve at least that much. In 1866 175 members of a regiment of African-American soldiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War, the 56th United States Colored Infantry, died of cholera and were laid to rest on the grounds. During the mid 20th century their remains and a monument commemorating their service was moved to nearby Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, a well tended memorial for the city’s veterans. While the nameless that remain buried there may not have lived as heroically as those men, they came to our nation from all over the world seeking better lives only to be stricken by diseases that were transmitted easily due to their abysmal living conditions. Their contribution to our nation lives on and deserves not to be forgotten.
While the buildings, designed at the turn of the 20th Century in the Italian Romanesque and Italian Renaissance styles, weren’t deemed worthy of being saved, the site itself must be preserved. One way would be to clean the site up and make it a state or national park, complete with a visitor’s center and hiking trails dotted with displays showing the grounds over the years, and the way disease and those who fought and suffered them shaped our nation’s history.
Koch Hospital’s main administration building as of April 1984
The grounds of Koch Hospital as seen by satellite in 2007 (maps.google.com) (click here for full image)
Combined satellite image with map:
For more recent photos taken of the site, please visit The Robert Koch Hospital website.
Thanks to The Robert Koch Hospital website for background information. Most of the information presented here is sourced from the National Registry of Historic Places nomination form available online by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
UPDATE: August 2008
I visited the site with my elderly mother but it’s completely fenced off and it’s difficult to tell the layout of the property from the ground when it’s overgrown. Better to explore the site in the dead of winter. I did note that there are some marked graves on the Elks Club property.
Nicole:
That National Register of Historic pdf is awesome! I can’t wait until I have time to sit down and read the whole thing.
28 March 2008, 9:46 pmKAT MASON:
I WORK AT JEFFERSON BARRACKS VA HOSP. IS THERE A MARKED AREA DESIGNATING WHERE KOCK HOSP STOOD? I KNOW THERE IS A TRUCKING BUSINESS IN THE AREA AND ALSO MANY CAVES. I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THE ACTUAL SITE. I WAS TOLD THAT WHEN THE HOSP WAS RAZED BONES WERE FOUND IN THE BASEMENT. IS THIS TRUE? THANK YOU FOR YOUR INPUT.
KAT MASON
10 December 2008, 10:12 pmTim Lawson:
There were sculls, arm and sawed off leg bones found in a sink hole down the hill from the old grave stones. I lived on Malone drive for a long time as a kid and invited the county and the police down there to show them. They were amazed and were also ready to leave at dusk.
18 December 2008, 2:02 amScott Kirwin:
Tim
The ‘83 Post article states there could be 18,000 people buried there. I am not surprised at all that you found bones; the site must be littered with them.
That place has a story to tell, and I would like nothing more than to see it eventually told.
18 December 2008, 10:13 amJoe:
I remember being a kid and going to the nearby soccer fields. Passing the hospital building was very eerie, especially with the building and vegetation covered in white dust from the quarry/construction business. I also remember a black cat walking on one of the bottom windows. It was right out of a horror movie.
14 January 2009, 2:34 pmBob Lawrence:
I actually own a company that is in the underground cave, Warehouses. I have been increasingly interested in the hospital and I wish i could say that I had some great stories but really even when I played soccer on the fields I do not remember much. Does anyone know where to get a good layout of where the buildings were and the cemetary mentioned?
2 February 2009, 8:25 pmScott Kirwin:
Warehouses in those caves? Seriously?
As for the layout, the graphic above is made from a map that’s in the National Registry of Historic Places form. It doesn’t say where the old cemetery is, but according to the 1983 Post article bodies were dumped into sinkholes on the property. So you might find some interesting things in those caves someday.
2 February 2009, 11:07 pmTim Lawson:
This is a story that I had written about some childhood experiences with a map link that describes where the old cemetary is located.
3 February 2009, 5:33 amTim Lawson:
http://www.missourighosts.net/robertcochhospitalstories2.html
3 February 2009, 5:34 amScott Kirwin:
Tim
Thanks for the stories. While I don’t believe much in the paranormal, if any place is haunted in St. Louis the old Koch / Quarantine Hospital site is.
The place has a story to tell and I don’t think it will “rest” until that story is told.
3 February 2009, 12:53 pmmike:
well im a teenager and me and my friends very oftenly go down there and it is an extremely cool place and i think we found one of the sink hole which me and a friend have found bones in.
19 March 2009, 11:53 pmTed:
I have many stories that I could tell about this place. I have spent many of nights playing around in this place. I used to have actual maps and keys to the morque. I wish I still had these. I did have a map that showed where all the unmarked grave yards were. I read somewhere they were destroyed in a fire, not true. I had them! I knew this place like the back of my hand. We would hang out inside almost every other night for years, until they tore it down. We found some interesting items that is for sure.
10 April 2009, 12:56 amTed:
I forgot to mention that if you look at the map above there actually was an underground tunnel that connected all the buildings. They connected from the administration building to the engine room. Everything was connected. Once you got inside you could go to pretty much any building underground.
10 April 2009, 1:00 amScott Kirwin:
Ted
10 April 2009, 11:13 amIf you want to post something let me know. I can host it on the site – or link to your site.
Thanks for the info
Tim Lawson:
I would like to find all information on the mass grave site. I do believe it to be north of the 3rd ward. Traveling up Koch road on the left next to the hospital grounds. I do remember as a kid finding fragments in that field. There was a quarantine building behind the carpenters shop that is not on the map. Scott, I can send it to you if you would like. I think that I know where the Potter’s field is and a couple of dump sites used by the hospital located next to it.
26 April 2009, 3:20 amCody Jones:
I am very interested in the history of the hospital and the grounds. My grandmother worked there in the late 1950’s. She also worked over at Mount St Rose in Lemay. She has told me many stories!
26 April 2009, 10:52 pmScott Kirwin:
Tim
Send me anything – or feel free to post it here (I can host any photographs for you if necessary).
Cody
27 April 2009, 7:26 amMount St. Rose… I haven’t heard that name since I was a kid years ago. My father may have worked there too.I’ll have to check with my mother.
Jack:
Hmmm Bob, Do you own Kuna? I have lived in Oakville for 20 years and recently bought a home on Hickory Hill. HH is the street directly across from the Elks Club entrance on the map. Funny, in all those years I heard very little about Koch but I must say that I am very interested. I do not believe in ghosts, but I must say that there are times when I am outside my home (If you look at the map, the front of my house looks out on common ground then the hospital road and then the woods leading to the hospital grounds) and I catch myself looking at the woods like I am waiting to see the scene from Field Of Dreams where the baseball players appear from the corn. Now WHY in the world would a reasonably sensible, educated 45 year old man have that feeling and not know a damn thing about the property?? Hmmmm….Hell, with all the trespassing/blasting/underground mining signs that Bussen Quarry has put around the property, my only thought was protecting our children or the family dog from falling through the roof of a cave hehe…
5 July 2009, 11:39 pmLauren:
My Bestfriend also lives on hickory hill. we love exploring the woods, but we also dont know much about it. She’s been on the hospital grounds and has gone up to the water tower, but then they tore it down a few years ago. Shes always said it was really creepy back there. We’ve also found some gravestones, but they’re most likely not from the Hospital because they were located behind the Elks club. We think it was an old family graveyard from the bussen family.
14 July 2009, 11:51 pmScott Kirwin:
Lauren
15 July 2009, 6:14 amThe quarry bought the hospital grounds in the 1980s. I believe the graves at the Elks club do belong to the hospital. Keep in mind that the history of the place predates the Koch Hospital buildings by half a century.
Mike:
I sure enjoyed reading all these comments. In 1984 or 85, during my tenure at Mehlville High, I rode bikes with friends in search of the haunted hospital. I have a vague picture in my memory of a building, which I was too chicken to explore. I clearly remember the tower though. I think now this must have been a water tower, shaped like a castle turret. Someone told me back then that it was part of a mansion that a man built for his wife, who died suddenly and he never finished it. What a bunch of malarky, but the story stuck in my head till now. Well, too bad that every last one of those buildings was torn down. It would have at least been well to save the roads and foundation footprints. Yes, this place is sacred. I drove up RKH road today and saw lots of discouraging signs about the Bussen property. Guess I won’t be venturing in there any time soon!
9 September 2009, 11:53 pmJohnnyG:
Mike,
re:...”part of a mansion that a man built for his wife, who died suddenly and he never finished it.”
I think they may have been referring to a building that is on UE’s property down by Bee Tree Park. Guys I used to go to school with would get there from the upper trail at Bee Tree. Then it got fenced off. I think you can still see it if you use the “Bird’s Eye” feature on Bing Maps and look just south of Bee Tree at the base of a large tower.
The same guys used to go explore RKH too. I never went with them, but I have driven by the site for the last few years while picking up my kids from daycare. I’m glad to have found a few sites that talk about it’s history, and have pictures of the buildings. The DNR report pictures are great. After looking at them, I wish I had made one of the excursions back in the day to check it out. The architectural details were spectacular. Too bad they tore it down. I’m sure lawyers were involved.
18 September 2009, 3:12 pmDoug:
I grew up a few blocks from the hospital, I will gather some thoughts and get back on when I have some time.
23 September 2009, 8:04 pmDoug:
When I was about 12, I went with a friend and our dogs, and we stumbled upon some graves behind the house that is now the Elks lodge.
I distinctly remember the grave of the boy who was 10 years old.
Here is a link with some nice pictures of the graves.
http://kochhospital.blogspot.com/
I looked for some information about Koch hostpital a couple of years ago and found nothing.
24 September 2009, 9:01 pmA friend at work told me about this site, apparently more info is becoming available.
Scott Kirwin:
Doug
24 September 2009, 9:57 pmCheck out the link to the National Register of Historic Places in the article. It’s a large PDF that details the history of the place.
As I wrote in the article, my father worked there and died on the job there. I distinctly member the main building framed by the side window of the family car (I slept in the backseat while my mother drove my dad to work.) It’s gripped my imagination ever since.
Doug:
Scott,
Thanks,
I did not realize that was there.
It is very extensive, really interesing.
I showed it to my brother. He remembers it also.
This was nominated but did not make the cut for historic places on the registry?
Doug
25 September 2009, 8:27 pmMark:
http://www.historicaerials.com/
25 September 2009, 10:13 pmCheck out the 1958 aerial map of this place, puts the area into perspective. This place really does remind me of the waverly hills sanitorium in Louisville, KY.
Doug:
Scott,
If the hospital is on the National Registry of Historic Places why was it torn down?
I watched the demolition.
There is nothing left now, except part of a road and a fire hydrant.
The land has been modified so much you cannot tell there was a hospital there.
Doug
26 September 2009, 7:37 amDoug:
Mark,
26 September 2009, 7:46 amThe historical map is great.
Scott Kirwin:
Doug
Why was it torn down? Good question. I don’t know for sure. My feeling is that the complex was so large that it would have taken a lot of money and a good plan to save the hospital – neither of which the County had. Something on that scale would have had to have been saved with federal funds.
Koch Hospital wasn’t a happy place. It’s not the kind of attraction that would have appealed to the general public. Visit a former TB hospital with mass graves on the site? Pack up the kids honey and let’s head over!
But from a historical standpoint, the hospital played an important role in the development of the country similar to Ellis Island. Ellis has a dark history that is glossed over in all the “Coming to America” pamphlets. Making Koch appealing in a similar way would have been tough.
26 September 2009, 8:26 amMatt:
I have been to this place many times and it’s weird about hearing it from other people. If you look at thepicture up giving you a layout and you follow the tri road to the right to a big pile of wood chips you will find a well. And a mysterious steam slowly seeping from the wood. On the left way if you pass what was themain building you can find a huge ditch where ibelieve is a mass grave. I’ve also heard stories of black cats back there and satanic rituales.
25 October 2009, 11:30 amChristina:
I am so happy to find this site. I’ve been to both places mentioned – Bee Tree Castle and Koch Hospital Road and have looked, but never found any history or explaination for either place. We used to go in the woods behind the soccer fields by the tower when I was a teenager and you just always had the feeling that something was staring at you and you would hear all these noises. Very creepy, but we always left at dusk.
I took a friend of mine there a about 8 years ago and we walked along the soccer fields in 90 degree weather and as we walked along the edge different parts of our bodies would feel like they were in air conditioning. I don’t know about anyone else, but when it’s that hot out in St. Louis I don’t feel like my hand or my lower left calf for example is in 60 degree weather, while the rest of my body is burning up. Nothing normal about that.
4 years later I told a couple friends about it, who decided to go down there one night and they brought back the head of a statue of a little girl. I would not allow the statue in my house (for obvious reasons), but they took a picture of it and the eyes lite up and seemed to follow you where ever you went. I encouraged them to take it back for everyones sake. I know enough that you don’t want to take something from a spot like this one. One of the girls that went started complaining of having reoccuring dreams of a woman named Margaret Ives. I’ve done minimal research, but haven’t been able to find anything on a woman names Margaret Ives connected with the hospital. The girl was saying that this woman was trying to attack her in her sleep. Forget about common sense, we were all so intrigued that we decided to go back there a couple nights later. I’ve always considered myself interested in the paranormal, but I’ve never seen anyone possessed, until that night. While walking on the torn up road, they claimed to have found the statue, this girl bends over and starts dry heaving and coughing. After she’s done we start trying to talk to her asking if she’s okay, she not saying a word, she staring off at nothing then she starts walking off the path headed into the woods. She doesn’t know where she going, none of us do… Her boyfriend and I are the only two that are following her /tracking her is more like it, we lose everyone else. We’re calling her name, no answer, she losses one of her shoes while walking through a thicket of woods and doesn’t stop, doesn’t look down, just keeps walking. Finally she leads us through the woods into the ditch at the edge of the Elks Lodge Parking lot and she just snaps out of it. We start questioning her about it – the girl doesn’t remember walking through the woods, losing her shoe, us talking to her, none of it. I had met this girl on a few occasions and she was not that good of an actress and if she was faking it she deserves an Oscar because it’s already a scary place, but she had me so scared and creeped out, I don’t even know how to describe it. Needless to say I haven’t been back since, but Koch Hospital Road is always on the the top of my list when talking about haunted St. Louis.
26 October 2009, 12:50 pmScott Kirwin:
Matt & Christiina
27 October 2009, 11:24 amThanks for your stories. While I’m not much into the paranormal myself, I do keep an open mind – and with Koch Hospital it’s easy to do. If anyplace is haunted, that place sure is.
Maryann:
Your site is very interesting. Would like to see more pictures of the old Koch Hospital. I cannot seem to find a website that has pictures. Could you refer me to one? Thanks 27 October 2009 5:10pm
27 October 2009, 5:14 pmScott Kirwin:
Maryann
Check out the Registry of Historic Places Nomination Form found here:
http://dnr.missouri.gov/shpo/nps-nr/84000206.pdf
2 November 2009, 9:22 amMatt:
Boy do I have a story for you. Yesterday two friends and I went down there. We saw and heard some crazy things. First of all I showed my friends the giant mound of wood chips and yes there was smoke coming out of them. Then we walked over to the origional road leading to the triangle and all three of us had started to hear things. First one of us heard keys. The other heard breathing. TheY looked petrified. But none of us knew this was going to be nothing compared to what we heard next. We had heard screaming. Bloody murder screaming from a low toned satanistic voice. All of us had never run so fast in our loves. We had almost been split up. Running through branches and trees screaming scared. We had taken pictures. We ended up finding two faces in a picture. In the other where we heard the screamig we found “orbs” I felt like we were being watched. We went back after gathering ourselves because I had wanted to take an EVP. This evp would end up taking 22 min. During this EVP my shirt was being pulled and grabbed. My friends just staring at me. We couldn’t believe it. Then we started asking yes or no questions because we started hearing more noises. We said “here is how we can talk for a yes you can make a noise and for a no just don’t do anything, do you understand?” and we heard it. We preceded to ask questions such as the following; “are you between the ages of 30-50 and we got a yes. Are there others here with you? We got a yes. He died of a disease Apparently. We had to leave because my friend was getting picked up soon though. After getting home and reviewing our findings we found two faces and a few orbs. My friend who was still with me and I were so excited so we went back but found nothing more. I might go back today.
21 February 2010, 4:21 pmabigayle:
Matt ;
thanks for your information , it has really helped me out , i would like to go with you to this mysterious place sometime . TEXT ME (:
Scott Kirwin ; thanks for putting that website up it really help me out alot , it gave me more facts and new things that i learned about this place . Especially the pictures ; me and my friend are so interested to learn more and go to this place .
So far i have read all these comments i feel so smart when i read about this ; like no kidding . You may be laughing but i do feel smar
(: 
27 February 2010, 3:01 pmTom:
I grew up in the area, volunteered at the hospital and spent much of my adolescence playing in the fields that have long since overgrown. While in operation, the city maintained the grounds in a pastoral park like environment. At least since the late ‘60’s there have been places where erosion has exposed bones. Every now and then a few are brought to public attention and interest is rekindled. The anthropology department at Washington University has looked into it. Apparently some of those old germs may still be active in those old bones making it unlikely any development will happen on the site anytime soon. I, personally, would like some of the brush cleared returning some of it to its pre 1983 condition and a memorial erected to the memory, such as it is to the thousands of people buried there.
12 March 2010, 5:00 pmI spent many overnights in those woodes and fields and never once encountered anything other then the wild critters that live there. THe last medical administrator was a Doctor Chou. His son, Steve, is something of a historian working for the library in Hanibal, MO. He says there are around 25,000 graves, only around half a dozen marked. The 56th Regiment was removed to the National Cemetery in May 1939. The obelisk that is their marker, one of the largest in the Nat. Cemetery, originally stood on the hospital grounds. THe regiment was formed from freed slaves. They were returning from having occupied Helena, AR in Sept 1866 to be mustered out as free men for the first time in their life. THey were originally cleared but by the time their boat was approaching the downtown levee, several began showing symptoms and they were turned around back to the Sanitary Hospital.
According to City records, it opened in 1853 and was known as Sanitary Hospital and till 1910 all riverboats coming from below the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers had to stop and be checked for symptoms of communicable diseases such as cholera, typhoid and yellow fever. It was converted to a tuberculosis sanitarium in 1910. When I started volunteering there around 1970, only the north wing was for TB sufferers, the rest housing indigent disabled. THere were folks born when Grant was president, a handful of Spanish American war veterans, and a lot of WW1 vets. I remember talking to folks during one of the moon walks and they were relating the first time they rode in a car, used a telephone, saw an electric light or an airplane. I have so many memories tied up in that place. When they tore it down, I suppose because of its diseased past, they literally overturned the very foundation of the place and oblitered connecting sections of the roads that navigated the geography. There are very few trails anymore, mostly just deer trails. THe area around the few marked graves is so overgrown it is almost impossible to approach except in the winter and it wont be easy even then.
Tom:
The Elks club was the Berg family home for generations, They were still living there well into the ‘70’s. Whatever they call it now, the road was Berg Hill till the late ‘70’s. I never noticed it had changed but I don’t drive out that way much and usually at dusk to watch the deer rise out of the brush on the east to graze in the little field by the woods with the stones.
12 March 2010, 5:08 pmNick:
i live close to there and i want to go will someone show me i dont want to go alone my number is—contact by email
2 April 2010, 5:38 pmSteve P.:
My family & I lived in the superintendant’s house for 6 years from 1976-83, up to the time the hospital was closed. I was a freshman in highschool when we moved there. It was an amazing place to live as a kid, endless places to explore. My brother and sisters & I were drafted the year of the huge snow, 81 or 82, to work in the kitchen of the hospital. The staff couldn’t get to the hospital, St. Louis was closed due to the snow.
Our mail was delivered to the hospital post office on the bottom floor of the hospital, in was a scary adventure just to pick up the mail in that place. I used to roam all over the property with my dog and I remember it sometimes felt like someone was watching but I usually put that off to the security people who were in the area. I remember the basement of our house, it was well lit and not creepy excpet that I’d swear there was something or someone down there. We hated going down there just to put clothes in the washing machine. I’d heard that after the hospital was closed, after we moved out of the house that there was a fire in the house. I’m glad I wasn’t there to see the place razed but I’d sure like to visit the area again just to feel the place again.
10 May 2010, 12:21 pmScott Kirwin:
Steve
10 May 2010, 1:23 pmThe entire complex was raised in the late 1980’s, and the grounds are fenced off by the quarry company. It’s a shame. There is so much history at the site, and a story that begs to be told.
Steve P.:
Scott,
Koch hospital really was a historically significant piece of land, it was the gateway to the gateway to the west if you were coming up river. My father worked in the Health Commisioner’s office until the early 80’s. At one point his office was in the old City Hospital complex. When they were closing up his building he stumbled upon a box of old type written papers. One of them appears to be written in the 40-50’s, the title is “The History of Robert Koch Hospital”. There isn’t any date reference in the essay, 24 pages in all. This paper mentions dates as far back as 1754 and the people who originally settled the land where the hospital was, they were called the “Vide Pouche”. In French that means ‘empty pockets’, they were poor people who “are said to have spent what money they received for coffee and fiddle strings”. They were Creoles who had moved up river and settled the area called “Big Prairie”, the area which later became Koch Hospital and Jefferson Barracks.
There was an inn that was referred to as “Kingshighway Trail Inn” that dates to 1754 and was located on what became the hospital land. This was later referred to as “the in south of the barracks” and legend has it that Frank James used it as a base of operations before he moved to Cliff Cave. Interesting stuff.
Unfortunately, there are no bibliography or footnotes included in the paper so I can’t track down sources. I haven’t started yet on Vide Pouche, Big Prairie or Kingshighway Trail Inn.
10 May 2010, 7:46 pmSparker:
Wow. I’ve lived in Oakville for nearly 20 years; daily drove my kids to Beasley Elementary, down Koch Road; felt the blast from the quarry in the house we lived in; attended countless soccer games on Bussen Fields, while my kids played by the Elks club; and listen late at night for the sound of the train whistling along the tracks down by the river. And I never, ever, not even once heard anything about this! I did wonder about all the signs and secrecy that seems to shroud the area, but I just assumed it had to do with the quarry and safety issues.
I will say this, however, I am fairly intuitive and have had a few unexplained experiences in the past that could be construed as paranormal. And I always felt creeped out around the Elks Lodge and by the woods at the back of the soccer fields. I always watched the little kids carefully and refused to let my kids explore in those woods. Once, walking to the car on the nearly deserted parking lot, I felt like someone was following us, but I didn’t see anyone. I rushed the kids into the car and got out of there just as it was getting dark.
Thank you all for sharing your stories.
29 June 2010, 7:49 pmTara:
All I have to say is.. WOW! For years I’ve been looking for information on Koch Hospital. Thank you for sharing your stories. I would love to explore the area, but not alone. I’m going to have get my friends to go with me.
30 June 2010, 1:52 amScott Kirwin:
About exploring: Please don’t trespass onto the quarry property. It is a working quarry and I don’t want anyone getting hurt.
I’ve spoken to the owners of Bussen Quarry and they appreciate the history of the site. By using it as a buffer for their operations they are actually protecting it from developers – so please, respect their property. There are interesting sites outside their fencing, especially on the Elks property. But respect their property too.
30 June 2010, 8:49 amLois:
Thank you, everyone, for this fantastic site. I have been serching for the burial site of my ancestors who died of cholera only days after arriving in America in 1852. I don’t know is they are some of the lost graves at this location, but it may be possible. I have a copy of a grave record that was made in 1869, but I don’t if it was from a grave marker or a record book. I have not been able to find a record of them through internet searches, but maybe that is because the records were lost. Thanks again.
22 July 2010, 11:56 amTom:
Vide Poche was north of the barracks. It was the city of Carondelet, running approximately from Bellerive Park south to above the mouth of River Des Peres. There is a historical marker in Bellerive Park commemorating the old town. Kings Trace or Kingshighway dates back to an order from the Spanish governor, whose name was Carondelet, to create a road from St Louis to New Orleans issued in 1789. To the Spanish it was known as “El Camino Real”. To the French, “Rue Royale”. The road section running south from Carondelet became known as Telegraph road sometime before the Civil War. Of course, originally it was just a trail.
31 July 2010, 9:32 amOld Koch Hospital Site - South St. Louis County (park, place) - Missouri (MO) - City-Data Forum:
[...] [...]
6 September 2010, 10:37 amDennis:
I just found Koch Rd today – I live in IL and come over to Cliff Caves Park to bike ride….I am very intrigued by all of what I have read…I do believe in paranormal as I have many past dealings with different “things” and areas. I am like some of you here – next time someone is going out to explore – I would like to go to! I am interested in the history of it all..
6 October 2010, 2:36 pmLinda:
I am glad that there is this website about Koch hospital. My husband worked as the security gaurd on the midnite shift in the 80’s and I would go with him to keep him company. There where many of nites when we could hear little kids screaming and crying but there was never anyone there. You could also here people talking in low voices in what was suppose to be the garden area out front of the building. Plus you always felt like people where watching you out the windows. There where times when you could see lites flicker in the windows and there was no electric or water to the place the worked. I know there where nites where that place would just freak me out to be the and couldn’t wait till sun up. There is alot of spirits that walk that ground that is not a peace. They don’t mean no harm they just want to go home. I think that Koch Hospital grounds should have a marker on it remembering all the lost souls that are there. I have seen alot of spooky things there and have heard alot of things in that hospital. I have seen some of the grave stone I would clean the debris from them. Yes there was a fire in the house and there was only part of it left standing.
Thanks again for the website.
27 October 2010, 6:48 pmLinda:
Yes there was underground tunnels all the Koch Hospital grounds that connect each buildings and we have been in them and heard people screaming. You could hear something like a machine motor humm and keys jingling. Just the thought of Koch Hospital brings tears to my eyes. Koch Hospital was haunted that is for sure but like I said before the spirits aren’t there to hurt you but to find their way home they are lost. If you go there please respect the deceased and be respectful to them.
27 October 2010, 6:54 pmScott Kirwin:
Linda
27 October 2010, 7:07 pmI’m glad you like it. I’m also especially glad to hear your stories about the site. As I wrote in the original post, if it’s possible for any site to be haunted, Koch is.
K:
It never amazes me what people throw into sink holes. Unfortunately, they don’t realize how it affects the enviroment. Caves are directly linked to the water table. They shouldn’t be used for dumping anything, let alone bodies. Yikes!
28 October 2010, 10:00 amlynda l. hughes:
Lynda, you have me so interested in this site – Koch Hospital – is there access to any of these areas? I am an novice investigator (4 sites under my belt) and very excited to photograph, video, EVP, and gather other scientific readings. I am a 54yr. old female, dependable, bondable, and willing to work or pay (if affordable) to access and investigate. We follow all rules to the letter and will treat your buildings and ground as sacred. There are 3 of us, me, my 53yr. old Brother, and our 22yr. old niece (a nursing student) We will gladly leave ID, deposit, car keys and register with local authorities for background checks to guarantee our good intentions. We love and deeply respect all land and property with a special reverence for any and all Entities we may encounter. We also show ALL evidence collected to Owner and use nothing or share Nothing collected without express permission. I know you are very busy, but an answer, one way or the other would be much appreciated. Thank You so much.
31 October 2010, 11:51 pmDana:
These stories are hilarious! I grew up on the corner of Koch and Hickory Hill and my brother and sister and I basically lived in the woods surrounding the hospital during the summers in the 60s. I know those woods like the back of my hand. We frequently visited the hospital as well. I’ve walked the grounds recently, near the buildings, the old dump, the fabulous creek. Have never had any creepy experience whether it was in the daytime or night. But who knows????
9 November 2010, 3:26 pmCarol Daniels:
I think someone should make a movie of all the facts presented. Fasinating.
14 November 2010, 10:58 pmKaren:
In 1983 we bought a home that backs up to the woods behind the Koch Hospital property. We still live there. At that time the hospital buildings were still standing. Not long after we moved there the buildings were put to use to house female prisoners and much to our horror the site was being considered for a minimum correction facility. The idea was not well received and finally dismissed. After moving into the house my grandmother informed me that her first husband, my mother’s father, had been a TB patient at Koch Hospital in the early 30s. He died when my mother was 4 years old back in 1936 I believe. I’ve always felt a connection with the area, maybe imagined because it was a way of feeling connected to my grandfather who I never had the pleasure to meet and that I know so little about. When we first moved to the area I often walked the property with a neighbor. I didn’t know anything much about the site then and didn’t really have any paranormal experiences but there is definitely a feeling that the place has about it. When the buildings were razed I think the story was that the condition of the buildings made them a danger especially with there being an asbestos problem. Over the years there had been talk of developing that area with homes and even talk of a shopping center of some sort. My understanding was that there was a problem with the underground blasting or whatever from Bussen or something to do with underground mineral rights or something.
5 April 2011, 8:29 amToday on my way to work, driving down Koch Rd., it hit me that I know so little about the area literally in my back yard and I thought I should start to find out more about it. Strangely enough I came across this site and was facinated by what I read. Even more interesting was that I found my ex son-in-law had made an entry. Very interesting that I would just happen to find my way to this. Almost like an unseen hand guided me.
I love the idea of the area being made into a park setting. It would be great and certainly a nice tribute to the many who may be buried there. I can’t wait until I can spend more time exploring all this. I would be interested in helping promote the idea of the park memorial.
Allen:
I have lived on Magoffin since the mid 70’s. This is the road that leads directly to Busssen Soccer Feilds. Koch Hospital Was a Playground for many of us kids around the neighborhood. We had 2 story Clubhouse in the woods between Bordoux and The Elks lodge road. The Entire area from the lodge to the creek that runs along Bordoux is a Huge Cemetery. I donno how many gravestones me and my Buddies sat back up and tried to read. Our club house was smackdab in the middle of it. The Elks lodge had a Haunted trail one year in the early 90s. I worked to help clear a trail for them and it became apperant just how big the scale of the abandonded Cemetery actually was.
The Hospital was Beutiful… As kids we never had any issue with Ghost or any BS there but we were not going down there to trip out or smoke up either. I remember the huge old growth trees on the Hosp grounds. It really was a shame it was tore down. I dont know really what they could have done with it but I truely miss seeing the Grand buildings. For years I always made a point to drive up Koch road just to see the old tower peaking up through the trees…. And then…..........It was gone.
11 April 2011, 7:36 pmDianne:
I cannot believe I came upon this site by accident. My mother worked as an x-ray technician from about 1945 until she retired because of a disability in the 80s. I spent many days at Koch – she worked 1/2 day on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I remember doctors living there and I would play with their children – the one name I can recall quickly was Dr. Russell and his children. Clotilde was the telephone operator and I played with her daughter. My mother would sometimes help out on the telephone. I knew that place inside out but manay of those memories have faded. I do remember going to the ward as a child with patients in rooms with the windows open – part of the recovery. There was also a coffee shop (at least I think it was) run by Mrs. Hipp and her two sons. There was a building down from the Hospital, Riverside – for seniors like a nursing home. I worked as a Red Cross volunteer in the summertime. I also had a little shop with candy and stuff from Mrs. Hipp. Some of the comments on this blog reminded me of so many things and I was surprised to read about Dr. Chou, the last superintendent. I use to babysit for his children and what a surprise to learn that his son, Steve, works in the library in Hannibal. I would love more information on Steve Chou if anyone knows anything about him. There was also a school teacher there – I think here name was Miss Lamb – I remember her because she took me and my mother to a ballet and I was hooked – it was the Russian ballerina – Margot Fontyn(spell?) and the male dancer Nuve (sp?) I know I am messing the spelling of the names up. There was also a Johnny Perboyer who worked there I think maybe in maintenance – he was a funny – always a big smile and laugh.
I believe it was Dr. Pianedo (?) who lived there and I think they had a standard chocolate poodle! I loved that poodle but he was a big baby. I think the Dr. Pianedo had a stepson or one of the doctors did and I dated him – his name was Michael. Oh the memories. I could go on and on but I am messing the names up so much. I would love to hear more about the hospital – we were very sad when they tore the hospital down – it had so much historical value! But it was politics and we all know how that goes.
Hope to see more news!
17 May 2011, 10:02 amSteve Chou:
I am Steve Chou, Dr. Chou’s son. My parents lived in the doctor’s quarters there at Koch Hospital from the 1950’s until the facility closed in 1983. Because Koch Hospital was more than a hospital to me, it was my home until I left for college in 1976, I suppose I have a unique perspective on the place. I vividly remember so many of the sights and sounds that were an everyday part of life. I almost never ventured into the wards (that was forbidden by my father), but I remember well the cafeteria, the front lobby, the telephone switchboard, the Koch Exchange, the post office in the basement. I remember evenings in the doctor’s lounge, where the other doctors and or wives would gather and visit. Dr. (Mario) Pianetto and his wife Amelia lived in Apartment 12, which was the penthouse apartment. Amelia worked in the business office, I think. As was mentioned in Dianne’s post, they did have a standard poodle, Nino. I dogsat for them when they went to Argentina in the summer of 1968. Dr. (Albert) Kaplan and his wife lived in the apartment closest to the doctor’s lounge. Mr. (Charles) Steers, the hospital administrator from the late 1960’s until the early 1970’s, lived in one of the smaller apartments. He was single. We lived in a double apartment. We had a dog, too, it looked like a beagle/dauchsund mix. So many memories…. by the way, for anyone interested, I have a facebook page, and I have posted some pictures of Robert Koch Hospital in one of my albums. Feel free to visit and take a look.
30 May 2011, 10:29 pmForrest:
My mother’s sister was cared for at the hospitalk from 1930 until in 1932 when she passed away. A couple years ago I did seon checking and apparently records form the period still exist. Anyone pursue this genealogical line and have details?
Thx
7 June 2011, 12:46 pmSharon Ulrich Shaw:
I have often wondered what happened to the Riverside Unit and the lovely people who spent their last years there. I was fortunate to work at the main hospital and Riverside as a college student for a few years. I worked in the Occupational Therapy Department as an OT aide. My major assignment was the surgical wing. Later, I was asked to go to Riverside and do what I could to provide services to both the men and women. During the day, another older aide worked with the women doing needlework. I believe the Riverside was a fairly new program and served as the St. Lous City, Old Folks Home. The patients were in their eighties and upward, all but a very few were mobile. All had one thing in common. They had no personal resources and no visitors that I ever saw. However, the atmosphere was quite positive, which is a tribute to the staff and the of the female physcian, in charge.
We started with about ten patients who expressed interest in seeing what we could do to make the days more interesting. We had nothing but a good sized room in the basement of that old building off a huge musky creepy basement area. Somehow I found brooms, mops, rags, etc to get started. We did not have funds for work tables or storage. Someone in the main building gave me permission to go through an area, on one the top floors of the main building, to see if there was anything we could use. I found a huge round table, a breakfront to store our tools, and a long buffet we could use as a workbench. We also found some tables and chairs to put in a large space outside our little work room.
I contacted hardware stores, flooring places and a millwork business for donations of items we could use. We got a lot of floor tiles, odd sized table leaves from a laminate company, wood from the millwork shop, and lot of glue from a hardware store.
The men cut and glued the floor tiles to the top of the long buffet and the table to make a work surface. They organized the things I brought in from here and there. The ladies already had a table and a couple of storage cabinets for the needlework supplies.
Each day, after my classes at Webster College, I drove home, grabbed a sandwich and glass of milk, and my dog Kevin. We jumped in my old Nash Rambler convertible that my Dad bought for $50. We headed down Lindbergh toward Koch hospital, with the windows or top down and music playing. I ate my sandwich and held a glass of milk between my knees as we rushed on. We didn’t want to be late. I wondered who would be sitting around the tables awaiting our arrival. Who had navigated those basement stairs and had stuffed bits of their lunch in their pockets for Kevin. If we were not early or on time, we were in big trouble. It was the high light of my day.
The building was newly painted and clean. It did not smell like a nursing home or hospital and the staff and residents seemed positive. Two long hallways flanked a large area that served for dining and anything we wanted to use it for. It seemed empty and cried for some activity. I do not remember an area set apart for visiting, etc. There were no televisions. Computers and cell phones would not be a part of our lives for a very long time. The rooms held a white painted bed and a small bed side table. Surely, there was a chest, but I do not remember that.
Our group discussed items they might like to make for their rooms. Wooden foot stools, popsicicle stick lamps, and sometimes braided rugs were the most popular.. Competition for Kevin’s attention abounded. He stood about as tall as a retriever and had curly red hair and big brown eyes.
Other projects included copper enameling to make jewerly and making small favors for the dining tables One activity was well established when I arrived. That was the once per week Bingo games. The women who ran it brought lovely little personal items for the prizes. I did notice there was little or no one on one conversation and that we needed help in that area.
I started speaking with church, scouting, and other organizations to begin an organized volunteer program. A couple of ladies came on board and did a good job of scheduling and handling the groups that wanted to come to entertain, or work individually. Some read to the residents, some wrote letters for them, and some just provided the individual love and attention we all need.
There was no transportation so no one left the grounds. I started taking 3-4 people with me to Dohack’s for coffee and an outing. Sometime we would just drive around. Times were very different then and our black residents could not go into a cafe or coffee shop. So my mother allowed me to bring my group to our home for our coffee/tea outings. That was a big hit because we had cats, birds, dogs, and horses. On Christmas Eve, my parents opened our home to two people of my choice. A Mr. Toad Evans was always one of our guests. After dinner, we drove around to see the Christmas lights before returning to Riverside.
I few of the ladies wanted to cook. We used the kitchen in the Doctor’s lounge for that activity. We made a few low fat, low sugar, low salt birthday cakes and treats. They were terrible!! The interest began to wane. We could not reproduce that home cooking within the limitations of their diets.
The older adults at Riverside enriched this college girls life in ways I cannot ever explain. Most of the names escape me, but not their faces and the things I learned. One 106 year old woman had been a teacher at Blow School for years. I decided she still needed to teach. She taught me how to crochet. Each afternoon, she presented me with a small sample. I was to reproduce it and bring it for her inspection the next day. I learned the value of small pleasures, the importance of kindness, and grace, always.
One evening the doctor asked me to see a gentleman who was blind. I borrowed a friend’s puppy and introduced him to the resident. I remember how touching the puppy brought so much pleasure to this man. I held his hands on the various spots of color. Everyone seems to have stories of their pets and that opens lots of other doors for conversation.
I kept incontact with any of them through OT school until we moved out of state.
I remember the director’s wife walking the poodle through the lobby. I remember kindness of the Director, Dr. Painetto, and the wisdom of the telephone operator. Her rhymes and sayingsstill go through my head. She was a very special lady. Mrs. Hipp ran the snack bar and one of her oldest son was in my graduating class.
Steve, I think your post encouraged me to write about my experiences at Koch. If I did the math correctly, you were living there at the time. What school did you attend? I do not remember a young boy, perhaps you were out exploring.
Our department was in the basement just down from the snack shop. I avoided that area at night, as it was as creepy as can be. I heard of the old cemetery, and an old vacant house. I guess that was the Priest’s house, someone mentioned. I used to ride my horse through the back areas of the property. I never felt the presence of anything strange or out of order. In fact, Koch hospital has nothing but good memories for me. I cannot believe how many times I ran up and down that hill from the Main Hospital to Riverside.
17 June 2011, 11:03 pmScott Follmer:
I remember many times visiting the Koch hospital back in the mid ‘80’s. I remember specifically one time when me, my brother, his friend and his friends cousin went to the hospital after dusk. We drove up to the building with the headlights shining on the building and saw dark figures moving about the grounds both inside and in front of it. We completely freaked out and I tore out of there like a race car driver. That place is haunted for sure. Even though the building is no longer, I guarantee that there is still activity there. The Ghost Adventure Crew should do a lock down at Koch Hospital grounds. Too bad they tore the building down. Stupid politicians!
25 June 2011, 3:29 amTeresa:
Hi, My mom lived at Koch Hospital for 5 years and I have photos of the ladies in their robes and laying in their beds. I often wonder about life inside the walls there and I am sad it is torn down. Nice to read posts people have put on here!
14 July 2011, 12:59 pmkim s:
Ever think of getting like Ghost Hunters out there . I do believe it ishaunted.
5 August 2011, 11:02 amTerese Duffy:
My grandfather, John Fink III, as the last grounds superintendent at Koch Hospital. From the mid1970s to 1983 my grandparents lived on the hospital grounds. First in the hospital old superintendent’s quarters, then in an apartment in the hospital (possibly for the chief/head doctor’s Quarters) and finally at the nurse’s quarters. My grandfather was responsible for the maintenance of the roads and grounds.
23 October 2011, 2:48 amMy grandmother, his wife, Geralda (Geri) Fink, was a patient there as an newborn/infant. Ruth Flynn was her name while she was a patient. She was later adopted when she was nine and her name was changed. Her mother, Anna Flynn, either had or was exposed to tuberculosis prior to my grandmother’s birth. They were quarantined there together for six months until they were cleared to return home.
If there is going to be any kind of search for the grave sites or paranormal investigation I would love to be part of it.
Scott Kirwin:
Terese
Interesting. They probably knew my father who worked in maintenance there and died on the site in 1977.
While I personally don’t believe in the paranormal, I don’t disrespect those who do. I think the place would be perfect for a serious paranormal investigation by experienced researchers. Hopefully someday it will happen.
23 October 2011, 7:40 pmmatt:
back in the late 80’s i was with a buddy checking the place out after the local news had ran a story on crazy stuff happening there…they were spinning tales of cults taking over the place and all kinds of stuff…anyway, it was winter time and there was snow on the ground. we parked down the road, snuck up to the building, found an old broken out window and stepped inside. i was freaked out…anyway, we walked down a hallway or two, checked out a couple rooms that were empty, saw some spray paint on the walls and decided to leave. when we went to exit the window we came in from, there were extra foot prints coming in….we ran like hell as fast as we could and were scared to death. still gives me shivers when i think about it…someone came right in behind us and we never even saw them….
16 November 2011, 4:21 pmKaren:
My Cousin lived in the house on Koch propery. Her name is Berg. Inwhich they are the ones that had the street renamed Berg Hill. They lived there for appox. 15 years. Her and her husband sold the property to the Oakville Elks.
20 November 2011, 10:28 pmI live just a few blocks from Koch propery. Lived here for 30 years. Made several visits to my cousin’s house. Did not see any ghosts, but I will say that when I
visited her home there was a certain uneasy feeling about the house.
Drove down Koch rd. many many times to take my children to school and they would always ask what was that big building and I would tell them that it was private property and to not go there. I still drive up that road today, day and night and have never seen anything strange. I have driven up to the house just to see it again
just to remenence of family times.. But the elks give you the evil eye as if you are not wanted there. And they are suppose to be for the good..
I also have an ancestor who is buried on the grounds. Her name is Mary Magdalen Meyers. Cannot find any records of her. She died of small pox as a small child.
Her sister born next after her died in 1890,she only lived for 11 days. Died from
lock jaw. These stories about Koch are just sickening.. The county should do something about all the headstones and what is left of the cememtery that borders on the road.. They should clear out all the brush,clean it up, Find as many names as possible and leave them at their resting place. Put up a sign or marker to honor
them. They are apart of our history of STL.
Scott Kirwin:
Karen
20 November 2011, 10:38 pmI wholeheartedly agree that something should be done, but unfortunately I doubt the county or even the state would be willing to take on the cost. It’s a true shame. The historical significance of the site is beyond repute.
Sean D:
I lived on an outlying street with the woods of Koch Hospital behind my families house from 1988-2000. I spent many days with friends riding bicycles through the woods but never got too far out into the fields where the hospital used to be except for one time, the last time. I was in high school and friends and myself were wandering through the grounds when we heard noises as well, undescribable or just unable to recall them, but it was enough to scare me. The whole area was overgrown with weeds and we thought we heard something rustling through the high grasses, so we began to trying to leave in the direction we came from. Then something dark, flew up from the high grasses not far from us. It was a wild turkey, lol. It flapped it’s wings and I almost had a heart attack. I’ve never been back, but I’d love to go peek around again.
6 March 2012, 3:48 pmsjbstl:
As a member of Find-A-Grave I find this utterly disgusting. Has anyone posted a memorial on FAG to the hundreds of people resting at the Old Koch ‘cemetery’ site? Also, have you contacted your representative to see if anything can be done to at least clear out the cemetery area and fix the headstones remaining? If you would ask permission I for one would be a volunteer to help with this effort. Call it paranormal or whatever you want, these poor souls do require recognition.
I live in So County and the last I’ve heard is when they tried to sell the property to a developer they were stopped because of the ‘disease’ possible still in the ground. This seems ridiculous but I don’t know anything about if diseases remain after burial and for how long – I’m just glad they stopped them from developing on the site.
Thanks so much for your blog, and for your concern.
16 March 2012, 4:48 pmThe Razor » Blog Archive » On Father’s Day:
[...] for my father like many men do whose father disappeared from their lives (my father dropped dead at his job when I was a boy) or never entered them in the first place. When I became a father I realized that [...]
16 June 2012, 10:10 pmKathryn Watts:
My aunt, after whom I am named, spent many years at Koch as a patient with TB 1930s-1950s. I never met her, she died in 1953 before I was born. I would love to know more about what life was like for these patients. I am an RN. I am in the process of talking with my 88 year old mother about it. My mother was a patient as well and remembering those days is difficult. Those were very dark days for her and her entire family. She was forever changed by it. My heart breaks for her and those who suffered. We are so blessed to live in the time that we do!!
17 August 2012, 12:04 amJohn Nolan:
Could this be the hospital where my great grandfather Benjamin Grizzell died? According to records I found in the regional library a couple of years ago while passing through, he died Dec. 6, 1874 in the City Hospital, St. Louis, of Pneumonia. The cemetery was “Quarantine” and the undertaker was “City”. The attending physician was Dr. Walter Wyman. I had thought it would be nice to have a stone placed to mark his grave, but if he was at Koch this probably is not possible.
23 August 2012, 2:14 pmScott Kirwin:
I don’t believe the city owned what was known as the Quarantine hospital at the time your great-grandfather died. Koch wasn’t inaugurated until 1906. You might want to check out old maps looking for a cemetery with quarantine in the title (doesn’t sound too good). There are some marked graves on the property, but they date from the early 1900s. All the others – thousands- were buried in mass graves. Check with the St. Louis Genealogical Society http://www.stlgs.org/ for more information. Good luck!
23 August 2012, 10:20 pmrobert l feikert jr:
i lived in the home of Norman ‘Peanuts’ Berg with my mother and father sister and brother in 1966-67.Then moved to 117 e. Pottle till i moved out of the family home.I as young kid spent countless hours with friends and neiborhood kids riding bicycles and motorcycles on the Berg, Bussen, and St.Louis City Hospital land. There grave markers all over the land,in the fields and the woods. When the ground was to dry and hard to bury people they would go to dry creek areas where it was easy digging. I have seen where erosion has unearthed graves. Also there is evidence of Native Americans burried also on the old hospital grounds.There are many reasons why the land is not developed yet but my guess is that until 20 years has lapsed for unmaintaned cemetary not one grave can be moved without some kind of court process.
26 September 2012, 8:36 pmRobert Lee Feikert Jr:
I would like to make a correction on my former address as it has been some years since i haved lived there, it was 135 East Pottle. I would also add that as long as one of the marked gravestones is maintaned it may be possible to prolong development.
26 September 2012, 8:58 pmRobert Lee Feikert Jr:
I lived in the home of Norman ‘Peanuts’ Berg with my mother,father,sister and brother in 1966-67. Then moved to 135 East Pottle till I moved out of the family home. I as a young kid spent countless hours with friends and neiborhood kids riding bicycles and motorcycles on Berg,Bussen and St.Louis City hospital land. There are grave markers all over the land in the fields and woods. When the ground was to dry and hard to bury people they would go to dry creek areas where it was easy digging. I have seen where erosion has unearthed graves. Also there is evidence of Native Americans buried also on the old hospital grounds. There are many reasons why the land is not developed yet my guess is that until 20 years has lapsed for unmaintaned cemetary not one grave can be moved without some kind of court process.
26 September 2012, 9:49 pmPHILLIP HINDS:
MY GRANDMOTHER WAS HEAD NURSE AT KOCH HOSPITAL IN THE LAT 40’S AND EARLY 50’S. SHE LIVED ON PROPERTY AMD WE WOULD GO AND VISIT HER ON THE WEEKENDS. I REMENBER HER APARTMENT, THE COURT YARD, THE BARBER SHOP, AND A BOWLING ALLEY. I HAVE SOME PHOTOS OF THE BUILDINGS INSIDE AND OUT IF YOU WOULD LIKE COPIES LET ME KNOW.
28 October 2012, 10:23 pmIN LATER YEARS, 1967 TO 1969 I WOULD PARK UNDER THE TOWER AT NIGHT WITH MY GIRLFREIND AND WATCH THE STARS.
PHILLIP
Robert W. Kleinschmidt:
My uncle, George Kettelkamp, was Superintendant at Koch until he retired (year?), sometime before Dr. Chou. My family spent many Sunday afternoons at the Superintendent’s residence – first the Old Rock House, then the new home that replaced it. My clearest memories were from the mid thirties to the early forties:the view of the Mississippi from the Superintendent’s home; the sound of the trains passing below or switching at the power plant at the foot of the hospital grounds. My friends and I used to hike along the train tracks from Jefferson Barracks, past the Koch Hospital grounds to Cliff Cave.
9 March 2013, 12:58 am