What happened at 19 N. Water St.

When the Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission recently reviewed a proposal to make Water Street one-way and expand the eastern sidewalk to accommodate pedestrian mural-viewers, it was big news to many residents. But for Water Street itself, it was just another change.

The street has evolved from dirt to cobblestone to pavement. It's watched the river run, flood and then disappear behind a floodwall that is now being painted with history, much of which the street has witnessed firsthand.

But since the 1860s, one building has been a constant on that street, an anchor to its past. Now, after almost 140 years, the Warehouse Row Historic District is finally getting recognition.

Actually, the district consists of three contiguous buildings at 19 N. Water St., the home of Port Cape Girardeau restaurant. Those red-brick buildings, with their distinctive arched windows, are all that remain of a bunch of warehouses and commercial buildings that grew on the thriving vine of Mississippi River commerce in the mid-to-late 19th century.

On Aug. 20, the district was approved by the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation as a nominee for the National Register of Historic Places. That nomination has now been sent to the National Register at the federal level. If approved, Warehouse Row will join three other Cape Girardeau areas on the National Register.

According to state advisory council member Bonnie Stepenoff, the odds of federal approval after state support are strong, especially for a structure as important to its local history as Warehouse Row.

"It stands alone to represent an important part of Cape Girardeau's history as a river town," said Stepenoff, who is also a professor of history at Southeast Missouri State University.

An uncertain past

The actual completion date of the buildings has always been a point of contention. The deed to the property goes back to the Spanish land grant to Louis Lorimier, dated Oct. 26, 1795. As the property changed hands several times, the deed of Aug. 1, 1839, showed a $9,000 spike in valuation, which many people interpreted as a sign that a building was erected.

But historical preservationist Terri Foley, who wrote the nomination to make Warehouse Row a historic district, said her research of the abstract and land deeds dates construction to the early 1860s.

During those years, John Filburn and Samuel Sloan constructed the buildings to house Filburn and Sloan Commission House. There, consumer goods were stored, sold and shipped to and from the nearby river. It was one of many such warehouses along the Cape Girardeau riverfront.

In the decades since, the buildings at 19 N. Water St. have always held businesses, such as a packet company, a hotel, restaurants, candy and ice cream shops and three different furniture stores and warehouses. Foley said this is important, because the district has almost always been an economically viable focal point to an ever-expanding regional hub of commerce.

The buildings are also important because of the historic people who have signed the deeds of ownership. The abstract for the district dates back to Louis Lorimier, and its title reads like an honor roll of Cape Girardeau history. It has belonged to Bartholemew Cousins, the Giboneys, the Houcks and the Hechts.

In 1896, it became home to Eagle Packet Co., which was the company of the famous riverboat man Capt. William "Buck" Leyhe. At that time, the St. Louis businessman and riverboat captain married Mary Filburn, who had inherited the buildings in 1881. However, the two divorced in 1913 amidst a scandal that saw Filburn labeling Leyhe a philanderer and a scoundrel in newspapers. This is also significant because in the divorce settlement, Filburn was granted sole ownership of the Warehouse Row District, which was a rare settlement win for women at the time.

Built on sandstone

While the buildings have seen a variety of owners and uses on the inside, Foley said the outside of 19 N. Water St. has changed little, which makes it unique.

"Most downtown buildings have undergone significant changes or been destroyed or demolished," Foley said.

The only noticeable differences in outward appearance through the decades are the installation of a parapet roof to replace the original sloped roof, which was damaged in a 1916 fire, and changes in signage.

Its most famous sign, the Coca-Cola advertisement on the north wall of the corner building, was restored through a joint effort by previous owner David B. Knight and the Coca-Cola Co. The original sign predates 1927. Knight's reason for that date is that before restoration, he said the phrase "fights fatigue" was still faintly visible on the ad. That phrase dates back to when the soft drink still contained cocaine, which was then legal.

Although much of the history of the Warehouse Row District can be traced through deeds and abstracts, the most famous and infamous parts of the popular history surrounding the buildings aren't documented at all.

The most popular legend regarding the buildings says that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant used them as his office and headquarters while stationed on the western front of the Civil War. However, Foley's recent discovery of the erection of the buildings being in the early 1860s doesn't give that tale much time for truth, since Grant was already head of the Union Army in the east by 1864.

The dating of the building also puts strain on another belief that the buildings were used as a stop for escaping slaves on the "underground railroad."

When Knight bought the building in 1974, it had been abandoned about 10 years. While cleaning and renovating the interior, he came upon a false wall in the rear of the corner building. The false wall led to an 8-by-8 enclosure, with no doors or windows. Knight said it is believed that due to the enclosure's proximity to a basement walkway that leads out to Main Street, it may have been a hiding spot for slaves seeking freedom. However, slavery was abolished in 1863, and by 1865, the underground railroad was seldom used.

Another of Knight's finds during renovation that probably holds a bit more historical truth is the discovery of about 40 cases of empty whiskey bottles hidden in the rafters on the third floor. It is thought that the district was home to a brothel or a speak-easy, where bootleg liquor was sold and served during Prohibition.

The ghost of Port Cape

The legend that has recruited the most contemporary believers among employees of businesses within the district is that of a ghost.

Current owner Dean "Doc" Cain said he has had a number of bartenders, managers and waiters say they've heard strange noises in the still halls of Port Cape after hours. Cain himself said he's found lights on that he was sure had been turned off and light bulbs left unscrewed with no good explanation why.

In addition to the honor that comes with being on the National Register of Historic Places, placement on that list also opens the doors for the owners to seek state and federal tax credits, the same credits that were vital to the renovation of the former Marquette Hotel. It is a key to government money that will help the owner maintain the integrity of the building.

"It enables you to put more money into your structure," Cain said. "That's the vehicle."

Cain bought the building and the restaurant from Knight in 1988, and he immediately started investing his own capital into further restoration of the landmark district. He renovated the kitchen and the signature windows. He installed a new roof and refurbished the upstairs River City Yacht Club banquet hall, including redoing much of the old oak trim.

With the help of the tax credits, Cain intends to keep going, build a deck atop the smaller, southernmost Captain's Quarters and restore the 1903 Miller counterweight freight elevator.

As Cain prepares to celebrate Port Cape's 30th anniversary and his 16th year as owner, he is proud to be part of these buildings' history. He keeps the 1-foot-thick abstract, containing more than 200 years of history, in a locked box. He said he's tickled that his name part of that chronology.

"It's neat to think that my family's name will be on those last pages," Cain said. He then corrected himself.

"Well, hopefully they won't be the last pages."

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137