Named after Jean Baptiste St. Gemme de Beauvais Jr., an early resident of Ste. Genevieve, and later sold to Benjamin C. Amoureux in 1852. His wife Pelagie was born in 1802 as a slave, and possibly a daughter, of the builder’s brother. She was freed in 1832. Therefore, the house also represents a long history of early African American ownership. Successive generations of Amoureux lived in the house until it was transferred to various non-profit organizations and finally to the National Park Service.
Currently unoccupied, the building was recently purchased by the National Park Service and BVH’s team was chosen to evaluate the condition of the structure and evaluate several potential future reuse opportunities. In conjunction with BVH’s assessment work, structural, landscape, and historical research were all undertaken to contribute to the Historic Structure Report.
