Explore 170 Years of History at the Oakland House Museum

Formerly the Louis Auguste Benoist House

The Louis Auguste Benoit House is also known as the Oakland House Museum. Photo by Oakland House Museum/Facebook.

Louis Auguste Benoist House, also referred to as the Oakland House, is located at 7802 Genesta Street, in Affton, Missouri (St. Louis County). This wonderful house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1969.

The Benoist house consists of two stories and contains the architectural style of Italianate. On the east side of the house is a four-story tower. A prominent St. Louis architect, George Ingham Barnett, designed the house. The house was built in 1850–1851.

This historic home was built slightly outside of the southwest boundary of St. Louis and was intended to serve as a country home for Benoist. Originally, his whole estate was 485 acres. The house is located at the highest point on the property.

The Benoist House is one of the few examples of Barnett’s architectural designs that are in good condition. He was an early prominent architect in St. Louis. He also designed the Tower Grove House (1849) that belonged to Henry Shaw, a St. Louis businessman who also founded the Missouri Botanical Garden, which is a National Historic Landmark. Benoist’s house is an example of a mid-1800s architectural Italian Villa-style home. Barnett also designed the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson…