Early European American settlement of land overlooking Gravois Creek that would later become part of White Haven farm was acquired in 1796 by Hugh Graham. Graham’s tract, which measured approximately 800 arpents (roughly 675 acres), was acquired from the Spanish government. Graham made few improvements to the property and on September 6, 1799, deeded the property to Jacques (who was also known as James) Mackay in exchange for land on the Missouri River. By 1808, Jacques Mackay had sold a portion of the tract to his brother-in-law, William L. Long. It was Long who built the first dwelling on the property.

In 1808, Long married Elizabeth Sappington, daughter of John Sappington, a Revolutionary War veteran and prominent early settler of the region. The couple initially lived in a cabin on the property while Long began to build a more commodious dwelling in 1816. Long, however, never completed the dwelling, but rather sold the property to Theodore Hunt. It was Hunt who completed the structure in 1818. The Hunts remained at White Haven until 1820, when they sold the property to “Colonel” Frederick Dent, a businessman from St. Louis. The sale was completed in 1821.

White Haven initially served as a summer home for Frederick Fayette Dent and his wife Ellen Wrenshall Dent while Frederick continued to operate his business in the city. As the Dent family grew, Frederick decided to relocate to the country property because White Haven offered both more space for the family and the opportunity for him to invest his energies in farming, which he enjoyed more than mercantile life. [4] The Dents moved to the property full-time in 1827. Frederick Dent named the property White Haven based on another family property located in Maryland. The Dents had eight children, one of whom died in infancy. Julia Dent, who would later marry Ulysses S. Grant, was the fifth child and oldest daughter. The other children were named John, George, Frederick, Louis, Ellen, Mary, and Emily (who was known as Emma).

The Dent’s third son, Frederick Tracy Dent, graduated from West Point in 1843. Among his classmates was Hiram Ulysses Grant, who had mistakenly been listed on his registration paperwork by the Congressman from his area, Thomas Hamer, as “Ulysses S. Grant.” After graduating, Grant was assigned to Jefferson Barracks, located south of the city of St. Louis, and 5 or 6 miles from White Haven. Frederick Dent likely extended an invitation to Grant to visit White Haven during their final year at West Point, after Grant received his assignment with the 4th U.S. Infantry. It was through one of his visits that Grant met Julia Dent in February 1844. Upon learning of his company’s impending transfer out of St. Louis in May 1844, Grant asked Julia to marry him. The couple would endure a four-year engagement while Grant was stationed in Louisiana and Texas for several years before the Mexican American War began in 1846, and then spent time in Mexico during the war. The Grants were married on August 22, 1848, at the Dent’s city home in St. Louis at Fourth and Cerre Streets while Grant was afforded a two-month leave of absence at the conclusion of the war.

Following the wedding, the Grants went on a honeymoon, and were in Detroit by November 1848 for Grant’s subsequent army assignment. They stayed in the St. Louis area and at White Haven for a brief time before heading to Detroit. The Grants were later transferred to an army post in New York after Michigan. While Julia accompanied Grant to these posts, she returned to White Haven in 1850 for the birth of their first of four children, Frederick Dent Grant. When Grant was stationed in California in 1852, Julia moved to White Haven to be with her family. On the way back to White Haven, Julia gave birth to the Grant’s second child, Ulysses Jr., while traveling through Ohio.

The earliest known photograph of White Haven, ca. 1860, shows the Main House, a white board fence surrounding the dwelling precinct, and several large shade trees and other plantings. (Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site archives)

In the summer of 1854, Grant resigned from the army and returned to settle down with his wife, children, and in-laws at White Haven. The Grants initially lived in the Main House at White Haven. By July 1855, the couple was living in Wish-ton-Wish, a cottage belonging to Julia’s brother Louis that was located about a half mile to the south of the White Haven Main House. After Grant completed construction of a log cabin that became known as Hardscrabble on an 80-acre property, located 1 mile to the north, which had been given to Julia by her father as a wedding gift in 1848, the couple relocated to the home.

Julia’s mother died a few months after they moved into Hardscrabble. Frederick Dent moved to his city home following his wife’s death as Ulysses assumed responsibility for overall management of the White Haven property. Grant’s primary objective was to make a concerted effort to make the farm profitable. After moving back into the house at White Haven, Grant leased Hardscrabble to tenant farmers, while helping farm the 200 acres of cultivated land already in production by his father-in-law. Due to a poor year for crops in 1857 and a nationwide depression that year, followed by poor weather conditions in 1858, Grant found that farming at White Haven could not meet his financial needs. In the fall of 1858, he auctioned off his livestock and farm implements and rented out the fields. In January 1859, Grant began to work in town with a Dent cousin, Harry Boggs, as part of a real estate partnership. While he worked in St. Louis during the week, he traveled back to White Haven every weekend until March, at which time Julia and the children joined him in town. Unfortunately, Grant also found it difficult to be successful as a bill collector and soon gave up on the real estate partnership. While in St. Louis, Grant visited the St. Louis Courthouse on March 29, 1859, and wrote a manumission paper legally freeing William Jones from slavery. Jones is considered to have been the last enslaved person owned by a U.S. president. [5] Grant also applied, unsuccessfully, for the position of St. Louis County Engineer, and briefly worked at the U.S. Customshouse. During this period, the Grants moved into two additional residences.

In 1860, the Grants left St. Louis so Ulysses could work for his father’s leather goods store in Galena, Illinois. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he offered his services to the Governor of Illinois to command the 21st Illinois Volunteers. Grant’s importance to the outcome of the Civil War is legendary, and would later lead to his being elected President of the U.S.

Photograph, looking west, showing the front of the Main House at White Haven, 1990. Save White Haven. (Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site Archival Collection, St. Louis)

Although Grant never again lived in St. Louis, he visited often. Around 1865, he began to purchase parcels of the Dent property and divided them among members of the family. By 1868, as he became the Republican nominee for U.S. President, Grant had acquired much of the original Dent property. Planning for his eventual retirement, Grant instructed his farm manager to build a large horse barn and to acquire some stock, intending to return to Missouri when his public duty was over and raise horses. Grant remained in office until 1877, after which he and Julia began a world tour. They did not return to live at White Haven, however, but instead moved to New York based on the fact that the farm was not financially sustainable. Three of the Grant’s four children were also living in New York City when they returned to the United States, suggesting that they also wanted to be close to family.

Son Ulysses Jr. became involved in a banking venture in New York with a partner, forming the firm of Grant and Ward. Ulysses Sr. received a loan for $150,000 from William Henry Vanderbilt in order to provide a personal loan to Ward. White Haven was used as partial collateral on the personal loan. When the firm went bankrupt on May 6, 1884, Ward fled the country with the loan. Grant insisted on repaying the debt even though Vanderbilt offered a number of alternatives. Grant eventually turned over all of his and Julia’s real property, with the exception of their New York house, as well as a great deal of memorabilia to satisfy his personal debt to Vanderbilt. White Haven was valued at $60,000 in the transaction that resulted in 646 acres of White Haven being transferred to Vanderbilt on April 15, 1885. A few months later, on July 23, 1885, Grant died of throat cancer.

In 1888 Vanderbilt sold the property to Luther H. Conn, a real estate agent in St. Louis. Conn used the property as a summer house which he called “Grant Wood.” Adolphus Busch acquired a 213-acre parcel from Conn in 1903 and moved Grant’s Hardscrabble log cabin to this parcel. The log cabin remains standing in this location today. Busch used his land to establish an elaborate estate which he called “Grant’s Farm.” In 1905, Conn sold 15 acres surrounding the Main House to a development company, which planned to build an amusement park, intending to capitalize on the associations of the property with Grant and its location immediately adjacent to the station of the Carondelet and Kirkwood Branch of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. White Haven was saved from this fate by Albert Wenzlick, another St. Louis realtor, who received the property by foreclosure in 1913 along with 105 adjacent acres, establishing a property totaling 160 acres.

Like Conn before him, Wenzlick used the Main House primarily during the summer. He updated the property by adding electricity and plumbing, as well as recreational features and amenities and plantings. Albert Wenzlick died in 1937. The property was inherited by his son Delbert, who decided to make White Haven his permanent home in 1940. That year he had the Main House and adjacent buildings recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey, and then proceeded to make careful repairs and alterations to the property. Wenzlick also subdivided the property and in the 1950s and 1960s, the surrounding pastures were platted and developed with suburban ranch houses. [6]

Photograph, looking northwest, showing the front of the Main House at White Haven, 1927. (Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site Archival Collection, St. Louis)

Delbert Wenzlick began exploring the possibility of selling the property in the 1970s. Wenzlick understood the historical value of the White Haven property and was interested in possibly selling it to a public entity such as St. Louis County Parks to serve as a public amenity. Delbert Wenzlick passed away shortly after beginning discussions with St. Louis County Parks in January 1979 regarding the future of White Haven. Soon after his death, Delbert’s son, Bill Wenzlick, signaled his willingness to either sell the property to a preservation group or consider offers from developers due to his financial liability in retaining ownership. In the meantime, a representative of St. Louis County Parks, Esley Hamilton, began to research the history of the property and preparation of a National Register nomination as a way to encourage preservation. His work led to the property being listed in the National Register on April 3, 1979. Hamilton also later prepared documentation seeking National Historic Landmark (NHL) designation for White Haven. Despite these recognitions, Wenzlick continued to explore the potential for the property to undergo development, indicating in 1985 that he had reached out to the Anheuser-Busch brewing company about a possible sale. [7]

To address the ongoing threat, preservation advocates established “Save Grant’s White Haven, Inc.” in 1985. The group promoted the idea of public ownership that would lead to protection of the property. Expressing interest in the property were the Missouri State Parks department and the National Park Service. Meeting to discuss purchasing options in March 1985 were Wayne Kennedy, Director of St. Louis County Parks, John Karel, Director of Missouri State Parks, and Jerry Schober, Superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (now Gateway Arch National Park). [8] Also during this period, National Park Service Chief Historian Edwin C. Bearss visited White Haven to determine its potential for inclusion in the National Park System and prepared a study completed in 1986.

As a result of the advocacy promoted by Save Grant’s White Haven, Inc., which included fund raising, designing public programming to educate local residents about the history of the property, and soliciting support from county, state, and federal agencies, St. Louis County purchased the property for $510,000 from the Wenzlicks in 1986. A portion of the funds for the acquisition were provided in the form of a loan by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, while the remainder was raised through issuance of a county bond. Following the purchase, White Haven was jointly owned and cared for by St. Louis County and the State of Missouri. [9] In 1986, White Haven was designated an NHL; a plaque was unveiled at the house to commemorate the listing in 1989.

The county and state continued to jointly manage the property through the 1980s. On October 2, 1989, President George H.W. Bush signed legislation authorizing the establishment of Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. This modified an earlier proposal to name the property “White Haven National Historic Site.” St. Louis County Parks transferred ownership and management of the property to the National Park Service once Jefferson National Expansion Historical Association paid off the remaining debt on the property. White Haven has been extensively restored and rehabilitated to its 1875 appearance since the National Park Service assumed administrative responsibility for the property.

"White Haven, the House in Which and Where I Was Born — August 29, 1816." Photography of a ca. 1880 albumen print of a ca. 1840 painting of White Haven. (Missouri Historical Society)

Endnotes

⁴ Julia Dent Grant, The Personal Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant [Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant], J. John W. Simon, ed. (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975), 42–43.

⁵ National Park Service, “William Jones, Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site,” https://www.nps.gov/people/william-jones.htm (accessed January 28, 2024).

⁶ National Park Service, “White Haven Cultural Landscape Report,” 3–5.

⁷ Nick Sacco, “Historic Preservation From the Grassroots: A History of Save Grant’s White Haven,” Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site Missouri, https://www.nps.gov/ulsg/learn/historyculture/the-story-of-save-grant-s- whitehaven. htm (accessed January 28, 2024).

⁸ Sacco, “Historic Preservation From the Grassroots.”

⁹ National Park Service, Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site Long-Range Interpretive Plan (2011), 3.

            Text from Cultural Landscape Report: White Haven, Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, Raths, Raths & Johnson, July 2024.

White Haven, 2016. (National Park Service)

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