The Old Stone Church in

Chesterfield, Missouri Chesterfield is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is a western suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,999, making it the state's 14th most populous city. The broader valley of Chesterfield was ...

, United States, is a historic church on Conway Road, across from Hoffman Road. It has also been known as Bonhomme Presbyterian Church and as Old Bonhomme Church. It was built in 1841 and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1973. It is a rectangular, stone church about in plan. It rises to above the ground level. It was deemed:

significant as an architectural landmark in Missouri, especially in the St. Louis area. Its importance is due to its design and construction materials. The building is also noteworthy as a pioneer church, housing the second Presbyterian congregation organized west of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
and the first in the St. Louis area. / The church, with its one-story, full-height basement design, is a rare, unusual example of 1840's church architecture in Missouri. The use of the full-height basement appears to be almost unknown outside St. Louis County, most of the churches being either set directly on the ground level or on very shallow basements. The only other similar example is the First St. Peter's Catholic Church with School in
St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 70,493 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making St. Charles the List of cities in ...
. (It is interesting to note that these two churches were located in close vicinity of each other). As there appears to be no specific eastern models, it seems that the design was developed out of the necessity for both church and school structures and combining them under one roof for economy reasons.

The referenced St. Peter's Catholic Church is apparently the 1848-started church depicted in a sketch at the parish's history page, which was damaged in 1861 and replaced. It is located at a "no outlet" short roadway off Conway Road, across from (and perhaps also named) Hoffman Rd. At the time of NRHP listing, it was described as being on Conway Road at White Road, but since then a small development has been put in between it and White Road.Google Satellite view, accessed April 15, 2023

References

Churches completed in 1841 Religious buildings and structures in St. Louis County, Missouri Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Missouri Presbyterian churches in Missouri {{StLouisCountyMO-NRHP-stub