City of Belleville to demolish derelict ‘mansion’ built by mining mogul in 1878
Belleville City Council has voted to buy a parcel on West C Street from St. Clair County so officials can tear down a historic brick home once known as “Maule Mansion,” near Hough Park.
They also plan to demolish the carriage house and an adjoining concrete-block garage in back, over the objections of the property owner who uses them for storage.
The city sought an order for demolition in St. Clair County Circuit Court, and a judge issued it on April 15, according to Scott Tyler, director of the health, housing and building department.
“We don’t really see any other option here,” he told aldermen at their meeting Monday night. “I think you can see that from the photos. This house is in very bad condition.”
The abandoned home’s situation has been complicated by the fact that it sits on three narrow parcels of land. St. Clair County acquired them through foreclosure due to unpaid property taxes, county records show.
In 2018, the county allowed Belleville resident Kevin Wallace to buy two parcels under the limited-liability company name KPKD, including one with the garage. He has long maintained that he’s not responsible for the home because he doesn’t own all of it, and the legal description of his parcels referred to it as an “apparent encroachment.”
On Monday, Wallace told the City Council that he had spent more than $27,000 to put a new roof on the carriage house and garage and make other improvements to the property.
“I’d like to retain my building,” he said.
Tyler countered that squatters are constantly breaking the garage’s windows and going in and out, neighbors have complained about it for years and a door was open when he stopped by recently.
Purchase price is $786
The City Council voted 13-0 to buy the parcel still owned by St. Clair County for $786, the minimum amount property is sold at tax auctions. Ward 2 Alderwoman Jamie Eros, Ward 3 Alderman Scott Ferguson and Ward 7 Alderman Phil Elmore were absent.
“We do that for any municipality on a demolition,” said Whitney Strohmeyer, president of Joseph E. Meyer & Associates, the company the serves as the county’s trustee and delinquent-tax agent.
Wallace still owns the other two parcels, but his rights are superseded by the court order for demolition, Tyler said. He estimates it could cost the city up to $50,000 to tear down the home and garage.
The two-story Italianate brick home is at 321 W. C St. at North Fourth Street. It was built in 1878 by John Maule, a prominent Scottish immigrant who owned about 15 coal mines in the region, according to research by Bob Brunkow, historian for Belleville Historical Society.
Maule also had business dealings with Ulysses S. Grant before Grant became Union Army commander and U.S. president.
Brunkow and Historical Society President Larry Betz consider the home one of the most historically significant buildings in the city due to its age, architecture and original owner. But their organization doesn’t have the money to renovate it, Betz said Monday.
“That would be terrible if it gets demolished because of the stature of the house,” he said.
“It was known as a mansion when it was built. It was along the lines of the homes you find in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, and Belleville doesn’t have too many of them.”
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Abandoned years ago
The Weissenbach family owned the home for about 50 years, ending in 2002, according to their daughter, Debbie Raban. Ken Weissenbach built the garage for his auto-repair shop. Eva Weissenbach raised three daughters and became known for her beautiful roses and other flowers.
Raban continued to live in the upstairs apartment after getting married. Her mother died in 1997. Raban later sold the home and moved to rural Marissa.
In 2009, the home was singled out as a good example of Italianate architecture in a study conducted by a consulting firm, Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group, during efforts to get a Town of West Belleville Historic District placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The home’s most recent owners, who apparently were trying to renovate it, abandoned it after falling behind on property taxes about 10 years ago, county records show.
Since that time, the home has been occupied by squatters, filled with trash and debris, vandalized and surrounded by overgrown trees and bushes. Belleville city officials designated it “unfit for human occupancy” in 2023. Last May, they condemned it.
Tyler said this week it would be hard to find someone willing to spend $200,000 or $300,000 to renovate the home because of its leaky roof, structural problems and no electricity.
“I don’t know where you would even start,” he said.
Neighbor Richard Angevine, a retired city employee who has lived on the same block of North Fourth Street for 56 years, was thrilled when he heard about the demolition plans.
Angevine has complained to officials about the corner “eyesore” several times. He points out that the property borders East Belleville Bikeway, which is used by runners and bicyclists. On the other side is Hough Park, where the city’s Labor Day picnic is held each year.
“What do you think people from out of town think about Belleville letting this stuff go on?” Angevine asked Tuesday. “It’s not right.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
