St. Francis Xavier rectory to be torn down

SIKESTON, Mo. — For more than 100 years, the former Smith House at the corner of Center and Stoddard streets has been a fixture of Sikeston. Soon the building, which is owned by St. Francis Xavier Church, will be standing no more.

"In its day, it was really something," said Toni Grojean, director of religious education for St. Francis Xavier. "You can tell by looking at it that it was a neat home."

Built in 1912 by Sikeston Concrete Tile & Construction for more than $20,000, the former residence of James E. Smith was known as one of the finest residences south of St. Louis.

Smith called the home "Elmhurst" and it was known for its large wrap-a-round porches.

"On the concrete steps, it still says 'Elmhurst,'" said Kay Tetley, bookkeeper at St. Francis Xavier. "If you look at the front steps, you can still see that."

The residence was purchased in 1930 for $10,000 by St. Francis Xavier and was originally made into a school with the sisters living upstairs.

In 1951, a new school was built next to the church, and the building was remodeled and became the priest's house. Monsignor John J. O'Neill even lived in the home while the carpenters worked around him remodeling the home.

Grojean said the home hasn't been used as a rectory in the last decade or so, but has been used for religious education classes, a spot for the women of the church to quilt and other meetings.

After sharing a priest with Charleston for a time, St. Francis Xavier wanted their own priest again, and thus started a chain of events that eventually will lead to the razing of "Elmhurst."

"The Bishop (Edward M. Rice) said they looked at the building and it's been in disrepair for a while and hasn't been kept up," Grojean said. "He said if we wanted a new priest he would give us one, but we would have to build a new rectory."

Grojean said the home just doesn't meet the current needs of the parish.

"It's a neat house, but it would take a lot of money to fix it up, but we don't want to sell it either, because we want to keep the property," Grojean said. "That only leaves taking it down."

Tetley said she likes the home, including the inside with the large wooden staircase and unique fireplaces with mantels featuring large lion heads.

The building has a lot of unique features such as large oak antique cabinets, antique rocking chairs, grandfather clock, pocket doors and light fixtures.

A tag sale was planned for Saturday and Sunday, but Grojean said that didn't work out and was canceled. They hope to hold a tag sale soon and begin tearing the building down this fall.

"Hopefully real soon," Grojean said, adding that they will begin building the new rectory at the same time, across the street from the church according to the current plan.

Both Grojean and Tetley are sad to see the historic building go, but understand why it has to be torn down.

"I think most people can see when they go and look at the building itself now that it really would take a lot to fix and it would be much more economical to build a new one than trying to fix it up," Grojean said.