THE INFAMOUS LEMP MANSION AND BREWERY HISTORY: The Lemp family story began in 1838, when Johann Adam Lemp immigrated from Eschwege, Germany, and settled in St. Louis, opening up a mercantile store. One of the products he sold was his own homemade, lager beer. Because people loved it so much, he started serving it out of a pub attached to his little plant. By 1845, his light, golden beer was really popular, so much so that he got out of the mercantile business and opened a brewery to just make and sell beer. This was the start of a hugely successful beer venture, Lemps Western Brewing Co. He discovered limestone caves near Cherokee and DeMerit place, a perfect location to let the lager process take its course. When Johann died, in 1862, he left a fortune and a thriving business to his son, William J. Lemp Sr. a great choice to succeed him. William greatly expanded the brewery, and by 1870, controlled the beer market in St. Louis, as well as having national distribution. Needless to say, the Lemp family had money and power, and of course wanted an estate to show their prosperity, and create a place where they could enjoy the good life. William J. Lemp, Sr.s father in law, Jacob Feickert built the mansion in 1868, with the help of Lemp money, at a location which was close to the brewery which encompassed 5 blocks. William Lemp bought the place in 1876, and further improved the mansion into a Victorian manor. Also, From the mansion through the limestone caves to the Brewery a tunnel was built to connect it all. When refrigeration was invented, some of the cave space was converted into an auditorium, a theatre, a swimming pool and a bowling alley. By 1892, the brewery was incorporated into the William J. Lemp Brewing CO, reflecting the business empire built by William J. Lemp Sr., which existed until 1919 prohibition, though the company began to go down hill much earlier in 1911 because William Lemp Jr. wasnt much of a businessman. He didnt keep the equipment updated or keep up with the newest industry techniques. Thus, when the smaller breweries melded into one large entity in St. Louis, bringing competition that William J. Lemp Brewing Co. wasnt prepared to deal with, profits trailed off, putting the business in a slump. During this time, William Lemp Jr. remodeled the mansion to include offices on the first floor, and built a house in the country. In 1922, William Lemp Jr. sold everything involved with the brewery for just a fraction of what these assets were worth the year before Prohibition. After William Lemp Jr, died, his brother Charles transformed the mansion back into a family dwelling and lived there with two servants and the Downs Syndrome boy, known only as Monkey-faced boy. Charles still had money from his dads beer empire, and traveled a lot throughout Europe, before and after the war, taking up the family tradition of buying works of art. Charles, as he got older, showed signs of having a obsessive/compulsive disorder, exhibiting some really odd behaviors. The boy died in the 40s at the age of 30, and Charles followed in 1949. In 1949, the mansion was sold and became a boarding house for many years in a deteriorating neighborhood. It became harder and harder to get tenants due to the hauntings which started during this time. In the mid -1960s, a large part of the grounds was taken for the new Hwy 55. By this time, the Lemp Mansion turned into a flop house, probably on the path to a tragic end provided by the wrecking ball. In 1975, the mansion was rescued, renovated, restored and turned into an upscale Bed and Breakfast, a fine restaurant and a place to hold events. Every Sunday night they also have Murder Mystery Dinner Theater. HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS: The Lemp family sure experienced a lot of family upset, turmoil and drama, despite their wealth and fortune. The old cliche, Money doesnt buy everything, is true. Not one person in the Lemp family ever had to worry about money; there was always plenty of it, no matter the circumstances. Some members became independently wealthy from other ventures and situations. Others still had money left from the Brewery business. However, having money and power doesnt prevent tragedy, poor health or shield from the consequences of having a tendency to develop mental illness, of partaking in a party life style or having a lack of disciplined or spiritual life. When events became too painful, many of them showed signs of depression /obsessive/compulsive behavior which led to a bad end. The only one who lived to a ripe old age of 90, was William Lemp Jr.s brother, Edwin, who left the mansion long ago, enjoying a quiet life on his own estate, avoiding unnecessary stress from his eccentric family. William Lemp Sr. never recovered from the death of his favorite son, Frederick, in 1901, who suffered from a health problem which finally killed him. Frederick was being groomed to take over the brewery, as he had a head for business, but that plan was snuffed out. William Lemp Sr. lost interest in the business, slipped into a depression and wound up shooting himself in 1904 in a first floor room of the mansion, setting a horrible example for his children, making suicide as a way to end ones trouble and pain. William Lemps wife - died of cancer in the William Lemp Suite. The Lemp children fell under the spell of having a lot of money, and I suspect that they were spoiled, raised to be self-centered and totally unprepared to handle the ups and downs and consequences of life and of their own behaviors. William Lemp Jr. became President of William J. Lemp Brewing Co. Yikes! What a choice. William Lemp Jr. was used to doing and acting as he pleased, whose very self-centered goal was to make himself happy. He and his wife got busy spending money like it was water. William gave his wife, Lillian Hadlen Lemp a budget of $1,000 a week, so it is reported. They had one son, William Lemp 111, whom they probably lavished with material things. Not much is said about him. In 1922, William Jr. was so depressed about selling off the brewery and the death of his sister, Elsa, that he shot himself in his first floor office in the mansion, which was the same room that his father killed himself. Lillian Hadlen Lemp - She loved the lavender color and smell so much that she was known as the Lavender Lady, because she only wore lavender colored clothes, in imitation of the Carina of Russia. She loved William, but William Lemp Jr. had another character fault which probably hurt deeply the people who loved him, like Lillian. Though William Lemp Jr married her, a rich, beautiful trophy wife, he was a womanizer, and held some wild parties at night down in the caves, complete with working girls. William also slept with women in the master bed when his wife was out of town. She ignored her husbands indiscretions, taking her mind off his bad behavior by concentrating on her own activities and in raising her son. Interestingly, it was William Lemp Jr. who had the gall to seek a divorce, which turned into a nasty, scandalous, city event in 1908, made complete with a custody fight over their son, William Lemp 111. All the dirty laundry was aired, which must have been mortifying for her personally. Monkey-face boy, William Lemp Jr. had a Downs Syndrome son, the result of an affair. Known only as Monkey-face boy, this innocent soul spent his entire life hidden away in the attic, ignored by all, and considered the shame of the family, not only because of his handicap, but also because he was a consequence of William Lemp Jr.s party life style, which happened after his divorce. The 30 year old boy in the attic died sometime in the late 1940s, which is a long time to spend in one place. He was buried in the family plot, with just a simple marker, which says LEMP. Elsa Lemp Wright - Was William Lemp Jr.s sister, who killed herself on March 20, 1920, shooting herself in bed on the second floor. She was suffering from an internal painful condition and from the stress of a rocky marriage. William Lemp III - In 1943, William Lemp III died of a heart attack at the tender age of 42. Perhaps he had inherited the same genetic disorder that also killed his uncle Frederick. Charles Lemp and his dog - Charles was William Lemp Jr.s brother. While living in the mansion over the years, he developed an obsessive/compulsive disorder. One day, a few years after the boy in the attic died, Charles shot his dog in the basement, though the dogs body was found halfway up the back stairway, which goes up to the third floor. Charles then shot himself in his second floor room. The Actions of Edwin Lemp - Edwin had instructed in his will for his servants to destroy all the art work his family had stored in the vaults which had been collected over the years, as his way of sticking it to his family, whose pride and joy was in their art collections. This alone must have had the entire Lemp family spinning in their graves. Edward was raised with this self-centered philosophy of doing what makes you happy. The art couldve been sold and the money given to the city of St. Louis, or the art given to non-profit organizations. Instead it was burned in a self-centered fit of revenge. Too bad; the art couldve been used to brighten the lives of others.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 09:15:43 +0000
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