The Mansion

The Mansion, as it is popularly known, was built in 1857 by A.J. Wastfield, on the St. Louis to Vincennes stage road. Born on Sep. 6, 1829 in Ridge Prairie, now part of O'Fallon, Wastfield was the youngest son and second to youngest child of Walter Wastfield, a native of Bath, England and Mary Ann Shannon, a native of Ireland. Another of their children, Rebecca, was the great grandmother of actor William Holden. Walter and his wife came to the United States in 1819 and, after spending a few weeks in Baltimore, settled on Section 33 of present day O'Fallon Township. They were apparently financially independent. A.J. marketed wheat and later followed farming. He was said to have been energetic and ambitious, possessing good business capacity. On Jun. 12, 1860 he married Elisie Osburn of Lebanon. They resided in the Mansion. At the age of 37, however, A.J. Wastfield was fatally injured in a threshing machine accident on Nov. 15, 1866. He was survived by his wife and two young children, Walter Daniel and Julia Emily. The accident was such a shock to his parents that they sank into a "nervous fever" and subsequently followed him in death within days—Walter on Nov. 26 and Mary Ann on Nov. 30. Elisie Wastfield and her children continued to live in the Mansion for many years after. In the 1890's, the farm and Mansion were sold by the Wastfields to Henry and Sophie Bechlofft who farmed the property until they retired and sold the land in 1948. After that, the Mansion and property was held by a series of owners including the Roths, Lipperts, Polites, Dunbars and former O'Fallon mayor Kristi Vetri. More recently, the site was home to The Mansion at Lakepointe Restaurant. The Mansion is currently owned by David Kappert and Paulo Pacheco who opened Paulo's at the Mansion Restaurant within its magnificent walls in 2007. The Mansion received a St. Clair County Landmark Award in 1963 from the St. Clair County Historical Society.

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