Sandwiched between beautifully restored homes and businesses on busy 9th street in the historic neighborhood of Soulard, a mysterious stone cottage had sat empty and crumbling for 40 years until it was donated to Landmarks Association of St. Louis. The preservation advocacy group worked for four years to restore the building and repurpose it as their new office space. As contractors and historians came up with solutions for replacing the buckling walls and creating modern use spaces while still preserving original features, they also uncovered clues about who may have built the original stone cottage and what life was like in 19th century St. Louis.