As you stroll down the
brick-lined sidewalks of
Historic Saint Charles,
you see a beautiful
French colonial house
that sits back from
the street. This house,  known as Blanchette
House, is the oldest house in St. Charles.  Part of its foundations date back to the 1700s when the area was know as Spanish Missouri.  Louis Blanchette, a French-Canadian fur trapper, was the first settler and the first commandant under the Spanish and was the "head man" of the village.  It is also believed that the 2nd and 3rd commandants used this as their military outpost. Whenever people came to the the village, they would stop and pay their respects.