The Dula House Restoration Project

The Dula House Restoration Project Dedicated to the restoration of the Robert Dula House in historic downtown Wentzville, Missouri

05/19/2026

Wanted to give a quick shout out to Titan Plumbing Pros, who stopped by to help us clear our plumbing system for the first time in what was probably decades! Jeremy did a great job making sure our main sewer line was cleared, and had some great tips for prolonging the life of our sewer system.

Link is below.

https://titanplumbingpro.com

Okay, #2 in our series of "really cool finds" (see the post directly below) is something a bit more modern. Check out t...
04/18/2026

Okay, #2 in our series of "really cool finds" (see the post directly below) is something a bit more modern. Check out this copy of Horatio Alger's "Tom the Boot Black" published by the M.A. Donahue Company from Chicago. Established in 1861, the company officially became the M. A. Donahue Company in 1901 and began stamping its books with that name. See the link below for more information.

Interestingly, a very hard to read pencil note on the first pages indicates this was a Christmas present from "Uncle J" to "Elmer".....in 1927. The book itself was discovered mixed in with a pile of Popular Mechanics magazines from the 1950's--many of which we also kept.

We're investigating to see if the cover can be partially restored so the image is clearer.

As you know, when we find interesting things at the Dula Restoration Project we like to share them, as it points not onl...
04/18/2026

As you know, when we find interesting things at the Dula Restoration Project we like to share them, as it points not only the history of the property but also some insight into the families that lived there. In this case, we have a bit of history that dates back quite a bit further than the mid-1800's when the property was officially platted.

If you're interested in learning more about the Native American tribes (primarily the Osage) who inhabited what eventually became known as the State of Missouri, there is a link below to a 3-part series that's really interesting.

In the meantime, we'll preserve this little beauty (it's actually about 5 inches long and quite thick) and it will remain on the site permanently.

https://missourilife.com/the-tribes-of-missouri-part-1-when-the-osage-missouria-reigned-2/

03/09/2026

Just came across this video from many years ago and thought we would share it. Note that the narrator says "Wentzville is nearly a town of 40,000 people. That was about 20,000 people ago....

Thanks for the Dula mention....

If you've followed the page for a while, you know that one of the things we love is discovering the history behind some ...
12/26/2025

If you've followed the page for a while, you know that one of the things we love is discovering the history behind some of the items we've found and are in the process of restoring for modern use.

These 2 light fixtures were both made by the Edward Riddle Company of Toledo, Ohio. Both designs were patented around 1924 and would have been listed in the Riddle Company catalog, which may explain how they got to Wentzville. The Riddle Company celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1932, and was publishing catalogs as early as the 1890's.

Of course, the company is no longer in existence but many of their light fixtures still remain today. That's a testament to the quality and beauty of the designs they patented and produced.

By the way, these patents can still be found! The papers underneath the fixtures are printouts of the old patents for each design. We look forward to restoring these and getting them back up for future use.

We are glad to be able to say the bathroom renovations are finally coming to a close. The original doors, floor trim, wi...
09/21/2025

We are glad to be able to say the bathroom renovations are finally coming to a close. The original doors, floor trim, window trim, door trim, plaster walls, and cast iron sink were all preserved, refinished and left in place. We are in the process of cleaning up and refinishing the door hardware as well as putting on some final touches before posting final photos, but the end product is really lovely. Look forward to posting it.

We are about 90% done with the kitchen restoration and we're very happy with how this turned out. A couple of notable th...
08/10/2025

We are about 90% done with the kitchen restoration and we're very happy with how this turned out. A couple of notable things...

1. The kitchen sink and counter came with the house. The sink is cast iron with a brass drain. The counter was located on the 2nd floor, so we moved it down to the kitchen, kept all the original handles and hinges, and refinished the whole thing with a new top from St. Charles Hardwood.

2. There was a partial chimney in the kitchen, so we finished that out and now there is a full chimney.

3. Antique Hoosier Cabinet was added, but the small table in the middle was found in the barn, restored, and added to the kitchen.

4. Both the front and back doors to the kitchen were taken down, refinished, and put back in place. Also kept the antique door hardware, cleaned it up and put it back in place.

5. Previous post about the shade roller--it's back in place with new shade material. Works great!

6. Cabinets next to the door were already in place. We just refinished them, and put the original hardware back on.

Onto the next room.....

As we were wrapping up the kitchen restoration/renovation, we stumbled across something we never expected to find in the...
07/13/2025

As we were wrapping up the kitchen restoration/renovation, we stumbled across something we never expected to find in the simplest of places. We had removed the old pull-down shade from the kitchen door so we could replace it (the material was extremely worn), and in removing the old shade material we found this underneath....

An original Hartshorn Shade Roller with the original product print still on the old wood roller. An excerpt from Ancestry.com tells us:

"Between 1822 and 1873 over 75 patents had been issued for window shades, rollers and other parts. Stewart Hartshorn worked to improve his father's crude spring roller, and in 1864 received patent number 44,624 for a design introducing the rachet and gravity pawl. The design was in use until the recent advent of blinds."

Production was being done in New York, then eventually moved to Michigan, so no idea how it made it to Wentzville. Of course, we had to preserve it so we replaced the old shade material with newer material, and attached it to the Hartshorn roller. It hangs above the now-restored original kitchen door. Still works great!

Okay--so we are saving as much of the original house as possible, including things like copper/brass door hinges. Most a...
06/01/2025

Okay--so we are saving as much of the original house as possible, including things like copper/brass door hinges. Most are covered in years of grime, but we've found some wonderful colors lurking underneath all that. This picture is one of the original hinges for the bathroom door (which we also restored).

More to follow. Most of the mortise locks, door k***s, etc. were recovered so we will show some of that hardware as we complete renovations in each room.

Spring has been very busy, so apologies for the lack of posts. Interior renovations are under way, so that will be a lot...
06/01/2025

Spring has been very busy, so apologies for the lack of posts. Interior renovations are under way, so that will be a lot of our future posting content for 2025.

Before we do, we would sincerely like to thank whomever shared the beaded necklace with Mayor Brown during May's Wentzville Days event. We thought it looked so nice, we left it on him until the end of the event.

Address

Wentzville, MO

Telephone

+16362337399

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