Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
The location of the THREE MILE HOUSE can still be seen today off Route 159 between Route 140 and Edwardsville, Illinois. The site is off to the east side of the roadway and is directly across the street from a small cemetery. There is housing nearby and some of the walls, walks and garden areas here were built with bricks from the old house.
Three Mile House when it was built in 1858 by a St. Louis barber named Frederick Gaertner. It opened its doors along the St. Louis-Springfield stage road in 1860, at a time when this would have been main road through the region. The inn and tavern proved to be a popular roadside establishment.
The inn remained prosperous for more than two decades, although things began to decline by the 1880’s. By this time, the railroads had begun to make stagecoach travel, at least in the east, obsolete. After a few seasons of declining trade, Gaertner decided to close the inn and he returned to his birthplace in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When he passed away, the land, and the now abandoned tavern, were left to his son, Tony.
The Three Mile House stood empty for the next 25 years, slowly deteriorating, until Tony Gaertner sold it to an Illinois road contractor named Orrie Dunlap. Dunlap was in possession of some very lucrative contracts with the state to build and pave Route 112 (now Route 159). He decided to buy the empty Three Mile House. Here, offices could be set up and his men could be fed and even quartered during the many months it would take for the road to be built.
The Three Mile House Burned in the 1980's
Three Mile House when it was built in 1858 by a St. Louis barber named Frederick Gaertner. It opened its doors along the St. Louis-Springfield stage road in 1860, at a time when this would have been main road through the region. The inn and tavern proved to be a popular roadside establishment.
The inn remained prosperous for more than two decades, although things began to decline by the 1880’s. By this time, the railroads had begun to make stagecoach travel, at least in the east, obsolete. After a few seasons of declining trade, Gaertner decided to close the inn and he returned to his birthplace in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When he passed away, the land, and the now abandoned tavern, were left to his son, Tony.
The Three Mile House stood empty for the next 25 years, slowly deteriorating, until Tony Gaertner sold it to an Illinois road contractor named Orrie Dunlap. Dunlap was in possession of some very lucrative contracts with the state to build and pave Route 112 (now Route 159). He decided to buy the empty Three Mile House. Here, offices could be set up and his men could be fed and even quartered during the many months it would take for the road to be built.
The Three Mile House Burned in the 1980's
