Im responding to the question about the little white building on the northwest corner of Bircher and Concord. It was built by John Weir, who was Karl Tweits father-in-law. The Weir family home on the top of the bluff was originally built by William Bircher, one of South St. Pauls earliest pioneers and a drummer boy in the Civil War. Bircher Avenue is named after him. John and Francisca Karnstedt Weir became owners of the property and moved their family into the big house at the top of the hill in 1902.The Weirs had eight children: Lillian, LeRoy, Violet, Grace, Ruth, Pearl, Henry and Dorothy. The last three were born in the house on the Bircher hill. John Weir worked in the meatpacking plants for many years but then decided to go into the grocery business. He built the little corner store and provided fresh produce from the St. Paul Farmer’s Market, milk, eggs, butter, bread, staples and a variety of penny candy for the children in the neighborhood around Wilson School. Although today you can barely see the house on the hill because of the trees, it has been lovingly restored to period design in recent years and is a gem of early South St. Paul history. As far as I know, the little empty store on the corner is owned by the current owner of the home.Im posting a photo of the house in the early 1900s.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 02:06:28 +0000
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