"I felt like size is really important because if it's small, it's easy to ignore it," sculptor Erik Blome told the St. Louis American about "Explorer," the bronze bust of Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable that has stood outside 101 S. Main St. since Sept. 16. The bust is 8.5 feet tall, weighs about three-quarters of a ton, and is about ten times life size, according to Mid Rivers Newsmagazine. Since mid-September it has been hard to miss.
The bust is the newest of three places in Saint Charles tied to DuSable, and none of them is quite what it looks like. The statue is on loan, the cemetery stone may not sit over his remains, and the park only carries his name. The most complete record of his life here is on paper, inside the building behind the bust. That building's tenant has until Dec. 31, 2026 to keep it.
Who DuSable Was in This Town
Chicago knows DuSable as its first resident. In Saint Charles he was a later-life neighbor. Mid Rivers Newsmagazine describes him as a fur trader who ran a trading post in Michigan, settled in Chicago, and then moved to the part of the Missouri Territory that is now St. Charles. He took part in community life here and died on Aug. 28, 1818, the date also carved on his memorial stone. One local researcher's account gives Aug. 29 instead. The St. Louis American adds that he sold his Chicago estate in the early 1800s and ran a ferry across the Missouri River after settling here.
That ferry business and his property dealings left a paper trail, and the paper trail is why the building at 101 S. Main matters to this story.
Three Stops, and What Each One Marks
| Site | Where | What it marks | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Explorer" bust by Erik Blome | Outside 101 S. Main St. | A traveling tribute to DuSable | On display through 2028 |
| 1968 memorial stone | St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery, near 2400 W. Randolph St. | DuSable's memory; the location of his remains is uncertain | Permanent marker since 1968 |
| DuSable Park | Areas along N. Main and N. Second | A city park named for him | City park |
The bust is a traveler by design
Blome created, funded and donated the bust, according to the St. Louis American. He told Mid Rivers Newsmagazine that he plans to take the sculpture to each place where DuSable lived, which is where the name "Explorer" comes from. "You don't see big monuments like this move around much," he said. "He's a traveler who's spending time in all of the places that he existed."
Blome had little to work from. Mid Rivers reports that only one small sketch of DuSable exists, so he worked from written descriptions. He modeled the bust in clay, cast it in bronze and finished the patina in his studio. His interest in DuSable goes back to 2009, when Chicago's Haitian community commissioned him to make a DuSable sculpture for Michigan Avenue.
The St. Louis American reports that Blome was struck by how close the sculpture stands to the city's Daniel Boone statue. "How cool is it that my DuSable is just up the street from that?" He described the pairing as "the rest of the story being told."
The cemetery stone is a memorial
DuSable was first buried in the original St. Charles Borromeo parish cemetery near Jackson Street. A local history researcher's detailed account of DuSable in St. Charles places that first cemetery at Main and Jackson in one passage and at Second and Jackson in another. The stone visitors find today at St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery came much later. Its inscription, recorded by the Historical Marker Database, reads in part:
DuSable died 28 Aug 1818, St. Charles Missouri and was buried in the original St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery. According to tradition, his remains were moved to the second Borromeo churchyard and finally to the present cemetery.
The key phrase is "according to tradition." The same researcher's account says Edna McElhiney Olson, founder of the St. Charles County Historical Society, pushed for a proper marker ahead of the 1969 St. Charles Bicentennial. On Oct. 26, 1968, more than 100 people, many from Illinois, watched the dedication of a large marble stone sponsored by the Illinois Sesquicentennial Commission. The stone went into the cemetery's old section.
In 2002, an archaeological dig led by the African Scientific Research Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago searched for DuSable's remains under that stone. The researcher's account says they were not found. The St. Louis American's September coverage puts it the same way: a marker honoring him stands in the present-day cemetery, "although the location of his remains is uncertain."
If you go, the Historical Marker Database places the stone at St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery, reached from West Randolph Street east of Elmwood Drive, at or near 2400 W. Randolph St. The researcher notes that it sits in the same row as the Duquette monument, within direct line of sight. Call Borromeo Parish before you visit to confirm when the cemetery is open.
The park and the house carry his name
DuSable Park has areas along N. Main and N. Second. The city's park page lists dawn-to-dusk hours for the French August Regot and Ed Bales areas. It is a namesake, not a homesite.
The stone house at Second and Decatur is often called DuSable's home, but that claim is disputed too. The same local researcher argues that the property deeds point to a house on Block 96 instead, which would mean the stone-house story is a mix-up. No surviving DuSable residence in town is open to visitors.
Where the Record Lives
Those deeds point back to 101 S. Main. The same researcher lists the St. Charles County Historical Society's DuSable collection among the main sources on his life here, along with early deeds, a 1796 bill of sale, court records and an 1813 deed. Without those papers, the house question could not even be argued. They are also how anyone knows he lived and did business in Saint Charles at all.
The building has its own layered history. The Society says the current structure dates to 1886 and is the second building on the site. The first was an 1823 Market and Fish House. The 1886 building later served as City Hall, and in 1982 it became the Society's headquarters and archives.
The Society has leased the building from the city since 1982. On its homepage, it says: "Our lease at 101 South Main ends December 31, 2026. We're raising $600,000 to buy the building and protect 200 years of St. Charles County records, photographs, and genealogy." The fundraising runs through a Givebutter campaign, which says the goal is to keep the collection together and open to the public.
That leaves the bust with a public end date of 2028. The Society's current arrangement for the building behind it ends on New Year's Eve.
Seeing the Archive Before Year-End
The St. Charles County Historical Society is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday research is by appointment only, and the Society asks you to reserve ahead by calling (636) 946-9828. In-person research costs $5 per day, and members get it free.
The Society's calendar for the rest of the year:
- Nov. 14, 10 to 11 a.m.: America250 lecture
- Nov. 17, 7 to 9 p.m.: Focus on Genealogy
- Dec. 12, 10 to 11 a.m.: America250 lecture
Main Street gets busier before then. The Christmas Traditions opening-day procession on Nov. 27 runs from the 100 block of North Main to the 400 block of South Main, then into Frontier Park and on to the KATY Depot. That route passes right by the bust. A weekday visit before the season starts is the easiest way to see "Explorer" and get time with the Society's DuSable files in the same trip.
The building at 101 S. Main has been a market, a City Hall and an archive, and what happens to it next is still undecided. At Yuede Brothers, we follow how Saint Charles's historic buildings change hands and change uses. If you own an older property near Main Street or in Frenchtown and want to know where it stands, request a free valuation and investment consultation, and we'll walk through it with you.
