The 1851 Alois Herbert Double House is a historic duplex in Buchanan County, Missouri that's also known as The Bohot

Alois Herbert Double House in St. Joseph, Missouri.Photo by25or6to4, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The historic Alois Herbert Double House in St. Joseph, Missouri also goes by the name of the Bohot Folk Art house. This building is a duplex that was built in 1851. It's a one-and-a-half-story brick structure that's rectangular shaped. The architectural design is Greek Revival. In 2007, this house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is located at 620 S. 10th Street. The house did lose one of its entrances and porch.

Alois Herbert immigrated to the U.S. from Bavaria. His trade was making boots and shoes. Due to his success, he built this brick double house (duplex) in 1851. The original landowner was John Patee and he sold a lot to a man for $150 in December 1850. That man split the lot and sold the north half to Alois Herbert for $75 in May 1851. Today, $75 is worth $2,865.50. The south half of the property was sold for $100 later to Alois.

When Alois completed the construction of his double house, he live in one half and it's believed he rented out the other half. He went to St. Louis and married Dorothea Loring who was also from Bavaria. They married in 1853. In the following year, they had a daughter named Octavia. In 1857, they moved to Iowa and had a son named Rudolph. Apparently, they moved back to Missouri because they were listed in the Hannibal city directory.

In 1857, and probably before Alois and his family moved to Iowa, the house was sold. The property exchanged hands several times. One of the last owners was Bobby G. Bohot who purchased the house in 1969. It was considered one of two folk art houses in St. Joseph due to the masonry appliques he added to the exterior. He also owned the other house. He had the name of Bohot inscribed on a masonry block and attached to the house, which explains why it's also called the Bohot Folk Art House.

He taught both of his sons the masonry trade and they practiced on these houses.  Most of his appliqués were made by melting down lead weights from car tires and then creating molds from which he would do plaster castings.  Bohot had said that his designs told a story and every element played a role.  Unfortunately, he died before revealing the stories. (Source.) 

When the house was nominated for the National Register in 2007, the owners at that time saved the house from being demolished. Supposedly, the only way to put a stop to that was if there was a change in ownership. Before the purchase, a bad storm took down the back wall. The new owners decided to return it to its original condition by carefully removing what fell.

As the prosperity of the settlers grew in St. Joseph, the Greek Revival was the popular architectural style. Early on, the settlers chose to build their homes or business by the Missouri River near where the steamboats were traveling. As the population increased, people began building away from the river. What was a residential area was becoming a commercial district so people were building their homes further away.

A gas company was formed in 1876 and property values were rising. Once the Hannibal-St. Joseph Railroad was completed, travelers could conveniently ride the train to St. Joseph for their needs.

When Alois decided to build a double house, this was actually a good idea. He was able to generate income by renting out half his house to travelers passing through. What he built in St. Joseph as well as what Bohot added to the house both contribute to the history of the city. The house is a work in progress and it's a good thing it was saved from the wrecking ball.

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