The Twillman House Community Garden sits on the grounds of the historic Twillman House in the unincorporated area of North St. Louis County known as Spanish Lake. The garden was started in 2005, but its history dates back to 1870. The Twillman House was the home of Henry Twillman, a German immigrant who built the home back in 1870 and raised 10 children there. The farm included 375 acres. Most of the suburban homes surrounding the area, along Bellefontaine and Redman Roads, were built on Twillman’s land. Twillman Elementary School on Bellefontaine Road is named after his family as well as Twillman Road and now, The Twillman House and Community Garden. The Twillman House is now listed on St. Louis County's list of Historic Landmarks.

The Spanish Lake Community Association bought The Twillman House back in 2005 with plans to use it as a headquarters for the association as well as a Community Center for residents of this unincorporated area. The 6,000 square-foot, two-story brick building, situated on six-tenths of an acre, had formerly been the Old Homestead Restaurant. It had actually been one restaurant or another since the 1940’s, but was vacant and in foreclosure when purchased by the association. Dora Gianoulakis, the president of the Spanish Lake Community Association, has been instrumental in orchestrating all the needed volunteers, donations and grants needed to get the project off and running. Shortly after the purchase of the building, the vacant lot to the east of the parking lot was donated to the association. A perfect location for community gardens!

Because the house had sat vacant for years, it was in terrible condition and the property had become a large, overgrown eyesore for the area. One of the first tasks volunteers tackled was to clear the vacant lot of invasive honeysuckle and other weedy over growth. It took 2 days and 6 men with chainsaws to clear the lot. It took another 4 work days of cleaning up garbage and other debris by 15-20 volunteers ranging from retirees to local school and scout groups. St. Louis County was generous enough to grind our plant debris into wood chips to be used as mulch

The following year is when Gateway Greening stepped in to help. We installed 4 raised beds for growing vegetables with their help. We also received our first plants! Plenty of woody shrubs, perennials and even a few trees for our future shade garden. We created planting beds in the shady corner of the lot with leftover logs for edging and wood chips for pathways. We were also set up with a wheel barrel, sprinklers and enough hand tools for our small army of volunteers.

Another year later, we received help from Gateway Greening to build a raised, wheelchair accessible bed, as well as more plants from the Great Perennial Divide. A local church donated a informational sign for the front of the house (seen in the photo at the top of this page) and we created another planting bed around the sign on the front lawn. We also received a bench as well as a trellis to support some donated grapevines. An underground irrigation system was installed with a grant donation in the garden and front lawn area – much needed during a second year of drought in St. Louis! The previous year volunteers had to carry hoses from the house, across the large parking lot and water all the new plants by hand or sprinklers.

In 2008, a large, 3 bin compost bin was constructed with materials and help from Gateway Greening. It’s a much used addition to the grounds and a source of pride for the volunteers that help construct it. 2008 also included the most noticeable addition to the grounds by way of new cedar fencing on two sides of the property. The fence beautifully frames the lot and provides a great background for the garden areas. The Twillman House Community Garden hopes to continue expanding the garden areas and one day host gardening demonstrations and classes on the grounds. We hope to be a place of pride to the community.

Much work has been done on the inside of the house as well. A new roof was installed; chimneys were tuck pointed, new windows installed and a HVAC system are all finished projects to date. Future plans call for a new back porch and entry way with a Victorian inspired courtyard garden. Inside, a new stairway will be built and the main floor configured into meeting rooms. The bathrooms will be redone and a new front entry door and porch will be added.

An annual plant sale, book sale, barb-b-que and raffle is held every spring to help raise money for the project. Plants are donated from local homeowners as well as local growers and nurseries. The sale is held on the grounds and customers can see first hand where the money is going.

The Twillman House project and the Community Garden are both the successful result of hundreds of local volunteers, foundation grants, local unions and Gateway Greening. It proves what can be done when people put their minds together and care enough to give back to their community to make it better for everyone.