The Henry Blosser House
Malta Bend
Saline County
The Henry Blosser House was constructed c.1878, built by E. R. Page. The home was built for Henry Blosser, who had moved his family from Ross County, Ohio in November 1865. An enterprising and self-reliant farmer, Blosser was well known and respected and his farm known for its large livestock herd and prolific wheat production. The Blosser name is well-recognized in Saline County. Blosser’s daughter-in-law, Georgia Brown Blosser, daughter of St. Louis broker and real estate tycoon Paul Brown, was both designer and financier of the construction of the Georgia Brown Blosser Home for the Aged and the Georgia Brown Blosser Home for Crippled Children on Eastwood Street in Marshall. Unusual in this rural area, the Henry Blosser house in Malta Bend is an elegant and substantial three-story brick Second Empire style home, with a signature mansard roof. The nomination claims that this building was designed by George Ingham Barnett, who was the architect for the current Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City. Though the claim is not substantiated, it does bear resemblance to Barnett’s French Second Empire designs. The house is currently vacant and vandalized, but not beyond repair. The current owners have indicated that they are willing to sell a small plot of land on which the house is located to a willing buyer interested in renovating the home. If a suitable owner cannot be found, the owner intends to demolish the building and return the land to agricultural use.
Listed in 2014 and as a watched property in 2015.
Update: The Henry Blosser House has been SAVED! And what a miraculous rehabilitation! Dr. Arthur and Mrs. Carolyn Elman purchased the Blosser House in 2016 to restore. The project received a McReynolds Award in 2019.
