The Joseph Shepard/Joseph Davis House is located at 208 South Main Street and is reputed to be the oldest brick residence in Fayette, having been built in approximately 1828. The Elisha Witt Tavern at 209 Mulberry, which was constructed in the fall of 1824, is known as the oldest building in Fayette, having become a residence later on in its history. The Shepard/Davis House is a contributing building in the South Main Street Historic District.

The building is a one-story brick Hall and Parlor style with a gable roof. Hall and Parlor houses were popular in communities settled by people from Southern states and communities. The plan features two rooms across the front, with one room larger than the other. This house type has been used for more than 800 years, having dated back to Medieval Europe, where there was a great room, or “hall,” where the family worked and played, and a “parlor” where business was conducted or where private conversations could be held.

The residence appears to have had at least two major building phases. The north half is probably the older of the two with its Federal period modified Flemish bond brickwork, and the south half was added between 1842 and 1844 with windows that sit lower in the walls and are topped with brick segmental arches. The entrance is offset to the left and inset into the façade. Wooden panels and Doric columns flank the doorway. A one-story rear addition appears on the entire back of the structure and dates prior to 1889.

Joseph Shepard purchased the lot in 1825 for $46.50 and sold it in 1828 for $370 with a brick house and a log cabin on it. Shepard’s name appears in a Notice which appeared in the August 2, 1827, Missouri Intelligencer, where he was perhaps a member of the City Board of Trustees, or the city clerk or secretary.

Attorney Joseph Davis purchased the house in 1842. He was born in Christian County, Kentucky, in 1804 and settled in Missouri in 1818. He was a member of Major Reeves’ party, which surveyed the Santa Fe Trail at the age of 18. He also served under General John B. Clark during the Mormon War as a colonel in the militia and in the Native American conflicts. He married Miss Sarah Elizabeth Green who was the daughter of Dr. Elihu Green of Fayette. Joseph Davis served in the Missouri Legislature from 1842 to 1864. He was named Provost Marshal during the Civil War in the Union Army. Just before the Civil War, he was a member of the first Board of Curators for Central College.

Sometime in the 1850s, Joseph Davis also built a country home, “Woodlawn,” on a rather extensive property in Howard County. This is where he died in 1871. He is buried in the Davis Cemetery, which is now part of Walnut Ridge Cemetery.

Despite his many civic contributions, Joseph Davis is perhaps best known for his acquittal in the murder of General Ignatius P. Owen. The “first important criminal case to be tried in the City of Fayette” began about noon on August 23, 1835, when Col. Joseph Davis was sitting in his law office and Gen. Owen came in the door armed with a pistol and threatening Davis. Gen. Owen threatened to kill Davis if he attempted to leave his office, then began to shout, “using language of the most insulting character.” Davis then said he would kill Owen if the General did not leave. Owen left and returned, continuing to stand in the doorway, abusing Davis. Davis called for his rifle, took deliberate aim, and killed Owen almost immediately. Davis was charged immediately and tried on September 5, 1835. The Columbia Intelligencer reported, “The examining court at Fayette has decided Mr. Davis, in killing Gen. Owen, acted in the just and actual defense of his own person. He was of course discharged.”

The Shepherd/Davis House was used as temporary housing for Howard County offices during the construction of the present Courthouse after the second Howard County Courthouse burned in 1886.

The current owner of the Shepherd/Davis House is Cathy Thogmorton, who until recently operated Grey Willows Antiques at the property.

This article was compiled by Pam Huttsell on behalf of the Fayette Historic Preservation Commission from excerpts of “99 Building Inventory” prepared by Dr. Mary Ellen McVicker and Sharon Korte and “South Main Street Historic District Nomination” to the National Park Service prepared by Debbie Sheals of Building Preservation, LLC.