Show historic dent made haven for tired city animals was owned by father in law of gen grant and 1 place where he as a young lieutenant D d H s court ng st louis the historic dent farm just outside st lou s where ulysses S grant then a young lieutenant at jefferson baracks went a courtin and he wooed and won miss julia dent a daughter of the farm s owner has beebi turned into a retreat for tired horses it Is an old fash boned down south bafo the wa sort of place and the 50 horses that have worked hard and faithfully for the city of at louis are now lumur at ng in riotous ease out in the 40 acre fiell w ath its long sweep of wooded a ley through which young grant and miss dent used to canter on their hand some high spirited thorough gl bleds there is ample shed and barn roon to afford protection against amter blasts to say nothing of the barns bulging with hay and gram abe farm was owned by col fred crick dent father in law of pres dent U S grant up to the very day of the emancipation act col dent owned slaves but the time came when the old colonel called h myself a grant and J e died in the vi hite house i guest of his 11 astr is son in la v during grant s second administration it was in 1821 that col fred dent came into possession of thib farm there Is still standing on it is a block house constructed with portholes used tor the purpose doubtless of resisting indian attacks the bu iding was constructed originally of store and logs but ft i now veatter boarded the farm itself Is about tour miles south of the city and about eight miles west bf jefferson barracks grant and bred dent jr afterward gen dent had been roommates and clai mates at the united sta es mill tari ac adein and when grant went to jefferson barracks young dent made him promise to call on 1 is folks so one day ulses rode ove to the 1 acre farm where a welcome awaited him he met the three other dent boys and tl ree af the dent girls miss julia happened to be up in the city and young grant was destined to make several calls before he finally met the young woman who was to play so important a part in his future life and then as grant himself al ways frankly confessed it was love at first sight after that meeting there was no longer any doubt in the minds of any one regarding the young lieutenant s choice and as the par ants watched him ride away they both were agreed that some day the young man would be heard from just before the outbreak of the mexican war when his regiment was eldered south into louis ana grant can e galloping over the fields to the dent place to ask the question that no one but julia dent could answer the dauntless young wooer 1 ad added nothing to his personal charm by hav ing to ford the swell ng creek in the teeth of a tempestuous storm of rain and wind but this in no way detracted from his words in the eyes of the young woman he had come to woo after resign ng froin the army capt grant as his rank then rated erected a small d elling made of logs on the land owned by his wife which they continued to make the r home until the needs of his country again demanded bis service it is this land that street commiss oner of st lou s has turned into a retreat for t red horses |