A large tract of this ground was sold in the 1850s to Louis Auguste Benoist, a successful St. Louis banker. He purchased and established a huge plantation which he called "Oakland". In the spring of 1853, Benoist commissioned George Ingham Barnett, the first European-trained designer in St. Louis, to fashion his country mansion. Barnett was born in Nottingham, England, and studied in London. He came to America in 1839 at the age of 24, and after apprenticing in New York for a short time, he journeyed to St. Louis to establish a practice of his own. Barnett's 50 years of architectural accomplishments would later include the Southern and Lindell hotels, the water tower on North Grand, the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City, many lavish houses in Lafayette Square, and #7 Vandeventer Place, a body of work that led him to be called "the dean of Western architects". Benoist built a large mansion, barns, slave quarters, cottages, smokehouses, and springhouses. About one-third of the original Benoist estate now comprises the Lakewood Park Cemetery and is one of the most interesting and historical areas in Affton. The mansion, Oakland House, was purchased by the Affton Historical Society in 1976 and underwent extensive restoration. It is a showplace in the Affton community and is included in the National Register of Historic Places.