The acres upon acres of rolling hills and the rustic home nestled among them beckon you to drop everything and just breathe. A weekend retreat for Sharon and Dale Fiehler for the past 10 years, StoneyCreek Ranch has served its purpose of creating memories and providing a peaceful getaway.
The couple always has had a main residence in St. Louis (he is a native St. Louisan, and she is from southern Illinois), and they purchased the 264 acres in Lonedell, just an hour drive from St. Louis, 11 years ago, after Dale retired as a partner at a CPA firm. He wanted to do something completely different—and the country beckoned. “Dale became caretaker of the land, and there was a cattle business already on the property, which our neighbor takes care of on a day-to-day basis,” Sharon Fiehler explains. “We built the house a year later, and it’s been our weekend retreat and my sanity-saver ever since!”
Fiehler says she put her heart and soul into creating a home that reflects who they are as a couple. “We wanted it to resemble a Western ranch that blended influences of the Midwest and the mountains of the West,” she says. The woodwork, stone and vaulted ceilings with wood beams throughout the home’s 3,500 square feet accomplish her vision. “The see-through fireplace, which you can enjoy in the great room and the kitchen, is one of my favorite features,” Fiehler says. “I love serving dinner and eating it next to a fire. It’s very soothing and comforting.”
The large island often had couples gathered around helping Fiehler prepare one of her gourmet dinners, and countless parties have taken place on the property’s wide open spaces, which feature a stocked 10-acre lake, two barns and a large, covered porch. “Our youngest son got married here a year ago, a friend puts on a great fireworks extravaganza for the Fourth of July on the lake, and I host a big fall festival every year,” Fiehler says. “Guests fish in the lake and hang out in the screened-in gazebo on the water’s edge with a beach. We built a fire pit in this huge rock we excavated from the lake to roast marshmallows, we do hayrides on the tractor, bob for apples, and the kids don’t want to leave the beautiful saltwater pool.”
If it all sounds idyllic, that’s because it is. “What makes the property really spectacular is you don’t see another home from anywhere on the grounds,” Fiehler says. “You are alone, and it’s just gorgeous every season. We have the most special memories here.” As hard as it will be to leave their retreat, the couple is ready for their next adventure and plans to build a new summer house in the mountains.
listing price | $2,299,000
listing agent | elaine medve of dielmann sotheby’s