Samuel Cupples

Samuel Cupples (September 13 1831 - January 6, 1912) was a St. Louis, Missouri woodenware merchant and business partner of Robert S. Brookings. With the Brookings Brothers, Cupples grew his company to enormous proportions. He also built "Cupples Station" in downtown St. Louis to aid in the transport of goods from the river to the railroad; the station became a most valuable asset to St. Louis merchants.

In 1900, Cupples, with the agreement of Brookings, turned all company assets totaling $4 million over to Washington University in addition to funds for the construction of three new buildings: this building Cupples I, Cupples II Hall and the Cupples Engineering Building, which was demolished in 1967 to make room for Bryan Hall. Cupples also served on the board of directors at Washington U.

In 1888, he built his residential home on West Pine Boulevard, Cupples House, the cost totaling $500,000, which now would approximately equal $15 to 20 million dollars. The home is now on the National Register of Historic Homes and has been made into a museum located on the Saint Louis University Campus, at 3671 West Pine Boulevard. The hours are 11-4pm and Mondays by appointment only. http://cupples.slu.edu/