The good news of the generous gift of Mr. & Mrs. Kohl spread through the community like a prairie grass fire.   Congregations in other churches, in fact the whole community, responded with moral support and substantial gifts to help convert the Gintz residence to a home for the aged.  The community-wide effort, sparked by the generous gift of the Gintz residence by Mr. & Mrs. Kohl, was completed and the doors opened on June 12, 1927 to St. Paul’s first thirteen residents.

The first Director was Sister Anna Lenger, a Deaconess Sister of the Evangelical Church, a most compassionate woman and an outstanding administrator.   She was supported by an excellent Board of Directors consisting of men and women from the congregation of St. Paul's Church.   Later, board membership was widened to include representatives from the congregations of Christ Church and Trinity Church. 

From the very first month of its existence, St. Paul's Home was recognized by the people of the Belleville area as an idea whose time had come.   From then until now, there has been a constant demand for admission.
The first modest expansion was carried out in 1945.   By enclosing a large porch on the north side of the original Kohl wing, twelve beds were added to bring the total capacity to twenty-five beds.

 In 1955, plans were developed to construct a 35 bed addition.   George Ludwig, a prominent Belleville businessman and philanthropist, gave the equity funding to build the new wing.  Named after him, the Ludwig Wing was completed in 1957, bringing the capacity to 60 residents.

Up to this point, St. Paul's Home had provided only shelter (custodial) care.  By 1957, it was already obvious that there was a growing need for nursing care facilities.  Early in 1960 plans were prepared for an additional wing that would provide nursing care for 38 residents.  Once again Divine Providence smiled on St. Paul's Home and the necessary funds for construction became available.   Dr. Ferdinand Bartel, son of a former Mayor of Belleville, born and raised in Belleville and a successful St. Louis dentist, passed away, having bequeathed a substantial portion of his large estate to St. Paul's Home.   This bequest, along with other gifts, provided the money needed to complete the new addition. The  Bartel Nursing Wing opened in 1962, raising the capacity to 98 residents. 

Within a year, the waiting list had grown so long that the Board of Directors started preliminary planning for yet another addition.  With final plans completed, Mr. E.C. Roediger, a prominent Belleville businessman and philanthropist, made a substantial gift to the home.   This provided the nucleus for many more giftsand the E.C. Roediger Wing opened in July of 1971, making St. Paul’s able to care for up to 175 residents.

Another substantial contribution to St. Paul's Home was made in 1974 by Anna Lengfelder, again spurring other generous donors, which provided us with the funds to build our chapel and new activity room, which were completed in October of 1981 and formally dedicated on May 16, 1982.

With increasing need for expanded types of service, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on February 1, 1987, for St. Paul's Retirement Apartments, making possible a new dimension to the services provided to the elderly.   The 53 one or two bedroom apartment community is for senior men and women who want security while still being able to have independence in their own apartment.   Services and amenities include lunch and dinner meals, weekly light housekeeping, laundering of flat linens, van service, full maintenance service, personal storage areas, free laundry facilities on each floor, emergency call system and various scheduled activities.       
    
St. Paul's Home will continue to strive to provide a wide range of services to the elderly of this area in a skilled, caring and Christian environment.