Judge Barton Bates was born in St. Louis in 1824 to the Attorney General for the United States under President Lincoln. He married Caroline Hatcher in 1849 and had 12 children. The Bates family bought a track of land known as "Walnut Grove" that consisted of 300 acres to the east of Bates Road and 200 acres to the west. Walnut Grove was considered the finest orchard in St. Charles County. In 1855, the Bates family built a huge 22 - room mansion on his track of land and named it "Cheneaux", which means "Little Oaks". The home stood surrounded by beautiful trees on a knoll located on what is now Bates Road. At the time this was the largest, single family home in St. Charles Co. The home could be seen for miles, as it was located on the properties highest point and had two tall stone chimneys which towered over the trees. It was a place of reunions, parties, gatherings and the center of all activity for Judge Bates and his family. When asked, Judge Bates described himself as "Barton Bates, farmer, judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri, colonel in the invincible and immaculate St. Charles Enrolled Militia, and husband of the best and sweetest and dearest little wife in the country."

In 1856, The Bates' joined the Dardenne Church. They were members along with Mr. and Mrs. Samuel McCluer. In 1870, Judge and Mrs. Bates deeded the land on which the Dardenne Church was erected in 1868, to the congregation. The deed spells out specifically Judge Bates' plan that this should be the property of the church congregation - sole owner.

Judge Bates died in 1892 and is buried, as well as his wife, in the Dardenne Church Cemetery. It is said that the Judge and Mrs. Bates were deeply respected and loved by their neighbors, friends and kin.

Most of the Winghaven Development is located on what was the Bates' property. Even now, if you superimpose the 1800's property map over present day satellite images, they are still eerily similar. The part of the Twin Chimneys subdivision, Little Oaks, is where the original residence, Cheneaux stood. In our Twin Chimneys Elementary community, there are still signs of Judge Bates and his family. Many streets in the adjacent subdivision are named after the Bates family. Bates road of course, Onward Way for the Judge's oldest son, Thornhill was the name of the residence owned by an uncle, and Watson's Parish was named after the Reverend Thomas Watson of Dardenne Church.

Twin Chimneys Elementary was erected in 1993 and has seen the area change greatly but some things have not changed, it is still a place of gatherings, family activity, and loved by many.