Featured Stories: 164
Stories
Mound City Cemetery Soldiers’ Lot
Like the Union Confederate Monument Site in Kansas City, the Mound City Cemetery Soldiers’ Lot is a smaller part of a larger facility - in this case, the Woodland Cemetery in Mound City, Kansas. Despite that small size, however, there is still a…
Union Confederate Monument Site
In the midst of Kansas City’s Union Cemetery lies a single stone obelisk, memorializing the lives of fifteen men born as Americans, who fought as Confederates, and who died as prisoners. This Union Confederate Monument, as it was titled, was built…
Leavenworth National Cemetery
Not to be confused with the similarly named Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery nearby, the Leavenworth National Cemetery is also part of the larger Dwight D. Eisenhower Medical Center Historic District, and remains intricately linked with the…
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Despite not being one of the first National Cemeteries, the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery has a long history, stretching back forty years before it was officially recognized by the government in 1866. The Barracks were initially founded in…
Jefferson City National Cemetery
Lying in the heart of Missouri’s capital, the Jefferson City National Cemetery has been preserving the memory of soldiers from across the region since 1867. One of the smallest National Cemeteries, the two acre site is located less than a mile from…
Springfield National Cemetery
Nestled in the Ozarks of Southern Missouri, near the city of Springfield itself, lies the Springfield National Cemetery, established by the federal government during the era of Reconstruction in the late 1860s. Officially enshrined in 1867, the…
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery
Another Civil War era cemetery, the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery was founded in 1862 as part of President Lincoln’s National Cemetery System, but the cemetery and its surrounding environs are part of a larger history within Eastern Kansas.…
Fort Scott National Cemetery
Straddling the eastern border of Kansas, the Fort Scott National Cemetery is one of three veterans cemeteries run by the federal government in the state, as well as being one of the oldest in the entire country. Founded in 1842, nearly twenty years…
Lamar Missouri Tour
Wyatt Earp is perhaps one of the most famous American cowboys of all time. His life and legendary service as a lawman have been depicted in a variety of films and books. He is most known for participating in the shootout at O.K. Corral and for…
Lamar Missouri Tour
Americans were encouraged to exercise their love of freedom and democracy during the Cold War, which resulted in many new monuments being erected across the country. One such memorial that was heavily replicated was the Statue of Liberty.
The…
Lamar Missouri Tour
In the 19th century, the Diocese of Kansas City sent priests into many Missouri southern towns, to establish new parishes.
The parish that was founded in Lamar became known as St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Its congregation finally had an official…
Lamar Missouri Tour
The Plaza Theater, opened in 1934, arrived during the Golden Age of Hollywood. This was the period of film when ‘talkies’ were gaining popularity, and stars such as Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable, and Mary Pickford…
Sweet Springs Missouri First Christian Church
At 400 Bridge Street, in the town now known as Sweet Springs, Missouri, you will find the First Christian Church; a historic church that has served the local community for about 180 years. There are a couple of things that are not as they once were.…
Sweet Springs Historical Highlight Tour
The city of Sweet Springs was originally established in 1838 as Brownsville, Missouri, but changed its name to Sweet Springs in 1887. The community was known for its natural springs and it became a destination location due to the 'sweet…
Fort Scott National Cemetery
The monument located within the grounds of the Fort Scott National Cemetery reads:
"In Memory of the soldiers of the 1st Regiment Kansas Colored Volunteers who gave their lives in battle May 18, 1863 near Sherwood, Missouri."
Henry…
Lamar Missouri Tour
This one and a half story house was the site of Harry S. Truman’s birth. As 33rd president of the United States, this home shows his humble beginnings. Although he did not grow up in this house, Harry Truman’s experienced his first moments on earth…
Lamar Missouri Tour
Upon its founding in 1856, Lamar was already chosen to serve as county seat of Barton County. Its downtown area was laid out in a 400-foot square, and its first courthouse was built there. Although records of the first courthouse were destroyed in a…
Lamar Missouri Historical Tour
In the southwest corner of Missouri, bordering Kansas, lies Barton County. The county was created out of land from Jasper County in December 1855. Its namesake is for David Barton, who had served as presiding president of the Missouri Constitutional…
Historic Pertle Springs 1932 to the Present
During the Great Depression some of the land that had been used for the resort became home to a Civilian Conservation Camp for Veterans. The CCC built additional structures on the Pertle Springs landscape and some of their remnants can still be seen…
Historic Pertle Springs 1922 to 1931
In 1921 Pertle Springs suffered severe storm damage and a dam, which was constructed near the Stewart Cottage, partially washed away and eroded the bedding under the track for the dummy line and damaged the dummy line depot platform. It is unclear…
Historic Pertle Springs Warrensburg Missouri 1890-1900
In 1890 Pertle Springs entered its second phase of significant growth when Christopher purchased a dummy line that originally had been utilized in Wichita, Kansas, to connect the people who traveled to Warrensburg via the Union Pacific train with…
Chillicothe Missouri Grand River Historical Society
The State legislature awarded $6,000 to the State Historical Society in Columbia in 1915 to collect the history of the 114 counties in Missouri for the State Centennial anniversary. In June 1916, the Chillicothe Chamber of Commerce elected five…
Chillicothe Missouri Baking Company Bakery
Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Iowa (1880-1960), also known as the “Father of Sliced Bread”, was an American inventor, engineer, and businessman who developed the first commercial automatic bread-slicing machine. His father, Claus Rohwedder was born on…
Chillicothe Missouri Garrison/Dabney School
In 1833 and 1834, beginning with the New England states, the first African American Garrison schools, named after white abolitionist leader, William Lloyd Garrison, opened. The first Garrison school in Missouri opened around 1850.
Chillicothe,…
Chillicothe Missouri Graham's Mill and Bridge
James Graham was born on September 27, 1828, in White County, Illinois to John H. Graham from Pennsylvania and Rebecca Graham of Virginia, who died when James was only eight years old. The couple later moved to Illinois where James took up…
Marble Hill: Trail of Tears
The early 19th century marked a change in the American landscape, most notably that the population was booming and more and more settlers wanted to expand West. To fulfill this desire of ‘manifest destiny,’ President Andrew Jackson signed a bill…
Marble Hill: Cat Ranch
Smalltown America isn’t just a place where you can find lots of history, but also culture. Marble Hill, in fact, is home to a developing local art scene. At the Cat Ranch Art Guild, local artists have established an encouraging community in a…
Marble Hill: Marble Hill Cemetery
There is another interesting cemetery to be noted in this tour, but this one has a more pleasant history than the last. The Marble Hill Cemetery is the town’s first official public cemetery, and it is additionally one of the first public…
Marble Hill: Discovery of Dinosaurs
Tucked away in the Ozarks, one might be surprised to hear that long ago, dinosaurs roamed the area that is now Marble Hill. Because the region is on a major fault line, there have been shifting layers of the earth that have exposed secrets…
Marble Hill: Will Mayfield College
The Will Mayfield College was the center for education in Marble Hill from 1880 to 1934. The co-educational school's enrollment peaked in the 1920s when it had over 200 enrolled students.
William Mayfield, a local doctor, and H. J. Smith,…