REVIEW: Hannah’s Brave Year (1964)

A book by Rhoda Wooldridge

I’m doing a project for by blog where I visit historical places, do a reading from a book on the topic, and write about it. When it came time to visit a place designed to look like a nineteenth century farmstead, I wasn’t sure where to go. On one hand, books like the Little House on the Prairie series are widely known and generally used for something like this. I wanted to go a different way, so I recalled a series by Rhoda Wooldridge that I came across when I was looking for a physical copy of a book on Fort Osage that I had read. Rhoda is a local author from where I live (now deceased) and as far as I can tell, her books are all about this area. With it being a book about the hardships of that time period, local, and specifically about running a farm, I knew it was the one. I’m not even mentioning the book being about the tail end of an epidemic, considering the world we live in now in 2021. I was able to get a library copy of it online, and here we are.

This book has a bleak outlook from the onset. It takes place in the antebellum period in Western Missouri, sometime in the 1840s. A family of farmers is ripped asunder when a local Cholera outbreak sadly kills the family’s mother and father and one of the children. The oldest daughter, Hannah, is left to basically become the “new mother” to all of the other young children. With her brothers taking on tasks their father used to, nobody really has time to grieve and rest. Hannah, through sheer determination tries her hardest to keep everyone together when the locals consider breaking the family apart.

When the six Harelsons are left orphans after their parents die in a cholera epidemic, the general feeling among the neighbors is that the children must be separated and farmed out to various families in the area. But twelve-year-old Hannah has different ideas. The farm that their father homesteaded is a productive one; with the help of her younger sister, Marty, the girls can manage the household; and if Joel goes fur trapping to raise money to pay off the mortgage and Nat runs the farm – why, then, perhaps they can save their home and keep the family together. Reflecting Hannah’s courage, the youngsters all join in the effort.

But life on the Missouri frontier was not easy, even for adults, and the children find themselves beset with thieving Indians, a severe blizzard and illness. Further grief is brought upon them when a couple entrusted with the temporary care of their baby sister, Angie, disappears into the Osage country. With a true pioneering spirit, Hannah learns to cope with a variety of hardships and experiences a well-deserved sense of pride when, with the coming of spring, she realizes that their struggles has been worthwhile.

Synopsis

As with all of Rhoda Wooldridge’s books, they are all sadly out of print, although not impossible to find secondhand. This book, being from 1964, was especially tough to find and I had to settle for “checking out” a library copy of it online. I really wish some company locally would republish them, as they could help a new generation of children understand what life was like back then. This would be especially cool for the local area seeing that the book is about it. I didn’t find anything particularly ahistorical or offensive about the material, so it’s not like the book holds anything like politically incorrect baggage or anything.

If you can track this down, its an interesting book, and I may ultimately try to read some more of them if I can find them. I believe there are seven books in the series, so it will be fun to see where the story of this family goes. Despite all of the baggage of the deaths in the beginning of the book, it’s not a sad book, but one that is pretty uplifting. I can’t say this is for everyone, as this is basically a kid’s book, but if you can enjoy it without that ruining the experience for you, it’s entertaining.

This review is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#1840S #book #bookReview #books #Cholera #farming #farmstead #hardship #Historical #historicalFiction #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #missouri #MissouriRiver #MuseumTrips #orphan #orphans #RhodaWooldridge #Sibley #SibleyMO

Stephen K.

2021-06-14 08:39:03

REVIEW: Fort Osage–opening of the American West (1983)

A book by Rhoda Wooldridge

To prepare for a trip to historic Fort Osage in Sibley, Missouri, I actually tracked down an old book from around the time I was born, seemingly one of the only ones on the actual Fort Itself called Fort Osage–opening of the American West. I did this because I wasn’t sure if the tour guides would be present at all during the tail-end of the Covid-19 Global Pandemic, and wanted to ensure that I would enjoy my trip. I’m sure there are other books out there, such as diaries published from George C. Sibley (The fort’s commander), but tracking these down are equally crazy and likely written in a manner that is not as palatable as this paperback.

It’s a quick read at 140 pages, and doesn’t spend all that much time going into gross details about the people involved. You can tell that the contents were constructed from diaries and logs related to the operations of the Fort itself, as the narrative seems to be mostly about Mr. Sibley and his business transactions.

When Lewis and Clark, on their expedition of 1804 marked the promontory at the bend of the Missouri River near the present-day town of Sibley in Jackson county for the first site west of the Mississippi, our national hold on the West was feeble. The boundaries of the Louisiana purchase were undefined. England, with its large fur trading companies, was encroaching from the north; Spain was moving in on the southwest; and the Pacific coast was up for grabs to any country who would take it. Even Congress and men in Washington considered it a matter of not so quiet desperation.

The war of 1812 and the subsequent treaty of Ghent that followed the building of Fort Osage settles the danger of English encroachment on the old Northwest Territory. A treaty with Spain in 1819 defined the boundaries of the Southwest. These boundaries, which the opening of the Santa Fe trade in 1821 more or less obscured, became recognized boundaries. American trappers and traders looked forward to the West – to the Pacific in the north, the west, and the south. All this was opened with the building of Fort Osage in 1808 and there it stood for 16 years as a citadel between the Mississippi and the Rocky mountains.

Back of the book that I painstakingly transcribed since this book is so rare lol

There are some VERY interesting tidbits inside including descriptions of customs performed by the handful of Indian tribes mentioned. For example, at one point Mr. Sibley was confused as to why Kansas Indians had painted their faces black and were wailing in unison with tears streaming down their faces. He had assumed it was some kind of funeral rite, but was alarmed when his Osage advisor Sans Oreilles (lit “No Ears” in French) told him that they do this as a dark ritual as penance for something bad they are about to do. In this case, that was try to rob the trading post by cover of nightfall, a situation that got their tribe banned for a time.

Another interesting aside, was a story of the discovery of an Indian burial mound wherein the grave of an esteemed British officer had been buried by a tribe that Great Britain had ties with. He was mummified sitting upright in a chair in full-uniform and buried with grave goods befitting royalty. This puzzled everyone, and they wondered who this man was that he got such a lavish burial. How I wish they actually kept this as a verifiable record, as it sounds very cool.

The book is full of these little chapters, you can tell the author went through the original documents looking for interesting items, as the pages are peppered with them. Rather than being a dull slog through the everyday bookkeeping of a trading post (as I’m sure she read), we get the “greatest hits”.

It’s a shame this book isn’t available in digital format nor left in print at all since 1983, as it seems to be pretty good. The local publisher seems to only print books related to Alcoholics Anonymous and other rehabilitation plans, and whilst being a noble cause, its sad to see local history go by the wayside. Thankfully, this book doesn’t appear to be impossible to find. This copy was around ten dollars on Ebay, and I’ve seen brand-new and still shrink-wrapped copies up for grabs for around 20 dollars.

If you have an interest in frontier history or The War of 1812, this might be something to track down, but I’m sure people that live locally or around this area would likely enjoy it a bit more. While a bit outdated in vernacular and lacking any sort of footnotes, the book is far from a scholarly text in any way, but its enjoyable and helped me learn a lot more about the area I live, and some of the history of a time that most American schooling seems to entirely bypass.

This review is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips #Sibley #warOf1812

History Boy Summer Archives - Arcadia Pod

^{Arcadia Pod}

REVIEW: Historic Fourth of July around Kansas City in 2022 [History Tour]

In 2022, I wanted to do something “different” during the Independence Day weekend. In the past we have done the tried and true fireworks and BBQ weekend, which while being a classic way to celebrate, gets somewhat boring after a while. Yes, I did do some fireworks, but that was the icing on the proverbial cake in terms of what all we did that weekend. I am, of course, writing this WAY after the fact, but I figured I’d get this out there to help potentially get some ideas for people in 2023. I wanted to show that there are MANY things for folks to do in and around the general Kansas City Metro area that aren’t cramming into crowded high school parking lots to watch a fireworks display. Being a HUGE history guy, This all sort of fell into my lap when we visited Fort Osage to get a stamp for my son’s Jackson County Young Historian Passport. This was actually the week before the fourth, so we were sure to come back again to see what was happening. Missouri Town was recommended to me by Facebook, and there were even more festivities around (including Shoal Creek) that I was unable to squeeze in, maybe next time!

Historic Fort Osage; Sibley, MO & Missouri Town 1855; Lee’s Summit, MO

Since this is sort of an “add-on” to my previous entries, The following are some links for the “main” articles for these sites:

Fort Osage

Missouri Town 1855

Background:

I’m assuming most that read my blog are from the United States, but I occasionally do get random waves of international readers, so I will go ahead and drop a block of Wikipedia info here on what exactly Independence Day is:

“Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America. The Founding Father delegates of the Second Continental Congress declared that the Thirteen Colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress voted to approve independence by passing the Lee Resolution on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches, and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.”

The next two are from the Jackson County Parks and Rec website, and highlight information for last years festivities:

Frontier Fourth at Fort Osage

“Experience Fort Osage as a young republic celebrating its nation’s founding. Cannon, musket firing, military drill along with stirring patriotic speeches make for a fun-filled day.

• 10:00 – 4:00 Historic Cooking (Factory Kitchen)
• 10:00 – 10:30 Flintlock Musket Firing Demonstration (Factory Veranda)
• 11:15 – 11:45 US Army Recruitment by Surgeon’s Mate (Factory Veranda)
• 12:00 – 12:30 Ink and Quill Writing Demonstration (Factory Dining Room)
• 1:00 – 1:30 Reading the Declaration of Independence, Speeches and Toasts (Factory Veranda)
• 2:00 – 2:30 Flintlock Musket Firing Demonstration (Factory Veranda)
• 3:00- 3:30 Cannon Firing Demonstration (Block House 3)
• 3:45 – 4:15 Medical Presentation (Officer’s Quarters)
• 4:15 15-Star Flag Lowering (Fort Parade Ground Flagpole)”

More info HERE

Independence Day at Missouri Town 1855

“Experience how Missourians celebrated our nation’s independence in the 19th century. Patriotic speeches, children’s games, period cooking and dancing are just a few of the many interpretive activities you’ll find as you explore the mid-19th century village. All are invited to join in the traditional Missouri Town Independence Day Parade at 12:00 noon.”

More Info HERE

Reading(s):

In terms of book recommendations, I suppose I should try to find a book about colonial Independence Day celebrations or something, but I feel that it may be too narrow of a topic for this. With that in mind, I already have read a number of books that cover both of these sites, all of which I will list below.

• REVIEW: Missouri Town, 1855: A Program in Architectural Preservation (1981)
• REVIEW: Fort Osage–opening of the American West (1983)
• REVIEW: Hannah’s Brave Year (1964)
• REVIEW: War of 1812: A History From Beginning to End
• REVIEW: Historic Communities – Fort Life (1994)

The Trip:

Fort Osage

Fort Osage has a very structured program with numerous activities that can be seen above. While we were unable to see everything, we particularly loved the rifle firing demonstration, the cooking demonstrations, the reading of the Declaration of Independence, and the firing of the cannon, which doesn’t happen very often at the site. The park was not very busy, and was full of historic re-enactors in full costume and in character. If there was one day to visit Fort Osage, a day like this definitely what you should look into. I think they have a few “festivals” like this, and I’d imagine they are always well worth the time and miniscule amount of admission money it takes to get in.

Missouri Town 1855

Missouri Town was a lot more freeform, and had the largest amount of re-enactors I have ever seen in a place like this. Normally, one only sees a handful of volunteers, and I’d estimate something like 50 were on-site on this day. What was especially humorous was that some of the volunteers were previously at Fort Osage, so they must have had a very busy weekend. My son especially liked the antique toy tent which had a large array of toys that children would have played with in the early nineteenth century – his personal favorite was a game called “Graces” that he immediately excelled at. It’s that game with ribbon covered hoops that you shoot at each other with long sticks. Animal feeding are care discussions were numerous, and there was seemingly always something to do. Sadly, it was INSANELY hot on the Fourth of July itself, and we were unable to endure the heat for much more than an hour and a half, and had to leave somewhat early. Nonetheless it was an awesome experience despite the heat.

Conclusion:

I feel like stuff like this is largely overlooked in most places, save for a place like Colonial Williamsburg, and I’m sure most towns with similar living history museums likely do something akin to this every year. I love seeing people in costume educating children (and adults) on what life was like in the past, and a weekend like this was packed full of those sort of opportunities. For 2023, if you are bored of the typical Fourth of July celebration, I’d recommend trying a historical site visit if they have this sort of programming. We absolutely loved it, and if you are a history buff, I’m sure you will as well!

See More:

For more content like this, check out my History Tour page HERE

#FourthOfJuly #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #IndependenceDay #IndependenceMo #kansasCity #KC #KCMO #LeeSSummit #MO #Sibley #SibleyMO

Stephen K.

2021-06-16 23:58:13

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 1) Fort Osage State Historic Site

I don’t normally put a lot of emphasis on New Year’s Resolutions, as most are unattainable and end up going by the wayside like 30 days after you start doing them. Honestly, going into 2021 my goal is hopefully “go outside a bit” which stands in stark contrast to last year when I, like many, lived as a cavemen holed up in my Covid-19 safety shelter watching the exploits of a mulleted redneck that dabbles in tigers and attempted murder. My two goals (I like that better) that have stuck for this year have been: “I have a bunch of unread books, I need to read more this year” and “I haven’t been to any local historical sites in a LONG time, maybe I should go to them.” Both are easy to do and both are relatively inexpensive. The latter gets me outside a bit – usually I go to conventions and live music shows throughout the year, without those I need something to clear the cobwebs. So, History Boy Summer begins!

FORT OSAGE: Sibley, MO

I laid out a plan that started in Fort Osage, a small rebuilt fortress built near the Missouri River in what is now Sibley, MO. When I was a child, one of my fondest memories was going there with my Mother and Grandparents. I clearly recall an episode wherein my grandfather was about to head downstairs into the basement of some building (in hindsight this must have been the storehouse under the trading post) he came back upstairs with a worried look on his face, and basically said “hey, we’re not going in there”, as I guess there was a black Cornsnake dangling from the ceiling. It’s one of those memories that really sticks with me for whatever reason. My grandfather died when I was very young, so I don’t recall a lot of his true personality, but one thing I can recall was his Indiana Jones level hatred of snakes. I also recall briefly thinking the living history staff were ghosts, because why else would old-timey soldiers be walking around. My Mother had to ease my worries by saying “those guys are just in costumes!” Four year old me was very relieved.

So, here I am 34 years out wondering why I haven’t returned. I lived in Warrensburg, MO for a long time, and did not have a car until my mid to late twenties. Due to this, arranging a trip to go to a living history museum hours away was going to be hard. I do have some friends into history as well, but not as much as myself. in 2014 I moved to Independence, MO – literally a few miles from Fort Osage and I still never went because time just never seemed to line up and I had it in my head that I absolutely had to go with somebody to things like this. I’ve changed a lot in the last 5 years, for good and bad reasons, but one of my new mantras is: if I want to do something I will do it, no matter if I’m alone or not. Life is too short for me to worry about unwanted shared experiences. If it’s cool, maybe I can take them there later. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, it’s time to live life. So, the plan was laid – I was off to Fort Osage.

Background:

Fort Osage was an early 19th-century trading post run by the United States Government. At that time, it sat on the literal edge of the united states overlooking native lands and untamed wilderness gained through the Louisiana Purchase. The Treaty of Fort Clark, signed with members of the Osage Nation in 1808, called for the United States to establish Fort Osage as a trading post and to protect the Osage from tribal enemies as well as provide money to said Natives. Of course, our very own Congress bumbled a lot of this treaty up as they historically always do, and the general mistreatment of the Indians was in full effect.
While the fort never succumbed to any fighting during the War of 1812, it was relatively close to some battles with British-led Natives on similar US forts, an example being Fort Madison in present day Iowa. had the tide of that battle gone differently, who knows. According to Wikipedia, Archaeologists rediscovered the foundations of Fort Osage in the 1940s. The station was reconstructed to portray Fort Osage as it was in 1812 by using the preserved surveys created by William Clark and others. This made restoration to exact specifications possible.

Reading:

During this project, I have decided to give myself homework of sorts. I plan to read something, a book preferably, on the subject at hand for each excursion. The reason for this being, I want to know what’s going on, just in case they are either closed, the guided tours don’t happen, or its slanted in one direction or another for political reasons. I was really worried about the latter in regards to my next topic (Battle of Lexington), but I will get to that next time.

To prepare for Fort Osage, I actually tracked down an old book from around the time I was born, seemingly one of the only ones on the actual Fort Itself called Fort Osage–opening of the American West by Rhoda Wooldridge. I know there are diaries published from George C. Sibley out there, but I’m sure these will be even harder to get, or be chained to a library. Its lack of Footnotes aside, the information seems to be a narrative of the aforementioned diaries of the various people involved, so it’s got to be pretty accurate, and its a quick read. If you’d like to read my full review of this book, please click HERE.

It’s a shame this book isn’t available in digital format nor left in print at all since 1983, as it seems to be pretty good. The local publisher seems to only print books related to Alcoholics Anonymous and other rehabilitation plans, and whilst being a noble cause, its sad to see local history go by the wayside.

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The Trip:

For this trip, the Covid-19 global pandemic was still in full effect and vaccinations were just starting to get rolling on a large scale. As a result, a lot of the living history stuff that is normally going on here was absent, and a mask mandate was in place. That said, everything was very enjoyable nonetheless. Upon arrival at the grounds, one first goes into a large, modern, visitor’s center. As of this writing, it costs eight dollars to enter the fort itself, and four for children. Be sure to check their website for current prices and other promotions. There is the obligatory informational video available to park patrons that tells the history of the time period and the park itself.

After hitting the giftshop, yeah I did it first for some reason, I walked through their large museum collection within the visitors center. These exhibits consisted of artifacts of the time such as items sold at the trading post, military uniforms, native artifacts, a full sized canoe, and even cannons. This museum is decently sized and takes around ten to thirty minutes to get through depending on the speed that one can read, and I’d assume walk. I had a little one with me, and he especially enjoyed seeing the cannons, a theme that would carry-on into the heart of the Fort itself. My personal favorite was probably the uniforms as I will admit I am not the most well-versed on War of 1812 history, as I’m sure are most other Americans likewise. It’s a shame that I hope to rectify soon.

Now that the introduction is out of the way, it was time to move through a doorway and head up to the grounds of the actual fort itself. While the main part of the fort is missing a bit of the original structure, including the entire outer wall, the part that we do have in very impressive. The major locations include guard towers (think castle turrets), Commander’s quarters, barracks, the trading post, an area where people got whipped as punishment, and a huge flag pole. While the majority of the buildings are repetitive (a barrack is a barrack etc.), exploring some of the larger buildings such as the trading post was awesome. stocked with facsimile items for sale, and manned by a living history interpreter, this was probably my favorite part of the trip. Hearing some anecdotes about the fort and some information of the river was cool, and he took time to point out some interesting things I should do (like a path to the river through the woods) that I probably would not have done otherwise.

I was worried that bringing a five year old was a bad call at first, but he really enjoyed exploring the fort. running up stairs to see if there were cannons and looking out the windows to see the river was exiting for him. I’d like to go back the next time a big event is going on, as I think seeing more volunteers and getting the idea of how old this place was would benefit him. He’s still a bit young to understand exactly what was happening, but he had fun.

Conclusion:

All-in-all this was a great quick weekend trip if you live in or around the Kansas City area. It’s inexpensive, fun, and educational. Sitting a few months out from my trip, I kind of wish I would have waited a bit longer now that mask mandates are going away, but I had set aside this time in April, and the last thing I needed was yet another excuse as to why I needed to not go. If I go back for any sort of event, I will be sure to do some kind of an update.

Stay tuned next time, for part 2 of History Boy Summer, where I go to the site of one of the more interesting Civil War battles, local or not. For another museum exhibit I really enjoyed, check out my review of Stonehenge: Spirit and Science of Place from a few years ago. Also, keep up with this series by looking at the tag for History Boy Summer. And yes, the title is making fun of that cringe Chet Hanks song that I will undoubtedly forget about the existence of a few years down the road and wonder why I went with this as the header.

#19thCentury #dayTrip #Featured #fort #FortOsage #Historical #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #Kansas #kansasCity #KS #livingHistory #military #missouri #MissouriRiver #MO #museum #MuseumTrips #nineteenthCentury #Sibley #travel #warOf1812

Candlelight Tour of Fort Osage

Experience how the holidays were celebrated at the historic Fort in the early 19th century. Authentically attired interpreters lead guests through this unique evening event inspired by the winters at Fort Osage.

^{The Society of Friends of Fort Osage}

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 22) Santa Fe Trail Markers

NOTE: Yeah, I know it’s technically Fall now – truth is, I have about 5 more of these in my drafts because I am behind on reading the books that go along with them! I may rebrand this if I keep going to more museums as the air gets cooler, but for right now, I doubt many will mind if I scoot the goalpost a tad. Hey, maybe it’s still summer somewhere?!

This is a quick edition of history boy summer, as it was a bonus find from my Second Battle of Independence Driving Tour Review all those weeks ago. In a small park near an area I used to live in, I noticed that The Daughters of the American Revolution had upgraded a small gravestone shaped marker that denotes one of the many places in this area where the Santa Fe Trail once sat. Now accompanied by historical placards, Salem Park is now a veritable small-scale outdoor museum with no less than 7 or 8 things to read.

Santa Fe Trail Markers; Salem Park – Independence, MO

It has been a few years since I lived near this park, and honestly I don’t drive over there too much, so it was a surprise to find it!

Background:

According toWikipedia:

“The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe. Santa Fe was near the end of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, which carried trade from Mexico City.

The route skirted the northern edge and crossed the north-western corner of Comancheria, the territory of the Comanche. Realizing the value, they demanded compensation for granting passage to the trail. American traders envisioned them as another market. Comanche raiding farther south in Mexico isolated New Mexico, making it more dependent on the American trade. They raided to gain a steady supply of horses to sell. By the 1840s, trail traffic through the Arkansas Valley was so numerous that bison herds were cut off from important seasonal grazing land. This habitat disruption, on top of overhunting, contributed to the collapse of the species. Comanche power declined in the region when they lost their most important game.

The American army used the trail route in 1846 to invade New Mexico during the Mexican–American War.

After the U.S. acquisition of the Southwest that ended the war, the trail was integral to the U.S. opening the region to economic development and settlement. It played a vital role in the westward expansion of the US into these new lands. The road route is commemorated today by the National Park Service as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. A highway route that roughly follows the trail’s path, through the entire length of Kansas, the southeast corner of Colorado and northern New Mexico, has been designated as the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway.”

Reading:

When I was at the National Frontier Trails Museum (a future installment), I had a choice of hundreds of books on the Santa Fe Trail, but ultimately picked this one. I felt that it would be interesting to read some of the first-hand accounts of people that actually travelled on the trail, and what hardships they may have faced. Stay tuned for a review soon.

The Trip:

This was another quick excursion that doesn’t warrant much information on any roadside adventures I may have had. This park is located in East Independence on 24 highway and Blue Mills Road. If you are traveling towards Buckner or Lexington away from Independence, this is one of the last parts of the main part of town before you hit the rural area.

Conclusion:

By no means would I base an entire trip on visiting this particular park in independence unless you are looking for a place to have a picnic or something and you already live nearby. If you are traveling on 24 highway and have a little bit of time to spare, it is a nice little stop off before you head out of town. If you’re looking to venture into an actual museum that discuss is the various trails that started in independence MO, I would actually recommend visiting the National Frontier Trails Museum which will be in upcoming article. Side note: it’s nice to see that this park was updated, it had suffered some vandalism around the time when Pokémon Go got really big. People would stand around in the park because it was a Pokémon Gym, and eventually all the signs and up being defaced like most historical markers sadly do. I’m glad somebody spent some money to clean everything up and add more value to it.

This article is part of my summer series History Boy Summer, which you can keep up with by following this LINK.

#Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #KansasCityMissouri #missouri #MissouriRiver #MuseumTrips #SantaFeTrail #Trail

Stephen K.

2021-07-06 04:46:57

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 5) Second Battle of Independence Historic Markers Driving Tour

I was kind of sad that no local museum really goes over the majority of Price’s Raid of Missouri, I assume The Battle of Westport State Historic Site might concentrate on it, or even Mine Creek, but as of this chapter of my little summer project, I have yet to visit either. Digging through one of the tourism pages for Independence, MO and a site I found to catalogue historic markers called HMdb, I discovered that there were in fact markers for the Independence portion of this. I originally was going to do an old driving tour that they had up in brochure form, but it appeared to consist of stopping at residential houses, and I wasn’t a fan of that – historic markers are fine! I knew about one of these markers since I used to live about 100 feet from it (marker B), but the rest were a mystery. I have pieced together a list for you, if anyone would like to do this, so that you don’t have to research this like crazy like I did. You see also see some of my continuing frustration with how this area takes care of their historic markers, literally right off the bat.

Second Battle of Independence Historic Markers Driving Tour; Independence, MO

For this chapter, I plan to give you all some pictures of the markers, directions to them, and a transcription of what they say if they are unreadable. Sadly, it seems that this area has a bit of an issue with keeping these up, you will notice that markers A and B are especially in bad shape. Luckily a few of them have been overhauled considerably, like C – so there’s hope.

Background:

According to our buddy Wikipedia:

“The Second Battle of Independence was fought on October 22, 1864, as part of Price’s Raid during the American Civil War. In late 1864, Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army led a cavalry force into the state of Missouri in the hopes of creating a popular uprising against Union control, drawing Union Army troops from more important areas, and influencing the 1864 United States Presidential Election. Price was opposed by a combination of Union Army and Kansas State Militia forces positioned near Kansas City and led by Major General Samuel R. Curtis. In addition, Union cavalry under Major General Alfred Pleasonton followed Price from the east. While moving westwards along the Missouri River, Price’s men made contact with Union troops at the Little Blue River on October 21. After forcing the Union soldiers to retreat in the Battle of Little Blue River, the Confederates occupied the city of Independence, Missouri.

On October 22, part of Price’s force pushed Curtis’s men across the Big Blue River, while Pleasonton drove back Confederate defenders from the Little Blue. Confederate troops from the divisions of Major General James F. Fagan and Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke resisted Pleasonton’s advance. Two Union brigades forced the Confederates through Independence, capturing two cannons and 300 men in the process. While Pleasonton brought up two fresh brigades, the Confederates regrouped southwest of town. Further Union pressure drove the defenders back, and fighting continued until after dark. By the end of October 22, almost all of the Confederate forces had fallen back across the Big Blue. The next day, Price was defeated in the Battle of Westport, and his men fell back through Kansas, suffering further defeats on the way before reaching Texas. The Confederates suffered heavy losses during the campaign. The battlefield has since been covered over by the growth of Independence.”Reading:

LINK

My reading for this trip is confusingly Jeffrey Stalnaker’s The Battle of Mine Creek, a book I have already covered at this point. I will likely use this a few times, as the first third of the book (about 50 pages) summarizes the tensions in Missouri and Kansas as well as the entirety of the ill-fated raid that Major General Sterling Price attempted in Missouri. There is a separate book on The Battle of Westport, that I need to read before I eventually go to that site, for all I know it will add even more to my knowledge of the situation. For a link to purchase a copy of this book, click that review link for details.

Honestly the above linked Wikipedia page is also very detailed considering the status of either of these as “minor battles”.
Price’s ill-fated raid, the attempt to take over Missouri ends in a crushing defeat in Westport, and later in Mine Creek in Kansas.

The Trip:

GPS Waypoints:

Marker A: N39 08.211 W94 18.756

Marker B: N39 08.044 W94 18.824

Marker C: N39 08.094 W94 20.495

Marker D: N39 05.529 W94 24.939

Marker E: N39 05.481 W94 25.636

Marker F: N39 05.239 W94 25.941

Or here’s a map I put together using Google Maps:

Marker A:

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This was was terrible to get to. I never realized there was a historical marker here and I can see why. This marker is hidden on the side of the highway, with no way to stop at it, and around fifteen feet of thick Brush between the road and the marker itself. I had to pull up to a driveway for a tree farm near the bridge across the Little Blue River, walk along the side of the highway for about 100 yards, crossing the bridge (not something I like to do on foot), and the best shot I could get was a blurry unreadable one. I borrowed a clear picture from HMdb if you want to see what it actually looks like. The fact that there is literally no way to get to this without likely trespassing is somewhat annoying, I wish a small park could be made (Like Marker C) or at least make it accessible through a trail or something.

“Here on the morning of October 21, 1864 General Marmaduke’s Confederate forces attacked Union troops under Colonel Moonlight drawn up on the hill to the west. Federal resistance was fierce until 10 A.M. When General Shelby’s Confederate cavalry moving up on the main road caused Moonlight to fall back to Independence.”

I honestly don’t recommend trying to stop at this marker, I went on an observed holiday and the highway wasn’t very busy. I’m also pretty sure I pissed off the tree farm by using their driveway to park in. There was another pull-off before that I did not see until it was too late, but it would have resulted in a blind reverse situation that would also be not very safe. You can get an Idea of what the Little Blue River may have looked like at Marker B, so there’s that. Please be careful out there! If you do decide to stop, travel East on 24 towards the exit for 7 highway and Fort Osage High School, turn around at the exit, and travel a few miles back. The marker is on the right side just before the bridge over the Little Blue River.

Marker B:

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Marker B sits in the parking lot in a small park on Old Lexington Road. The site consists of a covered picnic area, a bike/walking trail (although I saw a ton of bikers there) and two placards – one is marker B, and one is a sign for Price’s Raid. Pictures are both above, and I will post transcriptions.

The Marker:

“Approximately 15,000 troops of Confederate General Sterling Price’s Army of Missouri, including guerrilla leader George Todd, engaged 3,500 Union soldiers under the command of Major General James G. Blunt on the western bluffs of the Little Blue River. With Blunt was Senator James H. Lane and Kansas ‘Red Legs’ under Colonel Charles R. Jennison.

The six hour engagement ended between four and five in the afternoon, with Union forces forced to retreat eight miles west to Independence where a final attempt was made by the Kansas Eleventh Cavalry to hold the town. Price’s Confederate Army of Missouri occupied Independence o the evening of October 21st.”

The Placard for Price’s Raid currently has the appearance of being intentionally broken by somebody – a better version of this same one stands at marker point C. If you walk along the railroad tracks for a bit, you can get a pretty good look at the Little Blue River, in a state pretty close to what I imagine it would have been like then. If you are heading East on 24 towards Buckner, Old Lexington road is a right turn just after you pass Little Blue Parkway. follow it to the end (across railroad tracks) and you will come to the park.

Marker C:

I used to live about two houses down from this marker, I remember when Pokémon Go became a big hit the traffic around this area became somewhat crazy, and it was vandalized or bumped by a car or something at one point. Luckily, since I’ve lived at my current house a chapter of the Missouri State Historical Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution have erected a new versions of everything and cleaned the site up well – currently it looks awesome! As an added bonus, the site is also where the Santa Fe Trail started and there are placards for that as well. To reach marker C, head west on 24 highway from Marker B, and turn right onto Blue Mills Rd then immediately left into the park. It’s right across from a church and cemetery.

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Historic Site C

“Moonlight’s Union cavalry brigade, with five guns and 1000 men, was driven from the Little blue River by Marmaduke’s and Shelby’s 5000 Confederates of Price’s Army. Moonlight stopped here and was joined by Jennison’s and Ford’s brigades of Blunt’s division with 10 guns and 2000 men. A defensive line was formed running north and south for a mile. Charges and counter charges continued until 2 PM, when Blunt withdrew. Ford fought a series of delaying actions back into Independence, pursued by Shelby’s dismounted troops.”

Price’s Raid Placard:

“By 11 a.m. on Oct. 20, 1864, Col. Thomas Moonlight had made his first movement after the Little Blue crossing. Maj. Gen. James Blunt received permission from Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis to engage the Confederate and made a rapid movement to this position, deploying the Federal line starting at the Independence-Lexington Road and stretching for about a mile to the south. Blue dismounted his troops, sending every fourth man to the rear to hold the horses. Maj. Gen. John S. Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. Joseph O. Shelby, also dismounted, were just 60 yards over the hill. A cannonade signaled the beginning of the last movement for the battle of the Little Blue. Almost simultaneously Confederate and Federal forces swept forward into the attack. On the Confederate left Marmaduke charged into Col. Charles R. Jennison’s 15th Kansas, the 3rd Wisconsin and 2nd Colorado and Shelby on the right charged the 16th and 11th Kansas. Back and forth along these slopes the fighting was fierce and often hand to hand. After an hour Blunt had pushed the Confederates about a half mile east, but recognizing that his flanks were about to be engulfed,

Blunt ordered a withdrawal back to the heights. Gen. Curtis and staff now came upon the battle and immediately shifted forward Col. W. D. McClain’s artillery, U.S.A., and 2 cannons from the 11th Kansas to a recently ploughed field, leaving them exposed to Rebel sharpshooters. Maj. R. H. Hunt, chief of artillery, U.S.A., shifted 2 more 11th Kansas cannons in support. They opened fire on the Confederates and drove them back, but exposed their left flank. The Confederates increased pressure on the Federal line and further exposed the Federal left flank. Shelby sent Col. Sidney Jackman on the attack. May. Hunt, U.S.A., seeing the attack forming, searched for help and sent for the 11th Kansas Cavalry who were beginning to pull back to Independence.

At about 3 p.m. the fight here had been going on for 4 hours. Gen. Curtis understood that he could not hold Gen. Sterling Price until Federal help could arrive from the east and so he returned to Independence, taking the ammunition wagons with him. Blunt was glad to see him go. Sometime during this fight, Moonlight realized his troops were nearly out of ammunition, but still holding them in line began the troops singing “Rally ‘Round the Flag” in order to bolster their courage. Jennison, with the 15th Kansas, 3rd Wisconsin, and Barker’s Artillery, was holding back Marmaduke on the right in a series of charges and counter charges from rock wall to rack wall, ravine to ravine.

Blunt also realized he must begin his retreat to Independence or face surrender. Forming one line while a second took up a new position, they leap-frogged line this and made stands at the Saunders and Massey farms. Blunt took up his last line of defense on the eastern edge of Independence.

“The Battle continued in Independence on oct. 22, 1864, 6 miles west, and then on to the Battle of the Big Blue at 63rd and Manchester.”

(sidebar)
Lawson Moore House 20309 E. Blue Mills Rd. (private residence)
This home was built in 1856 by Lawson Moore, a prosperous slave owner. In August of 1863 following Order No. 11 Mrs. Moore fled with her children, the oldest 19, the youngest 18 months, to Clay County, never to return. The house had survived several fires and was empty at the time of the battle. On the day of the battle it would serve as the rallying point for Shelby’s command. It was here that he took time to care for this wounded, utilizing the Moore house as a hospital. Surviving accounts would indicate that buried on the property is a mass grave of 18 Confederate soldiers and in a separate location 6 to 8 officers. It is from the draw behind this property that Shelby launched his final attack of the day.

(sidebar)
“About two and one half miles from where the first attack was made, we saw the Second Colorado battery of six fine Parrott guns crossing a field on out right as we were retreating. The rebel advance was within 400 to 500 yards of the battery. Quick work must be done to save the guns, worth a thousand men to us. Colonel Moonlight commanding our brigade came galloping down the line to my company. We were the rear guard. He ordered me to countermarch and charge the enemy with my eighty-eight men in column of eight front. We charged down the road, passing the Little Blue church, straight for the enemy. I saw ahead of me a brick house, just where the road turned from a northerly course straight east, a stone fence dead head of us, and a brick house and stone fence on the right. The rebel cavalry fell back, but a line of infantry occupied the house and were down behind the fence. About 150 yards south of the house between us and the enemy, was a hollow that for a moment or two kept us out of sight and range of their guns.

“As we reached the brow on the hill, a thought flashed through my mind that the first line, in which I was riding, with seven soldiers to my left, would be shot as soon as we came in sight. I clutched the pommel of my saddle and threw myself almost flat on the horse. the volley of bullets came, as I expected. I felt my horse going down, swung my feet clear of the stirrups, and fell on my horse’s neck, unhurt. Geo. W. Edwards, who fired the first shot when we were charging through Lexington the day before, fell on my back, dead. My men saw me fall and thought I was killed. They retreated back into the hollow. I jumped up and ran after them, a perfect hailstorm of bullets buzzing past me. I ordered the men to dismount. every man left his horse in the road. We then jumped the fence into an orchard and charged the brick house, and took it, driving the enemy out; then charged the stone fence and took that. At this moment I heard the yells of 400 to 500 men. Maj. J. Nelson Smith with the first and third battalions of the Second Colorado cavalry, was charging the enemy to save us, and right before us this gallant officer fell dead at the head of his command. I had a chance now to fall back, and found my horses in the hollow where I had left them. The animals showed “horse sense” enough to remain where they were safe from the bullets. This little diversion, costly to my company, saved the Colorado battery.”

Captain Henry E. Palmer, Company A, 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry

Erected by Civil War Round Table of Western Missouri.”

Marker D:

Marker D is in downtown Independence on the Historic Square. It sits basically at the intersection of Main Street and Truman Road, on the left when traveling north on Main Street. I parked at the Courthouse and walked over. If you are there, there are numerous other historical markers in the general vicinity including one for the First Battle of Independence, Andrew Jackson, The Oregon Trail, and even Harry S Truman.

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“After heavy fighting at the Little Blue River on the 21st, Price’s Confederate Army forced Blunt’s cavalry to retreat to the Big Blue River, leaving a rear guard in town. Shelby’s Confederates reached town in the late afternoon. After a brisk fight Union troops were driven to the west end of town. Price’s army and wagon train then camped in and around Independence. On the 22nd Pleasonton’s Union Cavalry, pursuing Price from the east, made a mounted charge through town driving Fagan’s Confederates to the west.”

Marker E:

From Marker D, drive on Lexington towards all of the various LDS temples in that area. You can’t really miss it since the Community of Christ building is such an imposing figure in the Independence skyline. The marker sits right in from of that building along the series of flags near the intersection of Lexington and River blvd. I parked in the parking lot of the church across the street from it.

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“On the 22nd Fagan’s Division of Price’s Army was defending against the advance of Union Gen. Pleasonton from the east. Two of Fagan’s Brigades were driven from the Little Blue River to the eastern edge of town. The Union attack was made first from the NE with Philips’ Brigade and the Second Arkansas (Union) both on foot. McNeil’s Brigade then charged through town mounted. Cabell’s Brigade came up to stop the Union advance. He was driven back and many of his men were surrounded. Near this spot two of his guns were captured and he barely escaped.”

Marker F:

Finally, we have Marker F, if you turn around and go back West on Lexington towards it’s intersection with Chrysler Ave. Its on the side of the road in the middle of this island that the two roads make, stay right and park in the abandoned restaurant parking lot across from the sign.

“During the Battle of Independence on October 21 ad 22, 1864, this was an unfinished railroad cut. As darkness approached on the 21st, the Confederates advancing from the east stopped here. Union troops withdrew to the Big Blue river during the night. The Confederate Divisions of Marmaduke and Shelby and Price’s wagon train advanced to Rock Creek and camped. On the 22nd Pleasonton’s Union cavalry pursued the Confederates through town and were confronted by Marmaduke’ Division. Fighting continued during the night as the Confederates withdrew to Byram’s Ford on the Big Blue River.”

Conclusion:

That’s it! I’ve never done one of these driving tours before, so this was an interesting excursion on a lazy holiday weekend. I will say that I was irritated with the state of Markers A and B, both in upkeep and travel ability, but the whole experience was cool. It’s hard sometimes to think about where a Civil War battle had taken place until you go around and actually look at the battlefields themselves. I may do another one of these for the first Battle of Independence, so stay tuned. I honestly would prefer a museum to see stuff like this, but having this as an option is better than nothing. The trip also gave me ideas for future installments and I pre-took some pictures for them. With time to stop and look around as well as fumbling with my GPS, the entire thing took about an hour. I picked an insanely hot day to do this, I’d recommend not doing that!

This is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#AmericanCivilWar #civilWar #DrivingTour #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #Kansas #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #militaryHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips

The Historical Marker Database

Public history cast in metal, carved on stone, permanently marked.

^www.hmdb.org

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 27) Chicago & Alton Depot

Located directly across from the National Frontier Trails Museum is a “blink and you missed it” rebuilt train station dating back to the late nineteenth century. You can gain admission for it along with a visit to the previous museum, so it’s a bad call NOT to stop by seeing that you get more bang for your buck. While not explicitly designed for children, most kids have somewhat of a fondness for trains, so this would be a perfect place to take the kiddies, just as long as you can ensure they don’t try to play with the antique toys in the upstairs exhibit rooms. I recommended planning a three stop day trip with my previous review, and that still stands.

Chicago & Alton Depot; Independence, MO

I was greeted by a volunteer tour guide that was more than happy to show me around, easily making this stop very special.

Background:

From their website:

“Believed to be the only completely restored two story train depot in Missouri, the Chicago & Alton Depot was built in 1879.

In 1996, the Depot was moved from its original location in spectaular fashion, being lifted from its original foundation and paraded down the street in front of hundreds of spectators and news media, to its current location on West Pacific Ave. From 1992 to 2002 members of the community worked hard to bring the decaying historical wonder back to life.

The two-story depot contains three rooms on the first floor which are the waiting room, stationmaster’s room, and baggage room. On the second floor, four rooms, which were formerly the stationmaster’s residence, are the kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and the parlor. An additional bedroom and storage room have been converted to an artifacts room. The entire Depot is furnished to appear as it did in the late 1800’s.”

Reading:

From my review:

“This book not only tells the history and background of the actual physical building that has become the museum, but also the overall history of railroads in Independence, and even the of The Chicago and Alton Company. The book is quite small, so these blobs of information are just general overviews, but establish a foundation if the reader would want to seek further information elsewhere. I honestly could not say whether there is more scholarship of the topic at hand, but it might be interesting to look around. All-in-all this is by no means much more than a souvenir book, but I enjoyed the information found within and wanted to support the museum in whatever meager way I could that day.”

arcadiapod.com/2021/12/02/revi…

The Trip:

My recommendation for this trip is to bundle it with two other museums. The Chicago & Alton Depot is situated right next to [em][strong]The National Frontier Trails Museum[/strong][/em], a museum devoted to the three trails that make Independence so famous. It is also directly across the street from an old turn of the century mansion called the Bingham Waggoner Estate. All three should take a total of four hours and will be a great idea for kids.

Conclusion:

This is a quick little museum that is definitely different to the usual suspects in Western Missouri history. Seeing all of the old artifacts was cool, and getting a chance to look at some old switchboards and telegraph systems was interesting. There is a decently stocked gift shop, just make sure to bring cash with you as they do not have a cash register – all purchases are technically gifts you get from doing donations.

This is part of my series for 2021, History Boy Summer, to read more click HERE.

For more information on the site itself, click HERE.

#Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #Kansas #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips #Train #Trains #Trainspotting

Stephen K.

2021-11-30 08:21:31

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 26) National Frontier Trails Museum

NOTE: I know it’s no longer Summer (LOL), I have a couple of these I have yet to write up that I am trying to get through followed by a final ending article. I plan to get all of these done ASAP.

Right from the get-go, when I first started this project, I wanted to go to the National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, MO with my son because I knew it was largely tailored for younger museum goers. There are many things an adult would enjoy, but the interactive aspects are definitely something for kids. The last time I went was a number of years ago for one of my ex-wife’s family reunions, and I was blown away by the amount of merchandise in their gift shop and the overall quality of the museum. Would that still be true? We almost never found out as the Global Covid-19 Pandemic made sure that this particular museum stayed closed for well over a year and a half, only opening at the beginning of August. With Summer nearing completion, I knew I wanted to make this my final stop, and finally made it happen.

National Frontier Trails Museum; Independence, MO

This is one of those reviews, where I won’t have a whole ton of travel-related stories to tell, as I live pretty close to this museum, but if you are in or around the general Kansas City Metropolitan area, this is easy to find and well-worth a quick drive.

Background:

From their very own website:

“One of the most fascinating epics in American history is the overland migrations across the western United States during the mid-nineteenth century. Thousands of wagon trains slowly snaked their way along rugged trails, crossing wind-swept prairies, barren deserts, and formidable mountain ranges. The pioneer adventurers faced severe weather, accidents, deadly plagues, and many other dangers to seek trade, new homes and opportunities in the West. This extraordinary saga ranks as the largest voluntary, overland mass migration in the history of the world.

Exploration of the West began in the early nineteenth century with the Corp of Discovery led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The three principle trails which crossed the West were the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California. The Santa Fe Trail, which began in 1821, was a 900-mile foreign trade route unique in American history due to its overland, rather than seafaring, commerce. The 2,000-mile Oregon Trail began to be heavily traveled in 1843 by settlers wanting to establish new homes in the northwest, while others split off on the equally long and grueling California Trail to seek their fortunes in the gold fields. Still others went west to pursue religious freedom, like the Mormons who traveled to Utah beginning in 1846. Together, these rugged pathways and their pioneers changed the face and history of America.

Independence, Missouri, a frontier village of only a few hundred people poised on the edge of American civilization, was the principle “jumping-off” point for three of the western trails. Founded in 1827, the town first became the eastern terminus for the Santa Fe Trail, and later as an outfitting post for emigrants heading to Oregon and California as well. Every spring, the center of present-day Independence was blanketed by thousands of emigrants, complete with wagons, teams, other livestock, tents, cargo, and supplies. Commotion, confusion, and excitement reigned as wagons were purchased, loaded, and organized into trains.”

Reading:

For this trip, I decided to pick up On the Santa Fe Trail (1986) by Marc Simmons. This book compiles a number of first-hand accounts of life on the Santa Fe Trail from people that made the trip in the late nineteenth century. There are a number of books like this, so I had trouble making the choice, but due to the cost and cool old-school cover art, I went with this. If you ever travel to this museum they have hundreds of different books to choose from, it’s hard to choose!

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The Trip:

My recommendation for this trip is to bundle it with two other museums. The National Frontier Trails Museum is situation right next to The Chicago & Alton Depot, a rebuilt train station and museum restoring artifacts of turn of the century rail travel. It is also directly across the street from an old turn of the century mansion called the Bingham Waggoner Estate. All three should take a total of four hours and will be a great idea for kids.

Conclusion:

I was glad to re-visit this wonderful museum with my son, and am glad he had so much fun. There is a part where kids have to load a wagon with supplies to see how much they could take before going over-weight. There is a store-room full of items and a wagon with a weight button. Kids drop items into the wagon until it says it is over-weight. He had a blast, and his smile made the trip well worth it. highly recommended.

This article is part of my summer series History Boy Summer, which you can keep up with by following this LINK.

#CaliforniaTrail #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #kidsActivities #missouri #MissouriRiver #museum #MuseumTrips #Museums #OregonTrail #SantaFeTrail

National Frontier Trails Museum

Contact information, hours of operation, and directions for the National Frontier Trails Museum.

^{www.ci.independence.mo.us}

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 26) National Frontier Trails Museum

NOTE: I know it’s no longer Summer (LOL), I have a couple of these I have yet to write up that I am trying to get through followed by a final ending article. I plan to get all of these done ASAP.

Right from the get-go, when I first started this project, I wanted to go to the National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, MO with my son because I knew it was largely tailored for younger museum goers. There are many things an adult would enjoy, but the interactive aspects are definitely something for kids. The last time I went was a number of years ago for one of my ex-wife’s family reunions, and I was blown away by the amount of merchandise in their gift shop and the overall quality of the museum. Would that still be true? We almost never found out as the Global Covid-19 Pandemic made sure that this particular museum stayed closed for well over a year and a half, only opening at the beginning of August. With Summer nearing completion, I knew I wanted to make this my final stop, and finally made it happen.

National Frontier Trails Museum; Independence, MO

This is one of those reviews, where I won’t have a whole ton of travel-related stories to tell, as I live pretty close to this museum, but if you are in or around the general Kansas City Metropolitan area, this is easy to find and well-worth a quick drive.

Background:

From their very own website:

“One of the most fascinating epics in American history is the overland migrations across the western United States during the mid-nineteenth century. Thousands of wagon trains slowly snaked their way along rugged trails, crossing wind-swept prairies, barren deserts, and formidable mountain ranges. The pioneer adventurers faced severe weather, accidents, deadly plagues, and many other dangers to seek trade, new homes and opportunities in the West. This extraordinary saga ranks as the largest voluntary, overland mass migration in the history of the world.

Exploration of the West began in the early nineteenth century with the Corp of Discovery led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The three principle trails which crossed the West were the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California. The Santa Fe Trail, which began in 1821, was a 900-mile foreign trade route unique in American history due to its overland, rather than seafaring, commerce. The 2,000-mile Oregon Trail began to be heavily traveled in 1843 by settlers wanting to establish new homes in the northwest, while others split off on the equally long and grueling California Trail to seek their fortunes in the gold fields. Still others went west to pursue religious freedom, like the Mormons who traveled to Utah beginning in 1846. Together, these rugged pathways and their pioneers changed the face and history of America.

Independence, Missouri, a frontier village of only a few hundred people poised on the edge of American civilization, was the principle “jumping-off” point for three of the western trails. Founded in 1827, the town first became the eastern terminus for the Santa Fe Trail, and later as an outfitting post for emigrants heading to Oregon and California as well. Every spring, the center of present-day Independence was blanketed by thousands of emigrants, complete with wagons, teams, other livestock, tents, cargo, and supplies. Commotion, confusion, and excitement reigned as wagons were purchased, loaded, and organized into trains.”

Reading:

For this trip, I decided to pick up On the Santa Fe Trail (1986) by Marc Simmons. This book compiles a number of first-hand accounts of life on the Santa Fe Trail from people that made the trip in the late nineteenth century. There are a number of books like this, so I had trouble making the choice, but due to the cost and cool old-school cover art, I went with this. If you ever travel to this museum they have hundreds of different books to choose from, it’s hard to choose!

The Trip:

My recommendation for this trip is to bundle it with two other museums. The National Frontier Trails Museum is situation right next to The Chicago & Alton Depot, a rebuilt train station and museum restoring artifacts of turn of the century rail travel. It is also directly across the street from an old turn of the century mansion called the Bingham Waggoner Estate. All three should take a total of four hours and will be a great idea for kids.

Conclusion:

I was glad to re-visit this wonderful museum with my son, and am glad he had so much fun. There is a part where kids have to load a wagon with supplies to see how much they could take before going over-weight. There is a store-room full of items and a wagon with a weight button. Kids drop items into the wagon until it says it is over-weight. He had a blast, and his smile made the trip well worth it. highly recommended.

This article is part of my summer series History Boy Summer, which you can keep up with by following this LINK.

#CaliforniaTrail #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #kidsActivities #missouri #MissouriRiver #museum #MuseumTrips #Museums #OregonTrail #SantaFeTrail

REVIEW: Mill Office and Pioneer Spring Cabin [History Tour]

Last weekend, I was briefly able to attend an event that I suspect was a fundraiser/open house to drum up attention for the restoration of an old building that holds some pretty big significance to the city of Independence, Missouri. This property is being called “The Mill Office” and was open to visitors for the first time in many years during the event. The organizers also opened up an old cabin nearby to allow foot traffic as well, something I knew I could not miss as it was closed off when I was last here. Both of the highlighted buildings could end up being something pretty special one of these days, but a lot of work has to be done to make them “good” for tourists and historians. I say that because they are at varying stages of the preservation process, and aren’t much to look at right now.

I did not have much time, and sadly missed live music that was planned, but the organizers were very generous with their time nonetheless.

Mill Office and Pioneer Spring Cabin; Independence, MO

Both buildings are located on the original grounds of the Gates-Waggoner Milling Company, a former flour mill that produced Queen of the Pantry Flour for many years. A large mansion across the street, The Bingham -Waggoner Estate, was the home of the very same Waggoner family that ran the flour mill. Most of what I know of this family and their history is housed at said mansion, as is a lot of Queen of the Pantry Flour memorabilia. As you can guess, “The Mill Office” was the administrative office for this company, and many of the buildings in the area a former parts of this factory complex. Sadly, The Mill Office has fallen into disrepair after many years, as the company ceased operation many years ago, with the building even being used as some sort of tavern in the past.

youtube.com/watch?v=-15cbLQ2wP…

The Pioneer Spring Cabin was previously located in an entirely different part of the city, but was recently moved to the same general area. It was felt that it could be better preserved, and protected in an area of historic sites and it “fit better” in its current position. This building, the Mill Office, The Frontier Trails Museum, and the Chicago and Alton Depot buildings are starting to become a pretty slick little historical complex that I hope many people enjoy for many years to come, especially after renovations are completed. Having these all next to each other, and the mansion across the street makes the site a popular stop for travelers driving through, and I can only imagine these new additions will help that as well.

Reading(s):

I normally recommend a book, but sadly I don’t have one since this is such a new site, I suppose you could go back and read about the book for The Bingham-Waggoner Estate, as it talks about the flour company. More information can be found in the links above or by visiting the Mansion’s website. As for the cabin, The Jackson County Historical Society has a page detailing the restoration as it stands as well as some information on how the site looked in the past.

Mill Office:

Pioneer Spring Cabin:

Conclusion:

I will definitely be keeping an eye out on these projects, as both appear to be the start of some really cool historic sites. As you can see, the Pioneer Spring Cabin is largely nearing completion and will get some furnishings at some point according to the museum staff. Since it’s original restoration was a project some fifty years ago, I wonder how much of that will carry over? On the flipside, The Mill Office is pretty rough, but has no obvious structural damage and is only hampered by a drainage issue from modern sidewalks. It will take some work and money to get everything going, but saving the building will be amazing rather than allowing it to decay and collapse as other cities allow their historic buildings.

Stay tuned for more, I’m sure this isn’t the first time I will visit these.

UPDATE: 1-7-23

A reader sent me an E-mail (thank you Giovanni!) with some unfortunate news:

“I just happened across your blog while looking for pictures of the Historic Mill Office of the Waggoner-Gates Mill in Independence, MO. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to the residents beforehand, the city bulldozed the Mill this past weekend.”

This is, of course, unfortunate news and not something I expected considering that the project seemed to have some people interested in helping out. He provided me with a heartbreaking photograph:

#and #Cabin #GatesWaggonerMillingCompany #Historical #HistoricalHouse #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #kansasCity #local #mill #missouri #Office #pioneer #PioneerSpringCabin #Review #spring #tour

Stephen K.

2021-12-19 10:33:33

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 28) The Bingham-Waggoner Estate

NOTE: I know it’s no longer Summer (LOL), I was behind on compiling these for whatever reason. This is the last one, and will be followed by a final ending article.

There are a couple of old mansions in Independence, Missouri and prior to this summer I had never visited any of them. I still need to go to the Vaile Mansion and do some research on whether some of the other ones offer tours. I would say that The Bingham-Waggoner Estate is perhaps the most well-known and well-loved of all of them from what I can gather. I bundled this with my trip to the other two museums it sits next to, which is what I would recommend for you as well, as I am always trying to bundle these excursions together to maximize your time.

The Bingham-Waggoner Estate; Independence, Missouri

At time of posting, it is actually around Christmas time, and I really should have made plans to visit then, as they apparently have gorgeous Christmas decorations. Perhaps next year. Be sure to walk the nature trail before you head to the gift shop, and see a series of ruts in the ground made over 100 years ago by wagons heading west on the numerous trails running through Independence.

Background:

From their website:

“The Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate, sitting on over 19 acres near the Independence Square is truly a one-of-a-kind gem in Independence, Missouri. Near the Truman Presidential Library, Harry and Bess Truman’s home, the 1859 Jail & Marshall’s home, the National Frontier Museum, the Chicago & Alton Depot and the Vaile Mansion, the Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate offers its own special look into an earlier era. This well preserved museum home, with more than 90% original furnishings, carpets and paintings, provides insights into the lifestyle of its wealthy 19th century residents.”

Reading:

This was a souvenir booklet from the sites giftshop that I purchased. A lot of sites around here have books like this, and they are pretty solid despite being very short.

From my review:

“There isn’t a ton to say about this item that hasn’t been said basically. This book is basically all of the stuff my tour guide told me on the tour, including a general rundown of the family histories of occupants of the mansion, as well as information on basically every room of the house. I would not be surprised if volunteers use this book to prepare for their tours. All-in-all it’s well done for a cheap booklet and has quite a bit of information as well as pictures. If you happen to be at this museum, I’d easily recommend picking a copy up.”

arcadiapod.com/2021/12/02/revi…

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• 
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The Trip:

My recommendation for this trip is to bundle it with two other museums. The Chicago & Alton Depot and [em][strong]The National Frontier Trails Museum[/strong][/em]. The latter is devoted to the three trails that make Independence so famous. The former is a museum devoted to turn of the century railroad operations in this area. All three should take a total of four hours and will be a great idea for kids and are located right next to each other with the mansion across the street from the other two.

Conclusion:

This site has an amazing guided tour that I loved. The lady that did it was VERY knowledgeable and loved answering questions. If I had more free time, something like that would be a dream job for me, I just need to win the lottery or something! The site can be rented for events like weddings, and other functions which would also be an amazing experience.

This is part of my series for 2021, History Boy Summer, to read more click HERE.

#Historical #HistoricalHouse #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #Mansion #missouri #MuseumTrips

Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate

Wedding Venue, Reception Venue Historical House Tours, Luncheons, Meeting rooms, amily reunions, parties,

^{The Bingham-Waggoner Estate}

REVIEW: Chicago & Alton Depot History (2007)

A book by chicagoalton1879depot.org/ authors

One of the very last stops on my grand History Boy Summer series was The Chicago & Alton Depot, a museum in Independence, MO. Once a 100 year old building falling into disrepair, it has been reconstructed and filled with wonderful items that are a must for both history buffs and railroad aficionados alike. Once there, I definitely wanted to snag some sort of memento in order to learn more about the site, and saw one of these inexpensive booklets there available to anyone that donated money to the site (The Bushwhacker Jail had a similar one). This book is not long, largely consists of pictures and somewhat re-treads what one learns during the guided tour of the site, but as a way to remember the museum, I felt that it was a must-purchase for me.

“Believed to be the only completely restored two story train depot in Missouri, the Chicago & Alton Depot was built in 1879.

In 1996, the Depot was moved from its original location in spectaular fashion, being lifted from its original foundation and paraded down the street in front of hundreds of spectators and news media, to its current location on West Pacific Ave. From 1992 to 2002 members of the community worked hard to bring the decaying historical wonder back to life.

The two-story depot contains three rooms on the first floor which are the waiting room, stationmaster’s room, and baggage room. On the second floor, four rooms, which were formerly the stationmaster’s residence, are the kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and the parlor. An additional bedroom and storage room have been converted to an artifacts room. The entire Depot is furnished to appear as it did in the late 1800’s.”

This book not only tells the history and background of the actual physical building that has become the museum, but also the overall history of railroads in Independence, and even the of The Chicago and Alton Company. The book is quite small, so these blobs of information are just general overviews, but establish a foundation if the reader would want to seek further information elsewhere. I honestly could not say whether there is more scholarship of the topic at hand, but it might be interesting to look around. All-in-all this is by no means much more than a souvenir book, but I enjoyed the information found within and wanted to support the museum in whatever meager way I could that day.

This is part of my series for 2021, History Boy Summer, to read more click HERE.

For more information on the site itself, click HERE.

#Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #missouri #museum #MuseumTrips #Railroad #Railroads #Train #Trains #Trainspotting

Stephen K.

2021-08-08 07:08:28

REVIEW: Bushwhacker Jail Tales (2002)

A book by Patrick Brophy

One of my recent trips for my history project took me to Nevada Missouri, home of The Bushwhacker Museum and Bushwhacker Jail, previously known as the Vernon County Jail from 1860-1960. In the well-stocked gift shop, I was looking for something about the attraction, and came across this novella-sized booklet detailing the history of the jail and some stories pertaining to it throughout the years. This was produced by the Vernon County Historical Society using information from historical records, edited together into a narrative structure. The latter half of the book are basically news clippings related to the jail.

“Bushwhacker Jail Tales is a pamphlet providing a brief history of the old Vernon County Jail, which was used from 1860 to 1960. It includes many short stories about occurrences at the jail which have been culled from local newspaper articles and oral legend.”

My favorite story is of two prisoners who attempted a very much ill-fated jailbreak. You see, the pair were had a little too much in common with the likes of Laurel and Hardy, seeing that one was very thin, the other fat. Bars were cut from a window with a hacksaw allowing the skinny man to escape. Sadly, his comrade was not so lucky. aroused by painful wails of terror, the Sherriff found the man lodged in the opening unable to budge either direction Winnie-The-Pooh style. There’s also a story of a a man trying to escape dressed in drag, and another that made the sheriff so mad he strung him up by his thumbs, with the string still visible today (can confirm!),

All-in-all this book isn’t something that will blow you away, but as a companion to a museum visit it was well put together, and had information that was not part of the tour. This was also insanely cheap, which is appreciated for somebody not wanting to drop tons of money on these museum road trips at every stop (although I do like to support the sites). This was a quick read, and I enjoyed it due to it’s overall humorous tone. if you ever find yourself in Nevada, Missouri make sure to stop at the Bushwhacker Museum/Jail and pick this up if you want to remember your visit!

If you would like your own copy of this book, please click HERE.

This review is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#AmericanCivilWar #book #bookReview #books #Bushwhackers #civilWar #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Jail #museum #MuseumTrips #NevadaMissouri

History Boy Summer Archives - Arcadia Pod

^{Arcadia Pod}

REVIEW: Bingham-Waggoner Estate History

A book made available to museum Patrons, no author listed, undated

Another great educational travel idea for anyone around the Kansas City and Independence, Missouri area is a trip down to the Bingham-Waggoner Estate located near downtown Independence. Furnished with gorgeous furniture and intact belongings of the time, this is one of the best ways to see how people lived in the past, by seeing the actual items they used on display. Granted, every single person that lived in the Estate was very wealthy, so it’s a one-sided view of history, but sometimes visiting places with such grandeur is good. This book was an informational booklet purchased in the gift shop. Much like the Chicago & Alton Book and the Bushwhacker Jail book, these are cheaply done and exist as a precursor to something like a Wikipedia article or such. I like to pick them up both as a memento and as a way to show off places I’ve been. Rather than collect shot glasses or spoons when I travel, I will always opt for books.

“The Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate, sitting on over 19 acres near the Independence Square is truly a one-of-a-kind gem in Independence, Missouri. Near the Truman Presidential Library, Harry and Bess Truman’s home, the 1859 Jail & Marshall’s home, the National Frontier Museum, the Chicago & Alton Depot and the Vaile Mansion, the Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate offers its own special look into an earlier era. This well preserved museum home, with more than 90% original furnishings, carpets and paintings, provides insights into the lifestyle of its wealthy 19th century residents.”

There isn’t a ton to say about this item that hasn’t been said basically. This book is basically all of the stuff my tour guide told me on the tour, including a general rundown of the family histories of occupants of the mansion, as well as information on basically every room of the house. I would not be surprised if volunteers use this book to prepare for their tours. All-in-all it’s well done for a cheap booklet and has quite a bit of information as well as pictures. If you happen to be at this museum, I’d easily recommend picking a copy up.

This is part of my series for 2021, History Boy Summer, to read more click HERE.

For more information on the site itself, click HERE.

#Historical #HistoricalHouse #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #Mansion #missouri #museum #MuseumTrips #Museums

Stephen K.

2021-12-02 23:22:51

REVIEW: Chicago & Alton Depot History (2007)

A book by chicagoalton1879depot.org/ authors

One of the very last stops on my grand History Boy Summer series was The Chicago & Alton Depot, a museum in Independence, MO. Once a 100 year old building falling into disrepair, it has been reconstructed and filled with wonderful items that are a must for both history buffs and railroad aficionados alike. Once there, I definitely wanted to snag some sort of memento in order to learn more about the site, and saw one of these inexpensive booklets there available to anyone that donated money to the site (The Bushwhacker Jail had a similar one). This book is not long, largely consists of pictures and somewhat re-treads what one learns during the guided tour of the site, but as a way to remember the museum, I felt that it was a must-purchase for me.

“Believed to be the only completely restored two story train depot in Missouri, the Chicago & Alton Depot was built in 1879.

In 1996, the Depot was moved from its original location in spectaular fashion, being lifted from its original foundation and paraded down the street in front of hundreds of spectators and news media, to its current location on West Pacific Ave. From 1992 to 2002 members of the community worked hard to bring the decaying historical wonder back to life.

The two-story depot contains three rooms on the first floor which are the waiting room, stationmaster’s room, and baggage room. On the second floor, four rooms, which were formerly the stationmaster’s residence, are the kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and the parlor. An additional bedroom and storage room have been converted to an artifacts room. The entire Depot is furnished to appear as it did in the late 1800’s.”

This book not only tells the history and background of the actual physical building that has become the museum, but also the overall history of railroads in Independence, and even the of The Chicago and Alton Company. The book is quite small, so these blobs of information are just general overviews, but establish a foundation if the reader would want to seek further information elsewhere. I honestly could not say whether there is more scholarship of the topic at hand, but it might be interesting to look around. All-in-all this is by no means much more than a souvenir book, but I enjoyed the information found within and wanted to support the museum in whatever meager way I could that day.

This is part of my series for 2021, History Boy Summer, to read more click HERE.

For more information on the site itself, click HERE.

#Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #missouri #museum #MuseumTrips #Railroad #Railroads #Train #Trains #Trainspotting

former American railroad

^{Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)}

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 28) The Bingham-Waggoner Estate

NOTE: I know it’s no longer Summer (LOL), I was behind on compiling these for whatever reason. This is the last one, and will be followed by a final ending article.

There are a couple of old mansions in Independence, Missouri and prior to this summer I had never visited any of them. I still need to go to the Vaile Mansion and do some research on whether some of the other ones offer tours. I would say that The Bingham-Waggoner Estate is perhaps the most well-known and well-loved of all of them from what I can gather. I bundled this with my trip to the other two museums it sits next to, which is what I would recommend for you as well, as I am always trying to bundle these excursions together to maximize your time.

The Bingham-Waggoner Estate; Independence, Missouri

At time of posting, it is actually around Christmas time, and I really should have made plans to visit then, as they apparently have gorgeous Christmas decorations. Perhaps next year. Be sure to walk the nature trail before you head to the gift shop, and see a series of ruts in the ground made over 100 years ago by wagons heading west on the numerous trails running through Independence.

Background:

From their website:

“The Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate, sitting on over 19 acres near the Independence Square is truly a one-of-a-kind gem in Independence, Missouri. Near the Truman Presidential Library, Harry and Bess Truman’s home, the 1859 Jail & Marshall’s home, the National Frontier Museum, the Chicago & Alton Depot and the Vaile Mansion, the Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate offers its own special look into an earlier era. This well preserved museum home, with more than 90% original furnishings, carpets and paintings, provides insights into the lifestyle of its wealthy 19th century residents.”

Reading:

This was a souvenir booklet from the sites giftshop that I purchased. A lot of sites around here have books like this, and they are pretty solid despite being very short.

From my review:

“There isn’t a ton to say about this item that hasn’t been said basically. This book is basically all of the stuff my tour guide told me on the tour, including a general rundown of the family histories of occupants of the mansion, as well as information on basically every room of the house. I would not be surprised if volunteers use this book to prepare for their tours. All-in-all it’s well done for a cheap booklet and has quite a bit of information as well as pictures. If you happen to be at this museum, I’d easily recommend picking a copy up.”

arcadiapod.com/2021/12/02/revi…

The Trip:

My recommendation for this trip is to bundle it with two other museums. The Chicago & Alton Depot and [em][strong]The National Frontier Trails Museum[/strong][/em]. The latter is devoted to the three trails that make Independence so famous. The former is a museum devoted to turn of the century railroad operations in this area. All three should take a total of four hours and will be a great idea for kids and are located right next to each other with the mansion across the street from the other two.

Conclusion:

This site has an amazing guided tour that I loved. The lady that did it was VERY knowledgeable and loved answering questions. If I had more free time, something like that would be a dream job for me, I just need to win the lottery or something! The site can be rented for events like weddings, and other functions which would also be an amazing experience.

This is part of my series for 2021, History Boy Summer, to read more click HERE.

#Historical #HistoricalHouse #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #Mansion #missouri #MuseumTrips

Stephen K.

2021-12-02 23:40:26

REVIEW: Bingham-Waggoner Estate History

A book made available to museum Patrons, no author listed, undated

Another great educational travel idea for anyone around the Kansas City and Independence, Missouri area is a trip down to the Bingham-Waggoner Estate located near downtown Independence. Furnished with gorgeous furniture and intact belongings of the time, this is one of the best ways to see how people lived in the past, by seeing the actual items they used on display. Granted, every single person that lived in the Estate was very wealthy, so it’s a one-sided view of history, but sometimes visiting places with such grandeur is good. This book was an informational booklet purchased in the gift shop. Much like the Chicago & Alton Book and the Bushwhacker Jail book, these are cheaply done and exist as a precursor to something like a Wikipedia article or such. I like to pick them up both as a memento and as a way to show off places I’ve been. Rather than collect shot glasses or spoons when I travel, I will always opt for books.

“The Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate, sitting on over 19 acres near the Independence Square is truly a one-of-a-kind gem in Independence, Missouri. Near the Truman Presidential Library, Harry and Bess Truman’s home, the 1859 Jail & Marshall’s home, the National Frontier Museum, the Chicago & Alton Depot and the Vaile Mansion, the Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate offers its own special look into an earlier era. This well preserved museum home, with more than 90% original furnishings, carpets and paintings, provides insights into the lifestyle of its wealthy 19th century residents.”

There isn’t a ton to say about this item that hasn’t been said basically. This book is basically all of the stuff my tour guide told me on the tour, including a general rundown of the family histories of occupants of the mansion, as well as information on basically every room of the house. I would not be surprised if volunteers use this book to prepare for their tours. All-in-all it’s well done for a cheap booklet and has quite a bit of information as well as pictures. If you happen to be at this museum, I’d easily recommend picking a copy up.

This is part of my series for 2021, History Boy Summer, to read more click HERE.

For more information on the site itself, click HERE.

#Historical #HistoricalHouse #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #Mansion #missouri #museum #MuseumTrips #Museums

Bingham-Waggoner Mansion & Estate

Wedding Venue, Reception Venue Historical House Tours, Luncheons, Meeting rooms, amily reunions, parties,

^{The Bingham-Waggoner Estate}

REVIEW: The Mormon Wars: The History of the Mormons’ Conflicts across the Frontier in the 19th Century (2017)

A book by Charles River Editors

I’m not a Mormon, so I’m not super privy to LDS church history in any way. I’ve known for a long time that The Book of Mormon postulates that the Biblical Garden of Eden is supposed to be situated somewhere around Independence, MO, and that they have a temple there in preparation for the Second Advent. What I did not know much about was what exactly happened that forced the Mormons out of Missouri and eventually into Utah. I knew folks apparently got tarred and feathered, what I did not realize is that a full-on war between Joseph Smith and his growing flock and the various state militias from Missouri. Being interested in local history, I feel that not knowing some sort of background in this time period is a hole in my understanding. I might eventually use this information to visit a few sites related to this in the future.

Looking around on Amazon, I found a ton of books created by the LDS Church, but I wanted to avoid those due to obvious propaganda. I don’t want to upset anyone I know that is a Mormon, but the early years of the faith are full of dark spots that I have found get glossed over entirely. The Mormon Wars: The History of the Mormons’ Conflicts across the Frontier in the 19th Century looked interesting, if not somewhat benign being a “free” book on Kindle Unlimited. I figured if it was bad, I could just send it back immediately and continue the search. I’m always weary of books like this (cheaply made, mass produced books) since some are basically re-written Wikipedia articles, some generated entirely by bots. Luckily, this one does not seem like that, and was competently written.

“Among all the various figures in 19th century America who left controversial legacies, it is hard to find one as influential as Joseph Smith (1805-1844), the founder of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mormonism, and the Latter-Day Saint movement. Revered as a prophet on the level of Moses by some, reviled as a perpetrator of large-scale fraud by others, what everyone can agree on is that Joseph Smith founded a religious movement that played a crucial role in the settlement of the West, especially in Utah.”

Publisher’s Description

The Mormons were the subject of years of persecution in various states during the early nineteenth century, most notably in Missouri. This can be chalked up to a few factors including revivalist movements finding their brand of Christianity as incompatible with a Southern lifestyle, and oh yeah there’s that whole slavery thing the Mormons were very much against. Granted, The LDS leadership did not make things better by creating a standing army, doing vigilante attacks using a militarized wing called the Danites, and even declaring war on Missouri itself at one point. This bloody time period resulted in multiple deaths, massacres, arrests and even the eventual death of Joseph Smith at the hands of an angry mob.

There are a few instances in this book where something is referenced that was never explained, or there is an assumption that the reader knows information that was left out. I’m not sure if this is due to the use of inline references, or the fact that sections were summarized from another source, but that was the only real blemish that this book had. You can’t beat the cost, and its a competent summarization of the conflict itself without going too much into the doctrine of Joseph Smith or something that I honestly would not care about. In a way, the narrative is somewhat against the Mormons, but that can be explained due to the use of contemporary sources, many of which would not be a fan of their side of the story at all. I plan to see a few museums in Independence about this time period, it will be interesting to see how insanely polar opposite their account will be (they are LDS run I believe), I think I’d be able to draw a conclusion from the middle at that point.

If you like what you just read, and would like a copy for yourself, please look at this LINK. This review is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #holyWar #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #Kansas #missouri #MuseumTrips #outlaws #Religion #vigilante #vigilantism

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 15) Frank James Gravesite

Sometimes, these entries are pretty quick affairs, which is the case for today’s entry. Most of these involve day trips across state lines, and are usually strategically grouped together so I can maximize my time. This one was basically akin to a detour on my way home from and errand, which is cool for this series. Last week, I was attending a model building club meeting recently at a local anime store, and realized I was pretty close to a Cemetery with a fairly famous person buried inside. In a small plot in the corner of the lot, there is a old stone wall and fence surrounding a small row of graves. You can tell this goes largely unseen by most, but the plot is the home for the remains of none other than Frank James, legendary outlaw, and brother to Jesse James.

Frank James Gravesite; Independence, Missouri

Frank James later in life

Background:

From Wikipedia:

“During his years as a bandit, James was involved in at least four robberies between 1868 and 1876 that resulted in the deaths of bank employees or citizens. The most famous incident was the disastrous Northfield, Minnesota, raid on September 7, 1876, that ended with the death or capture of most of the gang.

Five months after the killing of his brother Jesse in 1882, Frank James boarded a train to Jefferson City, Missouri, where he had an appointment with the governor in the state capitol. Placing his holster in Governor Crittenden’s hands, he explained:

‘I have been hunted for twenty-one years, have literally lived in the saddle, have never known a day of perfect peace. It was one long, anxious, inexorable, eternal vigil.’ He then ended his statement by saying, ‘Governor, I haven’t let another man touch my gun since 1861.’

Accounts say that James surrendered with the understanding that he would not be extradited to Northfield, Minnesota”

Reading:

I actually have a different book I am planning on reading soon, but as of this moment I am going to reference a book I recently read from Netgalley called Outlaws of the Wild West (2021) Click there for a link to my review. I’m sure there are better books out there, but it was an interesting look at some of the more notorious Outlaws of the Wild West. Another book that discusses Frank, is Lockdown: Outlaws, Lawmen & Frontier Justice in Jackson County Missouri, which discusses James’ short stay in The Jackson County Jail.

The Trip:

Not much to say other than, it’s real easy to fins, and right in the middle of Independence, MO. I don’t live too far from here, so I don’t have a big travel story for this one.

Conclusion:

There’s not a lot to say about this other than it’s surprising that such a famous person, obviously overshadowed by his brother, is buried in such an innocuous place as a random cemetery in Independence, MO. Aside from the obvious sites in Kearney, Missouri related to the family farm, and final resting place for Jesse, This area is a hotbed for sites related to the James Gang. There is a section in the 1859 Jail in Independence, and a Bank Robbery Museum in Liberty I have yet to make an entry on. If you are a fan of Missouri Outlaws, this is definitely a good area to look around in. Stay tuned for more!

This article is part of my summer series History Boy Summer, which you can keep up with by following this LINK.

#frankJames #Grave #Historical #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #JamesGang #jesseJames #kansasCity #KC #missouri #MuseumTrips #outlaw

Stephen K.

2021-07-14 07:02:17

REVIEW: Outlaws of the Wild West (2021)

A book by Terry C Treadwell

NOTE: I received a free preliminary, and likely unedited copy of this book from Netgalley for the purposes of providing an honest, unbiased review of the material. Thank you to all involved.

I’ve had this book on my Netgalley shelf for a while, so I figured that there was no better time than now to read it. I’m currently on a local history tour, and have visited a few of the very places that are mentioned in this book, so this has definitely come in handy. I have a passing interest in outlaws and Old West gunslingers simply due to being a history buff, and especially the fact that I specialize in Missouri history. However, what keeps me away from deep-diving into a lot of these figures, is that I find a lot of the mythicism centered around a lot of them to be ridiculous at times. I live in the town that Frank James is buried in, and am within a stone’s throw from most of the sites of formative years of the James Gang in general. I wouldn’t even start to count all of the people that are supposedly related to Jesse James that I know, and I’ve heard my share of conspiracy theories about how he faked his death, was actually a spy, lived in Mexico for 40 years etc. I’m amazed that he isn’t still alive and hanging out with Elvis on a UFO.

Thankfully, for better or worse, Outlaws of the Wild West by Terry C Treadwell drops all of that nonsense for a “just the facts” reporting style. While this lacks the nuance I’m used to when reading books about figures such as William Quantrill written in Western Missouri or by specialized Civil War historians, not having the legends creep in is welcome. Being a writer based out of the UK, I was worried that Treadwell would base all of his information from things like films, but thankfully this book is well researched and gives solid information as a starter point for anyone wanting to do a deeper dive. Yeah, he sort of goes through a list of a number of the more famous outlaws, which coincidentally have movies based on them, but that was never his intention for this to be a “movie vs real life” sort of book.

“The ‘Wild West’, or American Frontier as it is also known, developed in the years following the American Civil War. However, this period of myth-making cowboys, infamous gunslingers, not always law-abiding lawmen, and saloon madams, is as much the product of fiction writers and film makers as reality. The outlaw came into his, or indeed her, own in the mid to late 19th century. Some of these individuals, men such as Billy the Kid, William Clarke Quantrill, Butch Cassidy or Harry Longabaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid, became household names. Many of those who roamed America’s West in the period between 1850 and 1900 often appear as colourful, romanticised, legendary characters. This includes the likes of Frank and Jesse James, who had stepped outside the law due to the harshness of life after the Civil War or under circumstances beyond their control. The majority of outlaws, though, were anonymous common criminals. In 1877, for example, the State Adjutant General of Texas, published ‘wanted posters’ for some 5,000 outlaws and bandits in the Rio Grande district alone, almost all of whom have since vanished into the mists of time.”

Each chapter highlights a specific outlaw, with a general history of how they started out, notorious crimes they committed, and information about them usually being captured or killed. Noteworthy members of their respective gangs are highlighted, and in some cases equally notorious lawmen that were after them are discussed. The book is full of photographs, and In some cases they can be pretty morbid. The only surviving photograph of some of these guys are their “death photos” taken after they were hauled in and tossed on a slab after losing a gunfight or being double-crossed. This makes the book have a bit of a procedural true-crime sort of tone that was interesting.

My only quibbles are the aforementioned lack of nuance that isn’t expected in a book like this that lists names. Also, some of the chapters repeat a bit, an example being a chapter on William Quantrill, followed immediately by a separate chapter about his wife Sarah that used some of the same information. this is by no means a deal breaker or anything, but it makes the book feel like a series of essays.

The highlight of the book for me were all of the names I was unfamiliar with. I mentioned earlier that I don’t read about outlaws much, so a lot of the more westerly ones were very interesting. This book gives me a number of ideas of who I need to look up to read more about in the future. One that was really interesting for me was Henry Starr, a man that kept getting hassled for crimes he didn’t commit, making him eventually say “well I guess I better do crimes now”. Then, no matter how many times he said he was going to repent and turn his life around, he would be robbing another bank months later. The man eventually starred in movies about himself until he realized outstanding warrants may make that impossible, so he went back to his passion – robbing banks. I may try to read a book about him alone in the future.

Solid book that I would definitely recommend. Despite my issues, it was worth a read, and it gives me ideas of future things to both visit and read about. I’m not sure I’ll dive headfirst into outlaw books or anything, as I’m still weary of all of the “he was the kindest man around, no matter that he was a mass murderer” sort of thing, but perhaps in this context I may enjoy the topic more.

This review is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK. If you would like a copy of this book check HERE.

#frankJames #Historical #historicalPhoto #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #jesseJames #Kansas #missouri #MuseumTrips #outlaw #outlaws #PenAndSword #PenAndSwordPublishing #western #wildWest #WilliamQuantrill

Outlaws of the Wild West

The ‘Wild West’, or American Frontier as it is also known, developed in the years following the American Civil War. However, this period of myth-making…

^{Pen and Sword Books}

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 5) Second Battle of Independence Historic Markers Driving Tour

I was kind of sad that no local museum really goes over the majority of Price’s Raid of Missouri, I assume The Battle of Westport State Historic Site might concentrate on it, or even Mine Creek, but as of this chapter of my little summer project, I have yet to visit either. Digging through one of the tourism pages for Independence, MO and a site I found to catalogue historic markers called HMdb, I discovered that there were in fact markers for the Independence portion of this. I originally was going to do an old driving tour that they had up in brochure form, but it appeared to consist of stopping at residential houses, and I wasn’t a fan of that – historic markers are fine! I knew about one of these markers since I used to live about 100 feet from it (marker B), but the rest were a mystery. I have pieced together a list for you, if anyone would like to do this, so that you don’t have to research this like crazy like I did. You see also see some of my continuing frustration with how this area takes care of their historic markers, literally right off the bat.

Second Battle of Independence Historic Markers Driving Tour; Independence, MO

For this chapter, I plan to give you all some pictures of the markers, directions to them, and a transcription of what they say if they are unreadable. Sadly, it seems that this area has a bit of an issue with keeping these up, you will notice that markers A and B are especially in bad shape. Luckily a few of them have been overhauled considerably, like C – so there’s hope.

Background:

According to our buddy Wikipedia:

“The Second Battle of Independence was fought on October 22, 1864, as part of Price’s Raid during the American Civil War. In late 1864, Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army led a cavalry force into the state of Missouri in the hopes of creating a popular uprising against Union control, drawing Union Army troops from more important areas, and influencing the 1864 United States Presidential Election. Price was opposed by a combination of Union Army and Kansas State Militia forces positioned near Kansas City and led by Major General Samuel R. Curtis. In addition, Union cavalry under Major General Alfred Pleasonton followed Price from the east. While moving westwards along the Missouri River, Price’s men made contact with Union troops at the Little Blue River on October 21. After forcing the Union soldiers to retreat in the Battle of Little Blue River, the Confederates occupied the city of Independence, Missouri.

On October 22, part of Price’s force pushed Curtis’s men across the Big Blue River, while Pleasonton drove back Confederate defenders from the Little Blue. Confederate troops from the divisions of Major General James F. Fagan and Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke resisted Pleasonton’s advance. Two Union brigades forced the Confederates through Independence, capturing two cannons and 300 men in the process. While Pleasonton brought up two fresh brigades, the Confederates regrouped southwest of town. Further Union pressure drove the defenders back, and fighting continued until after dark. By the end of October 22, almost all of the Confederate forces had fallen back across the Big Blue. The next day, Price was defeated in the Battle of Westport, and his men fell back through Kansas, suffering further defeats on the way before reaching Texas. The Confederates suffered heavy losses during the campaign. The battlefield has since been covered over by the growth of Independence.”Reading:

LINK

My reading for this trip is confusingly Jeffrey Stalnaker’s The Battle of Mine Creek, a book I have already covered at this point. I will likely use this a few times, as the first third of the book (about 50 pages) summarizes the tensions in Missouri and Kansas as well as the entirety of the ill-fated raid that Major General Sterling Price attempted in Missouri. There is a separate book on The Battle of Westport, that I need to read before I eventually go to that site, for all I know it will add even more to my knowledge of the situation. For a link to purchase a copy of this book, click that review link for details.

Honestly the above linked Wikipedia page is also very detailed considering the status of either of these as “minor battles”.
Price’s ill-fated raid, the attempt to take over Missouri ends in a crushing defeat in Westport, and later in Mine Creek in Kansas.

The Trip:

GPS Waypoints:

Marker A: N39 08.211 W94 18.756

Marker B: N39 08.044 W94 18.824

Marker C: N39 08.094 W94 20.495

Marker D: N39 05.529 W94 24.939

Marker E: N39 05.481 W94 25.636

Marker F: N39 05.239 W94 25.941

Or here’s a map I put together using Google Maps:

Marker A:

This was was terrible to get to. I never realized there was a historical marker here and I can see why. This marker is hidden on the side of the highway, with no way to stop at it, and around fifteen feet of thick Brush between the road and the marker itself. I had to pull up to a driveway for a tree farm near the bridge across the Little Blue River, walk along the side of the highway for about 100 yards, crossing the bridge (not something I like to do on foot), and the best shot I could get was a blurry unreadable one. I borrowed a clear picture from HMdb if you want to see what it actually looks like. The fact that there is literally no way to get to this without likely trespassing is somewhat annoying, I wish a small park could be made (Like Marker C) or at least make it accessible through a trail or something.

“Here on the morning of October 21, 1864 General Marmaduke’s Confederate forces attacked Union troops under Colonel Moonlight drawn up on the hill to the west. Federal resistance was fierce until 10 A.M. When General Shelby’s Confederate cavalry moving up on the main road caused Moonlight to fall back to Independence.”

I honestly don’t recommend trying to stop at this marker, I went on an observed holiday and the highway wasn’t very busy. I’m also pretty sure I pissed off the tree farm by using their driveway to park in. There was another pull-off before that I did not see until it was too late, but it would have resulted in a blind reverse situation that would also be not very safe. You can get an Idea of what the Little Blue River may have looked like at Marker B, so there’s that. Please be careful out there! If you do decide to stop, travel East on 24 towards the exit for 7 highway and Fort Osage High School, turn around at the exit, and travel a few miles back. The marker is on the right side just before the bridge over the Little Blue River.

Marker B:

Marker B sits in the parking lot in a small park on Old Lexington Road. The site consists of a covered picnic area, a bike/walking trail (although I saw a ton of bikers there) and two placards – one is marker B, and one is a sign for Price’s Raid. Pictures are both above, and I will post transcriptions.

The Marker:

“Approximately 15,000 troops of Confederate General Sterling Price’s Army of Missouri, including guerrilla leader George Todd, engaged 3,500 Union soldiers under the command of Major General James G. Blunt on the western bluffs of the Little Blue River. With Blunt was Senator James H. Lane and Kansas ‘Red Legs’ under Colonel Charles R. Jennison.

The six hour engagement ended between four and five in the afternoon, with Union forces forced to retreat eight miles west to Independence where a final attempt was made by the Kansas Eleventh Cavalry to hold the town. Price’s Confederate Army of Missouri occupied Independence o the evening of October 21st.”

The Placard for Price’s Raid currently has the appearance of being intentionally broken by somebody – a better version of this same one stands at marker point C. If you walk along the railroad tracks for a bit, you can get a pretty good look at the Little Blue River, in a state pretty close to what I imagine it would have been like then. If you are heading East on 24 towards Buckner, Old Lexington road is a right turn just after you pass Little Blue Parkway. follow it to the end (across railroad tracks) and you will come to the park.

Marker C:

I used to live about two houses down from this marker, I remember when Pokémon Go became a big hit the traffic around this area became somewhat crazy, and it was vandalized or bumped by a car or something at one point. Luckily, since I’ve lived at my current house a chapter of the Missouri State Historical Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution have erected a new versions of everything and cleaned the site up well – currently it looks awesome! As an added bonus, the site is also where the Santa Fe Trail started and there are placards for that as well. To reach marker C, head west on 24 highway from Marker B, and turn right onto Blue Mills Rd then immediately left into the park. It’s right across from a church and cemetery.

Historic Site C

“Moonlight’s Union cavalry brigade, with five guns and 1000 men, was driven from the Little blue River by Marmaduke’s and Shelby’s 5000 Confederates of Price’s Army. Moonlight stopped here and was joined by Jennison’s and Ford’s brigades of Blunt’s division with 10 guns and 2000 men. A defensive line was formed running north and south for a mile. Charges and counter charges continued until 2 PM, when Blunt withdrew. Ford fought a series of delaying actions back into Independence, pursued by Shelby’s dismounted troops.”

Price’s Raid Placard:

“By 11 a.m. on Oct. 20, 1864, Col. Thomas Moonlight had made his first movement after the Little Blue crossing. Maj. Gen. James Blunt received permission from Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis to engage the Confederate and made a rapid movement to this position, deploying the Federal line starting at the Independence-Lexington Road and stretching for about a mile to the south. Blue dismounted his troops, sending every fourth man to the rear to hold the horses. Maj. Gen. John S. Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. Joseph O. Shelby, also dismounted, were just 60 yards over the hill. A cannonade signaled the beginning of the last movement for the battle of the Little Blue. Almost simultaneously Confederate and Federal forces swept forward into the attack. On the Confederate left Marmaduke charged into Col. Charles R. Jennison’s 15th Kansas, the 3rd Wisconsin and 2nd Colorado and Shelby on the right charged the 16th and 11th Kansas. Back and forth along these slopes the fighting was fierce and often hand to hand. After an hour Blunt had pushed the Confederates about a half mile east, but recognizing that his flanks were about to be engulfed,

Blunt ordered a withdrawal back to the heights. Gen. Curtis and staff now came upon the battle and immediately shifted forward Col. W. D. McClain’s artillery, U.S.A., and 2 cannons from the 11th Kansas to a recently ploughed field, leaving them exposed to Rebel sharpshooters. Maj. R. H. Hunt, chief of artillery, U.S.A., shifted 2 more 11th Kansas cannons in support. They opened fire on the Confederates and drove them back, but exposed their left flank. The Confederates increased pressure on the Federal line and further exposed the Federal left flank. Shelby sent Col. Sidney Jackman on the attack. May. Hunt, U.S.A., seeing the attack forming, searched for help and sent for the 11th Kansas Cavalry who were beginning to pull back to Independence.

At about 3 p.m. the fight here had been going on for 4 hours. Gen. Curtis understood that he could not hold Gen. Sterling Price until Federal help could arrive from the east and so he returned to Independence, taking the ammunition wagons with him. Blunt was glad to see him go. Sometime during this fight, Moonlight realized his troops were nearly out of ammunition, but still holding them in line began the troops singing “Rally ‘Round the Flag” in order to bolster their courage. Jennison, with the 15th Kansas, 3rd Wisconsin, and Barker’s Artillery, was holding back Marmaduke on the right in a series of charges and counter charges from rock wall to rack wall, ravine to ravine.

Blunt also realized he must begin his retreat to Independence or face surrender. Forming one line while a second took up a new position, they leap-frogged line this and made stands at the Saunders and Massey farms. Blunt took up his last line of defense on the eastern edge of Independence.

“The Battle continued in Independence on oct. 22, 1864, 6 miles west, and then on to the Battle of the Big Blue at 63rd and Manchester.”

(sidebar)
Lawson Moore House 20309 E. Blue Mills Rd. (private residence)
This home was built in 1856 by Lawson Moore, a prosperous slave owner. In August of 1863 following Order No. 11 Mrs. Moore fled with her children, the oldest 19, the youngest 18 months, to Clay County, never to return. The house had survived several fires and was empty at the time of the battle. On the day of the battle it would serve as the rallying point for Shelby’s command. It was here that he took time to care for this wounded, utilizing the Moore house as a hospital. Surviving accounts would indicate that buried on the property is a mass grave of 18 Confederate soldiers and in a separate location 6 to 8 officers. It is from the draw behind this property that Shelby launched his final attack of the day.

(sidebar)
“About two and one half miles from where the first attack was made, we saw the Second Colorado battery of six fine Parrott guns crossing a field on out right as we were retreating. The rebel advance was within 400 to 500 yards of the battery. Quick work must be done to save the guns, worth a thousand men to us. Colonel Moonlight commanding our brigade came galloping down the line to my company. We were the rear guard. He ordered me to countermarch and charge the enemy with my eighty-eight men in column of eight front. We charged down the road, passing the Little Blue church, straight for the enemy. I saw ahead of me a brick house, just where the road turned from a northerly course straight east, a stone fence dead head of us, and a brick house and stone fence on the right. The rebel cavalry fell back, but a line of infantry occupied the house and were down behind the fence. About 150 yards south of the house between us and the enemy, was a hollow that for a moment or two kept us out of sight and range of their guns.

“As we reached the brow on the hill, a thought flashed through my mind that the first line, in which I was riding, with seven soldiers to my left, would be shot as soon as we came in sight. I clutched the pommel of my saddle and threw myself almost flat on the horse. the volley of bullets came, as I expected. I felt my horse going down, swung my feet clear of the stirrups, and fell on my horse’s neck, unhurt. Geo. W. Edwards, who fired the first shot when we were charging through Lexington the day before, fell on my back, dead. My men saw me fall and thought I was killed. They retreated back into the hollow. I jumped up and ran after them, a perfect hailstorm of bullets buzzing past me. I ordered the men to dismount. every man left his horse in the road. We then jumped the fence into an orchard and charged the brick house, and took it, driving the enemy out; then charged the stone fence and took that. At this moment I heard the yells of 400 to 500 men. Maj. J. Nelson Smith with the first and third battalions of the Second Colorado cavalry, was charging the enemy to save us, and right before us this gallant officer fell dead at the head of his command. I had a chance now to fall back, and found my horses in the hollow where I had left them. The animals showed “horse sense” enough to remain where they were safe from the bullets. This little diversion, costly to my company, saved the Colorado battery.”

Captain Henry E. Palmer, Company A, 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry

Erected by Civil War Round Table of Western Missouri.”

Marker D:

Marker D is in downtown Independence on the Historic Square. It sits basically at the intersection of Main Street and Truman Road, on the left when traveling north on Main Street. I parked at the Courthouse and walked over. If you are there, there are numerous other historical markers in the general vicinity including one for the First Battle of Independence, Andrew Jackson, The Oregon Trail, and even Harry S Truman.

“After heavy fighting at the Little Blue River on the 21st, Price’s Confederate Army forced Blunt’s cavalry to retreat to the Big Blue River, leaving a rear guard in town. Shelby’s Confederates reached town in the late afternoon. After a brisk fight Union troops were driven to the west end of town. Price’s army and wagon train then camped in and around Independence. On the 22nd Pleasonton’s Union Cavalry, pursuing Price from the east, made a mounted charge through town driving Fagan’s Confederates to the west.”

Marker E:

From Marker D, drive on Lexington towards all of the various LDS temples in that area. You can’t really miss it since the Community of Christ building is such an imposing figure in the Independence skyline. The marker sits right in from of that building along the series of flags near the intersection of Lexington and River blvd. I parked in the parking lot of the church across the street from it.

“On the 22nd Fagan’s Division of Price’s Army was defending against the advance of Union Gen. Pleasonton from the east. Two of Fagan’s Brigades were driven from the Little Blue River to the eastern edge of town. The Union attack was made first from the NE with Philips’ Brigade and the Second Arkansas (Union) both on foot. McNeil’s Brigade then charged through town mounted. Cabell’s Brigade came up to stop the Union advance. He was driven back and many of his men were surrounded. Near this spot two of his guns were captured and he barely escaped.”

Marker F:

Finally, we have Marker F, if you turn around and go back West on Lexington towards it’s intersection with Chrysler Ave. Its on the side of the road in the middle of this island that the two roads make, stay right and park in the abandoned restaurant parking lot across from the sign.

“During the Battle of Independence on October 21 ad 22, 1864, this was an unfinished railroad cut. As darkness approached on the 21st, the Confederates advancing from the east stopped here. Union troops withdrew to the Big Blue river during the night. The Confederate Divisions of Marmaduke and Shelby and Price’s wagon train advanced to Rock Creek and camped. On the 22nd Pleasonton’s Union cavalry pursued the Confederates through town and were confronted by Marmaduke’ Division. Fighting continued during the night as the Confederates withdrew to Byram’s Ford on the Big Blue River.”

Conclusion:

That’s it! I’ve never done one of these driving tours before, so this was an interesting excursion on a lazy holiday weekend. I will say that I was irritated with the state of Markers A and B, both in upkeep and travel ability, but the whole experience was cool. It’s hard sometimes to think about where a Civil War battle had taken place until you go around and actually look at the battlefields themselves. I may do another one of these for the first Battle of Independence, so stay tuned. I honestly would prefer a museum to see stuff like this, but having this as an option is better than nothing. The trip also gave me ideas for future installments and I pre-took some pictures for them. With time to stop and look around as well as fumbling with my GPS, the entire thing took about an hour. I picked an insanely hot day to do this, I’d recommend not doing that!

This is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#AmericanCivilWar #civilWar #DrivingTour #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #Kansas #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #militaryHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips

Stephen K.

2021-06-24 03:52:22

REVIEW: The Battle of Mine Creek: The Crushing End of the Missouri Campaign (2011)

A Book by Jeffrey D. Stalnaker

Continuing on with my quest to learn as much as I can about historical sites in the general vicinity of where I live, I decided that I will visit the Battle of Mine Creek State Historical Site sometime in the future, and figured that reading another one of these Civil War books from around a decade ago would help me out a lot. So far, I have really enjoyed these as they are well-written, well-researched, and are generally quick reads, a fact that is a BIG plus for me considering my work schedule. Sometimes Civil War books end up being huge monotonous tomes that, while good sources of information, are not meant for general consumption – so something like this series is greatly appreciated.

“In 1864, Union troops controlled much of the South, Sherman’s men marched with impunity through Georgia and defeat at Gettysburg was a painful and distant memory. The Confederacy needed to stem the tide. Confederate major general Sterling Price led an army of twelve thousand troops on a desperate charge through Missouri to deliver the state to the Confederacy and dash President Lincoln’s hopes for reelection. This daring campaign culminated with the Battle of Mine Creek. A severely outnumbered Union army crushed the Confederate forces in one of the war’s largest and most audacious cavalry charges. Historian Jeff Stalnaker puts the reader in the saddle with the Union troopers as they destroy all hope for Rebel victory in the Trans-Mississippi.”

Book description

In many ways, this book somewhat summarizes the ill-fated Missouri Campaign of Major-General Sterling Price, at least for the first 40 or so pages. Having this background information for battles such as Independence. Lexington II, Kansas City, Westport, Bryam’s Ford and more really gets you prepared for the detailed description of the battle that would ultimately shoot down any dreams of a Confederate Missouri for Price and his superiors alike. I actually though this introductory section was well-done and did not seem tacked on like some other books that deviate down a path that has no bearing on the topic at hand. In many ways, the Battle of Mine Creek was the last shot that Price had to hold onto his “Goldenboy” status gained much earlier in the war, and with that seeming to be more and more in jeopardy due to the string of defeats across the state, it was the only thing keeping him from obscurity as well.

“St. Louis and Jefferson City had been abandoned. The Pro-Union government still reigned in Jefferson City, and Leavenworth became impossible as a target because of the crushing defeat at Westport. This wagon train represented, at this late stage of the campaign, the only tangible evidence that the march through Missouri had experienced any modicum of success. Despite please from many of his subordinates, Price was determined to keep moving with this wagon if for no other reason but to justify his existence. “

Excerpt, page 55

Once we get to the battle itself, it’s a textbook case of allowing the weakest links in your leadership bring everything crashing down, as just about every mistake imaginable was made. Not only did the troops cross the river putting themselves in a spot where they could not escape easily, but they stood in place and just took a full-on cavalry assault until everyone freaked out and started running away. This battle was a decisive win for the Union to such a degree that Price had to leave most of his wagon train there and run away to rebel held territory. Missouri would quietly fade away as a hotspot for the war and everything moved East.

Stalnaker does a great job of telling the tale of this battle in a narrative way that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. There’s a fine line between “just the facts” and embellishing so much that it becomes historical fiction, and he has found a way to keep the story action-packed and exciting without losing site of the information he needs to convey. Out of all of these I’ve read so far, this is probably the best one both from a writing standpoint, and for the amount of information in the book.

I can’t wait to drive back to my homelands (I’m actually from Kansas originally) and visit the State Historical Site for this battle. I feel that this book has armed me with plenty of information that I will need to really be able to appreciate the various things I will see. As with many of these books, I plan to seek additional publications by this author, as he did an excellent job on this and I hope he has written more – whether Missouri/Kansas related or not. Definitely a recommendation from me.

If you would like a copy of this book, please check HERE. This review is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK. Stay tuned for a future installment where I visit the very sites that this book was talking about!

#AmericanCivilWar #BleedingKansas #civilWar #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Kansas #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #militaryHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips #War

Amazon.com

^amzn.to

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 17) First Battle of Independence Walking Tour

Sometimes, it’s good to get outside and take a walk around, I like to do it in conjunction with looking at Historic markers since it gives me a little goal to achieve when walking from point to point. As with my Second Battle of Independence Driving Tour, this was originally from a really old pamphlet that I assume was given out by the city at some point.

Background

According to ol’ Wikipedia:

“During the summer of 1862, many Confederate and Missouri State Guard recruiters were dispatched northward from Arkansas into Missouri to replenish the depleted ranks of Trans-Mississippi forces. Among these were Captain Jo Shelby, Colonel Vard Cockrell, Colonel John T. Coffee, Upton Hays, John Charles Tracy, John T. Hughes, Gideon W. Thompson and DeWitt C. Hunter.

Various guerrillas and bushwhackers, most notably those under William Quantrill, had gathered in Missouri and assisted these recruiters as they worked in the region. For example, Upton Hays was aided by thirty men from Quantrill’s command under the brutal George Todd.[2] By August 1, Hays was camped near Lee’s Summit with 150 men. Additional Confederates continued to infiltrate the area throughout the days that followed.

[…]

Lt. Col. Buel for his part had sent one of his officers, a Captain Breckenridge, scouting for eleven days, but Breckenridge found nothing. Buel became aware of Hays’s camp, however, and prepared to attack it. On the evening of August 10, several citizens warned Buel of an impending assault on the city; many Union residents had already fled. Buel ignored these warnings, but another of his officers, a Captain Rodewald, did not.

[…]

Col. John T. Hughes’s Confederate force, including the partisan leader William Quantrill, attacked Independence before dawn, in two columns using different roads. They drove through the town to the Union Army camp, delivering a deadly volley to the sleeping men. Captain Breckenridge suggested surrender, but Captain Jacob Axline formed the Federal troops behind a rock wall and a nearby ditch while the Confederates rifled through their camp, looking for ammunition. The Rebels made several attacks against Axline’s wall, but never succeeded in taking it. Here Colonel Hughes was killed, while Thompson and Hays were wounded.

Lt. Col. Buel attempted to hold out with part of his force in the bank building he used as his headquarters. He was forced to surrender after an adjacent building was set afire. Through a flag of truce, Buel arranged a meeting with the new Confederate commander, Col. Gideon W. Thompson, who had replaced Colonel Hughes, killed earlier. Buel surrendered, and about 150 of his men were paroled; the remainder had escaped, hidden, or been killed.

Reading

The First Battle of Independence is basically the first half of the Battle of Lone Jack that I visited earlier in the summer. Both books used in that overview hold the same importance here. Lockdown by Paul Kirkman, and Blood on the Streets by Ralph Monaco II.

The trip

The easiest way to go about this, is to make it to the Independence Truman Courthouse, then find a good place to park, the entire thing is only a few blocks and should not take too long. Using the pamplet as a guide, I embarked on my quest – The descriptions are directly from the tour.

Stop 1

1859 Jail & Marshal’s Home 217 N. Main

Looking much like it did the morning of the battle, this building served as headquarters for the Union Provost Guard under the command of Lt. Charles Meryhew. As the rest of the Confederate command continued on to the Union Headquarters George Todd and his men stopped at the jail to attack the guard. Lt. Meryhew’s men fired one volley and abandoned the jail. As Todd was freeing the prisoners he discovered Sheriff Jim Knowles incarcerated in his own jail on a murder charge. Todd promptly killed Knowles as revenge for the earlier ambush killing of Ed Koger and John Little.

Stop 2

Headquarters Guard Building

Under the command of Captain W,H. Rodewald, this is the site of the Headquarters Guard. Here in the early morning hours of August 11, 1862 the Confederate attack was first discovered. The Confederates, tying their horses around the Courthouse Square, began their advance on Buel’s headquarters and the sleeping
Union camp. Firing first from the second story, Rodewald led his men into the street where they fired into the rebels killing Confederate Kit Chiles. Rodewald held this intersection for two hours repulsing three attacks. Buel ordered him into the headquarters building across the street. In the last attack Confederate Major John R. Hart of St. Joseph was mortally wounded.

Stop 3

The McCoy Bank Building

Inside the two story brick bank building LtC Buel made his stand. At approximately 6:30 a.m. when all of the Federals were inside the building Quantrill completed his encirclement. Firing was deadly to anyone showing himself to the enemy. At 7:30 a.m. Buel ordered that the headquarter’s flag be raised to signal the
camp. Discovering the flag was left in the guard room, 16 year old bugler William Bufoe volunteered to retrieve it and in a barrage of bullets he made a barefoot dash across the street returning with the flag. The fight continued for another hour and a half until Quantrill decided to smoke the Federals out. Setting fire to an adjacent wooden structure Quantrill waited. With his position untenable at 9 a.m. Buel surrendered and sent a messenger to the camp with orders to surrender.

Stop 4

The Union Encampment – Lexington & Pleasant

The Union camp — under the command of Captains Jacob Axline and Aaron Thomas — consisted of two companies of the 7th Missouri Cavalry and three companies of the 2nd Battalion Missouri Provisional
Militia. It was located where the Shrine building sets today. The Confederates approached the camp from two directions, Colonel Hughes on Walnut Street and Colonel Thompson on Lexington Street. Taking positions at a board fence behind the houses on Pleasant Street, the Confederates fired a volley into the sleeping Federals. Pandemonium erupted. Captain Axline yelled “Boys get your guns and rally behind the rock fence.”

Stop 5

Union Rallying Point –

Stretching for a mile the rock wall was located down the center of Walnut Street. At the Mormon Visitors Center a gully behind the wall became the Union rallying point. The Confederates charged from the west. Colonel Hughes was killed. Colonel Thompson took command ordering another charge. He fell wounded. Now in command, Colonel Hays ordered five charges against the wall. The Federal position held. Axline, forming his troops to go to the relief of Buel received the surrender order. The First Battle of Independence ended.

Aftermath

Union
26 dead; 74 wounded; 11 later
died; 150 surrendered
Confederate
23 dead; which included 3 Colonels, 2 Majors, 3 Captains, 2 Lieutenants; 9 mortally wounded; 20 wagonloads of much needed supplies were captured Colonels Hughes, Chiles and Boyd were all buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Hughes and Boyd next to each other.

The Historic Marker

On my driving tour of the Second Battle of Independence sites, I came across the historical marker for the first battle. Unfortunately, it is sun-bleached, worn down, and somewhat hard to read. I did however find a better image of it on HMdb.org. Of all the memorials and such outside of the courthouse, this one sadly needs the most repair, here’s hoping it can get a “fresh coat of paint” before too long.

The Battle of Independence was fought at this and other locations on Aug. 11, 1862. On that day, a force of Confederate soldiers launched a dawn surprise attack on the Union garrison stationed at Independence and compelled it to surrender. It was the worst Federal defeat in Missouri since the Battle of Lexington in September of the preceding year. Assisting in the attack was the guerrilla leader, William Quantrill. The Confederate victory was a costly one. Any strategic gain was offset by the loss of several able officers including the commander, Col. John T. Hughes.

The year of 1862 started well for the Northern cause in the Trans-Mississippi West. Victories at Pea Ridge, Ark. in March and at Island No. 10/New Madrid, Mo. the following month seemed to point to secure Federal control of this theater. Two developments, however, were to dispel any such hope for the Union high command. The first was the eruption on Missouri’s western border of a guerrilla warfare that was to grow in viciousness with each succeeding year of the war. The most notable of the guerrilla leaders, William C. Quantrill, was, in early 1862, already acquiring a fearsome reputation for ambushing and killing Yankees. The second development was rooted in the campaign being planned by the Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi theater, Gen. Thomas C. Hindman. By the middle of the summer, this energetic and resourceful officer was developing a strategy to create a third front in the war west of the Mississippi. He proposed to launch an invasion into Missouri from his Arkansas base of operations. A part of his plan called for sending officers, who had been notable Missourians before the war, back into the state to recruit and enroll men in their home neighborhoods and bring them back to Arkansas by fall. They were to cover their operations by fostering an escalation in the guerrilla war. This would keep the Unionists diverted while they went about recruiting.

By late June, the first of these officers, Col. Upton Hays, returned to his home county of Jackson to raise a regiment of cavalry. He sent word ahead to Quantrill to move his band out of the immediate area and keep the Federals occupied; on July 11, Quantrill got into a hot firefight with Union troops at the Battle of the Ravines in northern Cass County.

In the meantime, Hays had managed, by the beginning of August, to gather about 150 men. At their camp, near Lee’s Summit, a Confederate flag flying from a high pole could easily be spotted by potential
recruits but also by Federal lookouts in the cupola of the courthouse in Independence.

On the first of August, Col. John T. Hughes, the ranking Confederate officer, arrived at Hays’ camp with 75 men. He intended to raise a brigade north of the Missouri River, but he feared that his return back across the river would be blocked by the large Federal garrision at Independence. He decided to attack the garrison at once.

Time was of the essence, for if he did not attack the Independence garrison immediately, they could turn the tables by attacking him. Indeed, at that very moment plans were being laid by the Federal commander at Independence, Col. James T. Buel, to clean out the Confederate’s encampment and scatter or capture their recruits.

To carry off his planned assault, Hughes enlisted the aid of Hays and Quantrill, who was back from his diversionary foray. On Aug. 10, this combined force rode to Blue Springs, the staging area for the next day’s assault. Hays’ 300 recruits, plus Quantrill’s 25 guerrillas and Hughes’ force of 75, added up to an attack force of 400 men.

Meanwhile, at Independence, Lt. Col. Buel had between 400 and 500 men to defend his position. This force consisted of three companies of the Seventh Missouri Cavalry, two companies of Col. Newgent’s Second Battalion, Missouri Provisional Militia commanded by Capts. Jacob Axline and Aaron Thomas, and Capt. W. H. Rodewald’s company of the Sixth Regiment of Missouri Militia attached to the Seventh Cavalry.Buel ignored warnings of imminent attack and left his command widely dispersed. He was headquartered in the three-story Southern Bank Building while Capt. Rodewald’s company was across the street in a two story brick building. Both buildings faced Lexington Street and were located approximately in the middle of the next block to the west from where you are presently standing. Lt. Maryhew, acting Provost-Marshal, was stationed a few blocks away at the jail. Located at 217 N. Main St., the jail building is currently a museum operated by the Jackson County Historical Society. One-half mile distant, out of view and earshot of headquarters, the rest of the command was encamped in tents south of Lexington St. on the western edge of the city. The dangerously exposed camp was in a depression; the only protection for the camp was a nearby half-mile long stone fence that ran east-west and came within 90 feet of the southwest corner of the camp. This area is presently occupied by the temple and grounds of the Community of Christ Church, formerly known as the Church of Reorganized Latter Day Saints.

At 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 11, the Confederates quietly rode into town and hitched their horses along the courthouse square (at approximately this location); the attackers then formed up and marched west along Lexington Street and past Buel’s headquarters. This unidentified force of soldiers was nearly past the headquarters before they were finally recognized as the enemy by Capt. Rodewald’s sentries, who opened fire. Capt. Rodewald managed to form his men in the street and fire a volley into the rear ranks of the Confederates. He held his position until about 6 a.m., at which time Buel ordered him into the headquarters building. Quantrill’s men immediately surrounded the building and began to pour a hail of fire into it. The commanding officer was now unable to communicate with his main force or direct a defense against his attackers.

Meanwhile, Hughes’ main force marched in two columns down Lexington and Walnut streets and arrived undetected at the Union camp where they formed behind a wooden fence and opened fire. A murderous volley poured into the tents of the sleeping federals, many of whom were killed or wounded. Capt. Jacob Axline managed to rally the soldiers erupting from their tents and form them behind the nearby stone fence. Behind this shelter, they were able to beat off repeated onslaughts by the enemy.

A Confederate charge at daybreak left the commander, Col. Hughes, dead with a shot through the forehead. Col. G. W. Thompson, next in command, led another unsuccessful charge and took a wound in the knee that put him out of the action. Col. Hays then assumed command. Wisely, he ordered no more charges, but instead exchanged rifle fire with the enemy for the remainder of the engagement. Hays received a wound in the foot. Meanwhile, Capt. Axline was preparing to move his force towards the square to try to reach Buel.

Before Axline could set his force in motion, he received orders from Buel to surrender. Quantrill threatened that he was going to set fire to a small building next to the headquarters building and roast Buel and his men alive in the spreading conflagration. In the sure knowledge that Quantrill could and would carry out this threat, Buel hauled up the white flag and surrendered his whole command.

The aftermath of the Battle of Independence found some 26 Federals dead and 74 wounded; 11 of these later died. A good part of the garrison managed to escape by slipping away before or during the fight, and Lt. Maryhew withdrew his force up Main St. at the beginning of the battle. About 150 troops surrendered. The Union commanders, Buel and Breckinridge, were later tried for conspiracy and cowardice but never convicted.

The price for Confederate victory was 23 killed, and nine mortally wounded. Ten of this number were officers. The dead included three colonels, two majors, three captains, and two lieutenants. Hughes was an especially sad loss as he was one of Missouri’s ablest officers. For this toll, the Confederates secured enough arms and ammunition to equip Hays’ slim regiment, and drove away with 20 wagonloads of plunder.

Five days after the Independence battle, Union and Confederate forces clashed again in Jackson County, this time at the fierce and bloody Battle of Lone Jack. Although the Confederates were again the victors, their triumph was gained at the cost of many casualties and few advantages. Shortly thereafter, in the face of a Union troop build-up in western Missouri, the Confederates, and what recruits they gathered, returned to Arkansas.

To Quantrill and his guerrillas could go much credit for the victory at Independence. Their scouting had revealed the enemy strength and positions and they ably guided Hughes’ force to the battle site. Finally, they forced Buel to surrender, when it appeared that the Confederates would be unable to capture Axline’s command. On Aug. 15, Quantrill’s band was mustered into the Confederate army as partisan rangers, and Quantrill, himself, received a captain’s commission. This mustering hardly meant that Quantrill and his band were now disciplined regulars in the Confederate Army, but they would continue to carry on their bloody style of guerrilla warfare against Federal forces in Missouri with deadly effectiveness.

Conclusion

This is a VERY easy walking tour, and takes just a few minutes to accomplish. While my driving tour of The Second Battle of Independence was sort of a pain, I would definitely recommend this one. If you are getting really frisky, mix this one with a trip to the Historic Truman Courthouse or the 1859 Jail to maximize your day. Hopefully, at some point the historic marker is replaced in front of the court house, that is perhaps the only part of this that was somewhat underwhelming.

This article is part of my summer series History Boy Summer, which you can keep up with by following this LINK.

#AmericanCivilWar #civilWar #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #Kansas #missouri #MuseumTrips #walkingTour #WilliamQuantrill

Stephen K.

2021-07-06 04:46:57

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 5) Second Battle of Independence Historic Markers Driving Tour

I was kind of sad that no local museum really goes over the majority of Price’s Raid of Missouri, I assume The Battle of Westport State Historic Site might concentrate on it, or even Mine Creek, but as of this chapter of my little summer project, I have yet to visit either. Digging through one of the tourism pages for Independence, MO and a site I found to catalogue historic markers called HMdb, I discovered that there were in fact markers for the Independence portion of this. I originally was going to do an old driving tour that they had up in brochure form, but it appeared to consist of stopping at residential houses, and I wasn’t a fan of that – historic markers are fine! I knew about one of these markers since I used to live about 100 feet from it (marker B), but the rest were a mystery. I have pieced together a list for you, if anyone would like to do this, so that you don’t have to research this like crazy like I did. You see also see some of my continuing frustration with how this area takes care of their historic markers, literally right off the bat.

Second Battle of Independence Historic Markers Driving Tour; Independence, MO

For this chapter, I plan to give you all some pictures of the markers, directions to them, and a transcription of what they say if they are unreadable. Sadly, it seems that this area has a bit of an issue with keeping these up, you will notice that markers A and B are especially in bad shape. Luckily a few of them have been overhauled considerably, like C – so there’s hope.

Background:

According to our buddy Wikipedia:

“The Second Battle of Independence was fought on October 22, 1864, as part of Price’s Raid during the American Civil War. In late 1864, Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate States Army led a cavalry force into the state of Missouri in the hopes of creating a popular uprising against Union control, drawing Union Army troops from more important areas, and influencing the 1864 United States Presidential Election. Price was opposed by a combination of Union Army and Kansas State Militia forces positioned near Kansas City and led by Major General Samuel R. Curtis. In addition, Union cavalry under Major General Alfred Pleasonton followed Price from the east. While moving westwards along the Missouri River, Price’s men made contact with Union troops at the Little Blue River on October 21. After forcing the Union soldiers to retreat in the Battle of Little Blue River, the Confederates occupied the city of Independence, Missouri.

On October 22, part of Price’s force pushed Curtis’s men across the Big Blue River, while Pleasonton drove back Confederate defenders from the Little Blue. Confederate troops from the divisions of Major General James F. Fagan and Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke resisted Pleasonton’s advance. Two Union brigades forced the Confederates through Independence, capturing two cannons and 300 men in the process. While Pleasonton brought up two fresh brigades, the Confederates regrouped southwest of town. Further Union pressure drove the defenders back, and fighting continued until after dark. By the end of October 22, almost all of the Confederate forces had fallen back across the Big Blue. The next day, Price was defeated in the Battle of Westport, and his men fell back through Kansas, suffering further defeats on the way before reaching Texas. The Confederates suffered heavy losses during the campaign. The battlefield has since been covered over by the growth of Independence.”Reading:

LINK

My reading for this trip is confusingly Jeffrey Stalnaker’s The Battle of Mine Creek, a book I have already covered at this point. I will likely use this a few times, as the first third of the book (about 50 pages) summarizes the tensions in Missouri and Kansas as well as the entirety of the ill-fated raid that Major General Sterling Price attempted in Missouri. There is a separate book on The Battle of Westport, that I need to read before I eventually go to that site, for all I know it will add even more to my knowledge of the situation. For a link to purchase a copy of this book, click that review link for details.

Honestly the above linked Wikipedia page is also very detailed considering the status of either of these as “minor battles”.
Price’s ill-fated raid, the attempt to take over Missouri ends in a crushing defeat in Westport, and later in Mine Creek in Kansas.

The Trip:

GPS Waypoints:

Marker A: N39 08.211 W94 18.756

Marker B: N39 08.044 W94 18.824

Marker C: N39 08.094 W94 20.495

Marker D: N39 05.529 W94 24.939

Marker E: N39 05.481 W94 25.636

Marker F: N39 05.239 W94 25.941

Or here’s a map I put together using Google Maps:

Marker A:

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This was was terrible to get to. I never realized there was a historical marker here and I can see why. This marker is hidden on the side of the highway, with no way to stop at it, and around fifteen feet of thick Brush between the road and the marker itself. I had to pull up to a driveway for a tree farm near the bridge across the Little Blue River, walk along the side of the highway for about 100 yards, crossing the bridge (not something I like to do on foot), and the best shot I could get was a blurry unreadable one. I borrowed a clear picture from HMdb if you want to see what it actually looks like. The fact that there is literally no way to get to this without likely trespassing is somewhat annoying, I wish a small park could be made (Like Marker C) or at least make it accessible through a trail or something.

“Here on the morning of October 21, 1864 General Marmaduke’s Confederate forces attacked Union troops under Colonel Moonlight drawn up on the hill to the west. Federal resistance was fierce until 10 A.M. When General Shelby’s Confederate cavalry moving up on the main road caused Moonlight to fall back to Independence.”

I honestly don’t recommend trying to stop at this marker, I went on an observed holiday and the highway wasn’t very busy. I’m also pretty sure I pissed off the tree farm by using their driveway to park in. There was another pull-off before that I did not see until it was too late, but it would have resulted in a blind reverse situation that would also be not very safe. You can get an Idea of what the Little Blue River may have looked like at Marker B, so there’s that. Please be careful out there! If you do decide to stop, travel East on 24 towards the exit for 7 highway and Fort Osage High School, turn around at the exit, and travel a few miles back. The marker is on the right side just before the bridge over the Little Blue River.

Marker B:

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Marker B sits in the parking lot in a small park on Old Lexington Road. The site consists of a covered picnic area, a bike/walking trail (although I saw a ton of bikers there) and two placards – one is marker B, and one is a sign for Price’s Raid. Pictures are both above, and I will post transcriptions.

The Marker:

“Approximately 15,000 troops of Confederate General Sterling Price’s Army of Missouri, including guerrilla leader George Todd, engaged 3,500 Union soldiers under the command of Major General James G. Blunt on the western bluffs of the Little Blue River. With Blunt was Senator James H. Lane and Kansas ‘Red Legs’ under Colonel Charles R. Jennison.

The six hour engagement ended between four and five in the afternoon, with Union forces forced to retreat eight miles west to Independence where a final attempt was made by the Kansas Eleventh Cavalry to hold the town. Price’s Confederate Army of Missouri occupied Independence o the evening of October 21st.”

The Placard for Price’s Raid currently has the appearance of being intentionally broken by somebody – a better version of this same one stands at marker point C. If you walk along the railroad tracks for a bit, you can get a pretty good look at the Little Blue River, in a state pretty close to what I imagine it would have been like then. If you are heading East on 24 towards Buckner, Old Lexington road is a right turn just after you pass Little Blue Parkway. follow it to the end (across railroad tracks) and you will come to the park.

Marker C:

I used to live about two houses down from this marker, I remember when Pokémon Go became a big hit the traffic around this area became somewhat crazy, and it was vandalized or bumped by a car or something at one point. Luckily, since I’ve lived at my current house a chapter of the Missouri State Historical Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution have erected a new versions of everything and cleaned the site up well – currently it looks awesome! As an added bonus, the site is also where the Santa Fe Trail started and there are placards for that as well. To reach marker C, head west on 24 highway from Marker B, and turn right onto Blue Mills Rd then immediately left into the park. It’s right across from a church and cemetery.

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Historic Site C

“Moonlight’s Union cavalry brigade, with five guns and 1000 men, was driven from the Little blue River by Marmaduke’s and Shelby’s 5000 Confederates of Price’s Army. Moonlight stopped here and was joined by Jennison’s and Ford’s brigades of Blunt’s division with 10 guns and 2000 men. A defensive line was formed running north and south for a mile. Charges and counter charges continued until 2 PM, when Blunt withdrew. Ford fought a series of delaying actions back into Independence, pursued by Shelby’s dismounted troops.”

Price’s Raid Placard:

“By 11 a.m. on Oct. 20, 1864, Col. Thomas Moonlight had made his first movement after the Little Blue crossing. Maj. Gen. James Blunt received permission from Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis to engage the Confederate and made a rapid movement to this position, deploying the Federal line starting at the Independence-Lexington Road and stretching for about a mile to the south. Blue dismounted his troops, sending every fourth man to the rear to hold the horses. Maj. Gen. John S. Marmaduke and Brig. Gen. Joseph O. Shelby, also dismounted, were just 60 yards over the hill. A cannonade signaled the beginning of the last movement for the battle of the Little Blue. Almost simultaneously Confederate and Federal forces swept forward into the attack. On the Confederate left Marmaduke charged into Col. Charles R. Jennison’s 15th Kansas, the 3rd Wisconsin and 2nd Colorado and Shelby on the right charged the 16th and 11th Kansas. Back and forth along these slopes the fighting was fierce and often hand to hand. After an hour Blunt had pushed the Confederates about a half mile east, but recognizing that his flanks were about to be engulfed,

Blunt ordered a withdrawal back to the heights. Gen. Curtis and staff now came upon the battle and immediately shifted forward Col. W. D. McClain’s artillery, U.S.A., and 2 cannons from the 11th Kansas to a recently ploughed field, leaving them exposed to Rebel sharpshooters. Maj. R. H. Hunt, chief of artillery, U.S.A., shifted 2 more 11th Kansas cannons in support. They opened fire on the Confederates and drove them back, but exposed their left flank. The Confederates increased pressure on the Federal line and further exposed the Federal left flank. Shelby sent Col. Sidney Jackman on the attack. May. Hunt, U.S.A., seeing the attack forming, searched for help and sent for the 11th Kansas Cavalry who were beginning to pull back to Independence.

At about 3 p.m. the fight here had been going on for 4 hours. Gen. Curtis understood that he could not hold Gen. Sterling Price until Federal help could arrive from the east and so he returned to Independence, taking the ammunition wagons with him. Blunt was glad to see him go. Sometime during this fight, Moonlight realized his troops were nearly out of ammunition, but still holding them in line began the troops singing “Rally ‘Round the Flag” in order to bolster their courage. Jennison, with the 15th Kansas, 3rd Wisconsin, and Barker’s Artillery, was holding back Marmaduke on the right in a series of charges and counter charges from rock wall to rack wall, ravine to ravine.

Blunt also realized he must begin his retreat to Independence or face surrender. Forming one line while a second took up a new position, they leap-frogged line this and made stands at the Saunders and Massey farms. Blunt took up his last line of defense on the eastern edge of Independence.

“The Battle continued in Independence on oct. 22, 1864, 6 miles west, and then on to the Battle of the Big Blue at 63rd and Manchester.”

(sidebar)
Lawson Moore House 20309 E. Blue Mills Rd. (private residence)
This home was built in 1856 by Lawson Moore, a prosperous slave owner. In August of 1863 following Order No. 11 Mrs. Moore fled with her children, the oldest 19, the youngest 18 months, to Clay County, never to return. The house had survived several fires and was empty at the time of the battle. On the day of the battle it would serve as the rallying point for Shelby’s command. It was here that he took time to care for this wounded, utilizing the Moore house as a hospital. Surviving accounts would indicate that buried on the property is a mass grave of 18 Confederate soldiers and in a separate location 6 to 8 officers. It is from the draw behind this property that Shelby launched his final attack of the day.

(sidebar)
“About two and one half miles from where the first attack was made, we saw the Second Colorado battery of six fine Parrott guns crossing a field on out right as we were retreating. The rebel advance was within 400 to 500 yards of the battery. Quick work must be done to save the guns, worth a thousand men to us. Colonel Moonlight commanding our brigade came galloping down the line to my company. We were the rear guard. He ordered me to countermarch and charge the enemy with my eighty-eight men in column of eight front. We charged down the road, passing the Little Blue church, straight for the enemy. I saw ahead of me a brick house, just where the road turned from a northerly course straight east, a stone fence dead head of us, and a brick house and stone fence on the right. The rebel cavalry fell back, but a line of infantry occupied the house and were down behind the fence. About 150 yards south of the house between us and the enemy, was a hollow that for a moment or two kept us out of sight and range of their guns.

“As we reached the brow on the hill, a thought flashed through my mind that the first line, in which I was riding, with seven soldiers to my left, would be shot as soon as we came in sight. I clutched the pommel of my saddle and threw myself almost flat on the horse. the volley of bullets came, as I expected. I felt my horse going down, swung my feet clear of the stirrups, and fell on my horse’s neck, unhurt. Geo. W. Edwards, who fired the first shot when we were charging through Lexington the day before, fell on my back, dead. My men saw me fall and thought I was killed. They retreated back into the hollow. I jumped up and ran after them, a perfect hailstorm of bullets buzzing past me. I ordered the men to dismount. every man left his horse in the road. We then jumped the fence into an orchard and charged the brick house, and took it, driving the enemy out; then charged the stone fence and took that. At this moment I heard the yells of 400 to 500 men. Maj. J. Nelson Smith with the first and third battalions of the Second Colorado cavalry, was charging the enemy to save us, and right before us this gallant officer fell dead at the head of his command. I had a chance now to fall back, and found my horses in the hollow where I had left them. The animals showed “horse sense” enough to remain where they were safe from the bullets. This little diversion, costly to my company, saved the Colorado battery.”

Captain Henry E. Palmer, Company A, 11th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry

Erected by Civil War Round Table of Western Missouri.”

Marker D:

Marker D is in downtown Independence on the Historic Square. It sits basically at the intersection of Main Street and Truman Road, on the left when traveling north on Main Street. I parked at the Courthouse and walked over. If you are there, there are numerous other historical markers in the general vicinity including one for the First Battle of Independence, Andrew Jackson, The Oregon Trail, and even Harry S Truman.

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“After heavy fighting at the Little Blue River on the 21st, Price’s Confederate Army forced Blunt’s cavalry to retreat to the Big Blue River, leaving a rear guard in town. Shelby’s Confederates reached town in the late afternoon. After a brisk fight Union troops were driven to the west end of town. Price’s army and wagon train then camped in and around Independence. On the 22nd Pleasonton’s Union Cavalry, pursuing Price from the east, made a mounted charge through town driving Fagan’s Confederates to the west.”

Marker E:

From Marker D, drive on Lexington towards all of the various LDS temples in that area. You can’t really miss it since the Community of Christ building is such an imposing figure in the Independence skyline. The marker sits right in from of that building along the series of flags near the intersection of Lexington and River blvd. I parked in the parking lot of the church across the street from it.

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“On the 22nd Fagan’s Division of Price’s Army was defending against the advance of Union Gen. Pleasonton from the east. Two of Fagan’s Brigades were driven from the Little Blue River to the eastern edge of town. The Union attack was made first from the NE with Philips’ Brigade and the Second Arkansas (Union) both on foot. McNeil’s Brigade then charged through town mounted. Cabell’s Brigade came up to stop the Union advance. He was driven back and many of his men were surrounded. Near this spot two of his guns were captured and he barely escaped.”

Marker F:

Finally, we have Marker F, if you turn around and go back West on Lexington towards it’s intersection with Chrysler Ave. Its on the side of the road in the middle of this island that the two roads make, stay right and park in the abandoned restaurant parking lot across from the sign.

“During the Battle of Independence on October 21 ad 22, 1864, this was an unfinished railroad cut. As darkness approached on the 21st, the Confederates advancing from the east stopped here. Union troops withdrew to the Big Blue river during the night. The Confederate Divisions of Marmaduke and Shelby and Price’s wagon train advanced to Rock Creek and camped. On the 22nd Pleasonton’s Union cavalry pursued the Confederates through town and were confronted by Marmaduke’ Division. Fighting continued during the night as the Confederates withdrew to Byram’s Ford on the Big Blue River.”

Conclusion:

That’s it! I’ve never done one of these driving tours before, so this was an interesting excursion on a lazy holiday weekend. I will say that I was irritated with the state of Markers A and B, both in upkeep and travel ability, but the whole experience was cool. It’s hard sometimes to think about where a Civil War battle had taken place until you go around and actually look at the battlefields themselves. I may do another one of these for the first Battle of Independence, so stay tuned. I honestly would prefer a museum to see stuff like this, but having this as an option is better than nothing. The trip also gave me ideas for future installments and I pre-took some pictures for them. With time to stop and look around as well as fumbling with my GPS, the entire thing took about an hour. I picked an insanely hot day to do this, I’d recommend not doing that!

This is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#AmericanCivilWar #civilWar #DrivingTour #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #Kansas #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #militaryHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips

The Historical Marker Database

Public history cast in metal, carved on stone, permanently marked.

^www.hmdb.org

REVIEW: Pioneer Trails Adventures [History Tour]

For More information Click HERE

I have seen this tour wagon on Independence Square in Independence, Missouri many times, but never had a chance to do it until now. Being able to take the tour happened purely by chance as the little dude and I visited the 1859 Jail and Marshall’s Home to get a museum passport book stamped (and to see a new section that was refurbished, maybe another article will be warrened) one more time, and stumbled on the mule-driven cart waiting for a 4:00 PM tour. He was more than happy to sit with us for a while and offer us a spot on the tour which we accepted. Prices are pretty good for an hour and a half tour – $30 for adults and $10 for children. He has stuff for sale in his wagon, and allows people to eat and drink while the tour goes on, which is pretty surprising.

Pioneer Trails Adventures, Independence, MO

Ralph Goldsmith is a great tour guide, and gives a pretty comprehensive tour of Independence’s Historic spots of interest in a somewhat short amount of time. Highlights include:

• The first Battle of Independence – which I discussed here
• The Second Battle of Independence – which I discussed here
• Frank and Jesse James – which I discussed here and here, and here
• William C. Quantrill and his raiders – which I discussed here and here
• Harry S. Truman’s Life – which I discussed here
• The Civil War in Missouri, including General Order No. 11 – which I discussed here
• Local industries including Waggoner-Gates Milling Co – which I discussed here and here
• Wild Bill’s run-ins with locals
• The Santa Fe Trail – which I discussed here and here
• War Veterans
• and finally….Mules in the “Old West”

As you can see, I’ve done a lot of the stuff covered on the tour myself, but for most folks this would be an AMAZING jumping on point for local history. You can get a good sense of what happened in a number of historic sites for a relatively small time commitment and price. This tour is amazing way to get started on local history with the added perk of riding on a mule-drawn wagon. It’s great for kids, and fun for all ages.

Background:

“At first, all Ralph dreamed of was a simple ride around the Independence Square; “carriage therapy,” a bit of relaxation in a hectic world. But it didn’t take him long to realize Independence visitors and residents had access to the site of Harry S Truman’s first job. Not to mention, the courthouse that the future president built. Just a block down was the jail that held “the most dangerous outlaw in the world,” Frank James. Nearby was a marker commemorating the tremendous 2nd Battle of Independence. Names like “William Clark Quantrill” and “George Caleb Bingham” kept popping up. Who were they? As he began researching, Ralph discovered a vein of historic gold as rich as anything struck in California. So Pioneer Trails Adventures was born. An educational wagon ride through history! “

From the above website

Reading:

Ralph wrote a short autobiography about his dream of starting his own business and the unique opportunities and problems that come from being a historical tour guide. It’s a short book, and somewhat more religious than I enjoy, but nonetheless a cool look at a prominent fixture of this city. A review will be forthcoming.

The Trip:

Ralph usually parks outside of the Truman Visitor’s Center on the corner of Truman and Main Street. One can wait for him to be there on a weekend or arrange for a tour on his website. This location is right next to the 1859 Jail, so I would recommend doing both at the same time as he talks about the jail extensively. I live in Independence, so any reports on traffic and such are pretty insignificant. While you’re there check out the Scandinavian store a few businesses down, it’s pretty cool as well.

Conclusion:

I’ve been on paid tours before in the past, and there are very few as engaging and worthwhile as this tour. Even with my knowledge of local history, the fun anecdotes, character voices, and overall humor in the tour is great. Ralph engages with children and loves entertaining. If you live in the overall Kansas City area, I’d recommend this whole-heartedly.

#Historical #HistoricalHouse #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #Kansas #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #pioneer #tour

Stephen K.

2021-07-04 08:08:26

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 4) 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum

So far we’ve seen an old fort, the site of a two different Civil War battles, and read a bunch of books; now its time for something a little different!

1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum: Independence, MO

For this edition of “History Boy Summer” I am once again visiting a site that I have yet to visit in the past. Nestled right in the middle of downtown Independence, MO this is a blink and you miss it sort of situation but a cool place to see. You can tell that, as time moved on, this jail was somewhat obscured with other buildings being set right next to it, almost making it hard to find. Good news is that my GPS took me right to it, and there was ample parking in the rear of the building. The museum has a VERY narrow timeframe of people to plan visits (just Thurs-Sat), so I had to do the trip before work on a Thursday afternoon, which isn’t my ideal timeframe for this. I had the little guy with me, and went through a quick self-guided tour of everything, although I’d like to go back myself at some point for an actual guided tour. I’ve mentioned before that some museums are more kid friendly than others, and this one is somewhat on the “not so kid friendly” side of things. That said, we made it work, and had a fun day!

Background:

Via, the website sponsored by the Jackson County Historical Society. No Wikipedia this time!

In 1958, a used building materials dealer nearly got permission to demolish the Marshal’s Home and Jail and the right to claim the salvaged stone, brick and timber as the price for his work. The abandoned buildings were given a new lease on life when a group of civic minded citizens realized that there was yet another historic role for the unassuming two-story house at the corner of Main Street and what is now Truman Road. […]The marshal or the jailer lived with his family in the Marshal’s residence, which was the front half of the structure. The wife often cooked meals for the prisoners, as well as her own family, in a small kitchen at the back of the house. The Marshal was paid about $50 per month, plus the use of the house, for his services. The marshal’s office formed part of the residence, where he would work with his deputies and the jailor. This office had a separate entryway from the house. […]

During the American Civil War, the jail held both military and civilian prisoners, and served as the U.S. Provost Marshal’s office. William Clark Quantrill, the famous Confederate guerrilla leader, was briefly incarcerated there, as were those who refused to take a pro-Union loyalty oath. William Quantrill, met an angry mob upon his release from the facility. Scores of women and children were detained behind bars in the jail during Order Number 11. After the war, its most famous inmate was Frank James, the older brother to the famous outlaw Jesse James. Frank James spent 112 days in the jail. During his time at the jail, James’ cell was furnished with a Brussels carpet, fine furniture and paintings, and he was permitted free run of the jail and hosted card games in his cell at night. Frank James’ cell is preserved as it was when he occupied it, as part of the modern museum.

– JCHS

• 
• 

Reading(s):

My readings for this edition were: Lock Down: Outlaws, Lawmen & Frontier Justice in Jackson County, Missouri (2012) By David W. Jackson and Blood on the Streets: The Civil War comes to Jackson County, Missouri, August 1862 by Ralph A. Monaco II. The former is specifically about the jail, and the latter is a book I already used for my article on the Battle of Lone Jack State Historical Site, it’s useful because it has a section on how the jail came into play during the First Battle of Independence. Both books have purchase links in their respective review pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The Trip:

As I stated before, this site is located right in the middle of downtown Independence, not too far from the Court House. This site consists of the main jailhouse, two stories tall with one story available to peruse, the Marshal’s house, a courtyard, a museum wing, and an old school building that was relocated to the site in the 1960’s. I was unable to see the schoolhouse nor the courtyard during my visit due to the little guy being somewhat of a handful, but that gives me something to do next time.

I was most interested to visit this site due to the fact that the jail served as one of the focal points of a minor Civil war battle – The First Battle of Independence on August 11, 1862. Since I have rekindled my love of learning about the Civil War, things like this are always awesome for me. George Todd, a prominent Missouri guerilla leader, made it a point to raid the jail during the fighting. Since the jail was being used to house people that refused to take a Union loyalty oath, and others that may have even been suspected guerilla fighters, it was seen as a fertile recruitment center for the cause. In a stroke of sheer luck, Todd discovered that City Marshal James Knowles was in a cell, being jailed for the killing of a rowdy citizen without due process. Todd also had a prisoner named Aaron Thomas that he blamed for a recent raid against the group. Both men were executed in the jail itself. Fun fact – George Todd was later killed at the Second Battle of Independence, in 1864. It seems the City would get it’s revenge at some point.

The museum itself does not dwell too much on this chapter in the jail’s history, however, Civil War era items come into play during the guided tour. One can learn things such as the jail’s use during the war, and how it helped house those who refused to show loyalty to the Union. There is also discussion on the brief period of time where the jail housed a young William C. Quantrill after he flipped allegiances during an abolitionist raid and was near being hanged by the townspeople for his act of treachery. One can only imagine how history might have changed, had that event come to pass.

The jail itself is pretty spooky due to the antiquated cells, shackles and bleak living conditions of the time. If you are into the paranormal at all, consider this: Think of the emotion of being torn from your home and tossed in jail for not pledging allegiance to the Union, or the fear felt in the handful of murders that happened on the premises. Whether you believe in ghosts or perhaps residual energy (like the Stone Tape Theory), the jail feels like it has the heavy “must be haunted” sort of feeling. I know that in the autumn, they have special ghost tours of the property, so maybe I’m not too far off. I know that’s not for everyone, but I keep an open mid with that sort of thing.
Frank James
I was quite taken aback with how close the jail was to the Marshal’s house – the site where the Jail’s Marshal and his family would have stayed while administering the building. On the second floor, a door to a child’s room is basically directly across from the upper wing of the jail, with such a close proximity that I’m sure children could have easily heard inmates conversations. Since one always hear about jailbreaks and such, it’s crazy to me that a family would live that close to possible thieves and murderers, but it was the time back then. I’ve heard Alcatraz had a similar living situation for staff. The marshal’s house is decorated with period furnishings and other items to make it look similar to what it could have been like in that time period. The study has antique desks, the parlor has an old piano and other items, and bedrooms are filled with things such as children’s toys.

The museum portion of the building is pretty interesting, showing off a number of artifacts including shackles and even shivs confiscated by jailers. There are a number of exhibits for the most noteworthy incarcerated individuals that were housed there. I mentioned Quantrill earlier, but perhaps the most notable of all inmates was Frank James of the infamous James gang. James was sent to Jail for 112 days for the murder of Captain John Sheets at a robbery in Gallatin, Missouri. During his stay, he was permitted to roam the halls, and lived in a comfortably furnished cell that has been recreated in one of the first floor jail cells. Other notable inmates include Reverend Abner Deane, who was imprisoned at the 1859 Jail after the Civil War because he refused to sign the “Ironclad Oath” to the Union and a woman named Rose Jenkins, who was likely not that noteworthy but is one of the few extant female mugshots on file, showing that female prisoners were also present.
Public workhouse at the former jail
Later portions of the museum talk about the turn of the century and the jail’s later use as a public workhouse. According to the JCHS website: “The Jail and Marshal’s Home was decommissioned in 1933. After the last jailer hung up his keys, Jackson County found a use for the jail and home when it housed several offices, work training programs, and government bureaus during the Great Depression. There were many public work programs that operated in the old jail. Sewing, canning, and ironing were just a few jobs that gave people viable work during the Depression.”

The site includes a giftshop that boasts a large collection of local history books curated by the JCHS, I was able to find one specifically about the Civil War in this area that I will read eventually for this series. Items for children include things like cup and ball games and Jacob’s ladders.

Conclusion:

This was a fun little day trip idea if you are around Independence Square and have a hour or so to kill. It’s not a huge museum, but the quality of the artifacts and importance to the city itself are immeasurable. Like stated before, this isn’t the best place for VERY small children, but older kids should have fun. During the fall, The JCHS runs ghost tours and paranormal investigations of some nature, which may just be something I do this year assuming I can snag a ticket. I was unable to see everything during my visit and will likely go back at some point to see The small schoolhouse and the courtyard. Keep your eyes peeled for an addendum if that happens!

This is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#AmericanCivilWar #civilWar #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #incarceration #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #Jail #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #militaryHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips #prison

History of the Jail — JCHS

​

^{Jackson County Historic Truman Courthouse}

REVIEW: 1859 Jail and Marshal’s Home in Independence, MO – Update [History Tour]

When my son and I first started this series of local history daytrips, I basically went onto Google, ran a search for “Museums near me” and started plugging away at the list. Due to the relative proximity to my house, and the fact that I had never gone there before, we went to the Jackson County 1859 Jail and Marshal’s House located in downtown Independence, Missouri fairly early on, and there were always a couple of reasons I wanted to go back. Later this month, I hope to eventually talk about my experiences with a children’s passport program we participated in through the Jackson County Historical Society, and since this site was on the list, we went back to get the stamp and see two things we missed before. First and foremost, we wanted to see the second floor cellblock, an area that had been off-limits for a while, but was recently fixed and deemed structurally sound enough to walk on. Secondly, we were not able to see a small schoolhouse located in the back area of the Jail’s grounds before. I don’t even remember exactly why we missed it before, but I think there was a group out there, and I didn’t want to intrude. Was the second trip worth it, keep reading to find out!

The 1859 Jail and Marshal’s Home; Independence, MO

To see the previous article regarding this location, click HERE

I would recommend doing this site in conjunction with a Pioneer Trails Adventure

Background:

From the official website:

“Jackson County constructed this residence and the hidden limestone jail from streetview at 217 Main St. in Independence in 1859. It was built to house the criminals of the early years of this county. This building is one of the oldest surviving structures in Jackson County. Unlock the history of the jailers and their families who lived at the residence and the criminals who occupied the cells. Today you can see the cell where Frank James lived for six months, the home where jailers and county deputy marshals lived, the office of the Jackson County marshal, and touch the mighty limestone and tremendous iron doors guarding each cell.”

Regarding this articles highlighted areas in particular:

The School:

” Located in the courtyard of the Jail site is a one-room schoolhouse. The school was built in the early 1870s by William and Mary Howard for the education of their children. Originally it stood behind the Howard family home in Lee’s Summit and was moved to its present site in 1959. The 12-by-16 foot frame building is completely restored and is a perfect example of an elementary school from that day. The school was given to the Jackson County Historical Society by William T. Howard, a grandson of the builder. During the Civil War, William Bullitt Howard was a prominent landholder in Jackson County, founder of Lee’s Summit, and was a known Southern sympathizer. He was arrested by a Union officer in command in Independence and with his brother-in-law, spent one month in the old jail. His release came after he paid a large sum of money and agreed to move his family to Kentucky for the duration of the war.”

The Refurbished Second Floor:

“The 1859 portion of the jail consisted of six upstairs and six downstairs cells, with two-foot thick walls of limestone blocks. A single kerosene lamp in the hallway provided the only light at night. Two doors, one of grated iron and one of solid iron, were provided for each cell. A window covered with grated iron permitted wind and natural light from the outside to enter the cell. The cells were not heated or cooled. Some prisoners incarcerated inside died of exposure during the jail’s history. Each cell was six by nine feet and designed to hold three prisoners, though, during the Civil War, as many as twenty prisoners were confined in each one.”

Reading(s):

Re-posted from my previous article:

Reading(s):

My readings for this edition were: Lock Down: Outlaws, Lawmen & Frontier Justice in Jackson County, Missouri (2012) By David W. Jackson and Blood on the Streets: The Civil War comes to Jackson County, Missouri, August 1862 by Ralph A. Monaco II. The former is specifically about the jail, and the latter is a book I already used for my article on the Battle of Lone Jack State Historical Site, it’s useful because it has a section on how the jail came into play during the First Battle of Independence. Both books have purchase links in their respective review pages.

The Trip:

The Refurbished Second Floor:

As stated before, this area was off-limits before and the best I could get was a picture of the closed-off area, This time we were able to walk in and look at the cells. They were literally the same as the lower-level cells, but since those are now packed full of interpretive signs, this is a good way to see one as it would have been a long time ago.

The Schoolhouse:

If you’ve seen one small one-room schoolhouse, you have basically seen them all, but this is still a cool thing to visit. It’s crazy to me that a community’s entire child population would pile into one of these and somehow not be unbearably cramped. This is a cool opportunity to show a younger kid what school life would have been like in the past, my sone was definitely surprised to find out that children of all ages would be together, and that they had to walk there in all sorts of bad weather!

Conclusion:

Despite the small size of the 1859 Jail and Marshal’s House located in downtown Independence, Missouri compared to other museums, there is a LOT to do and great information to learn. If you are a history buff, Civil war buff, a true crime buff, or even just somebody in the area looking for something to do, this is a great inexpensive way to spend your day. So, to answer my question – yes, it was a worthwhile trip to visit this a second time in a year, and maybe I’ll do it again next year! One thing I’d love to do is be part of one of their paranormal tours, so perhaps that will be awaiting me in the relative near future.

See More:

For more Missouri/Kansas Area historical daytrips and any accompanying material, click HERE

#1859 #AmericanCivilWar #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #Jail #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #missouri #MO

Stephen K.

2021-07-04 08:08:26

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 4) 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum

So far we’ve seen an old fort, the site of a two different Civil War battles, and read a bunch of books; now its time for something a little different!

1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum: Independence, MO

For this edition of “History Boy Summer” I am once again visiting a site that I have yet to visit in the past. Nestled right in the middle of downtown Independence, MO this is a blink and you miss it sort of situation but a cool place to see. You can tell that, as time moved on, this jail was somewhat obscured with other buildings being set right next to it, almost making it hard to find. Good news is that my GPS took me right to it, and there was ample parking in the rear of the building. The museum has a VERY narrow timeframe of people to plan visits (just Thurs-Sat), so I had to do the trip before work on a Thursday afternoon, which isn’t my ideal timeframe for this. I had the little guy with me, and went through a quick self-guided tour of everything, although I’d like to go back myself at some point for an actual guided tour. I’ve mentioned before that some museums are more kid friendly than others, and this one is somewhat on the “not so kid friendly” side of things. That said, we made it work, and had a fun day!

Background:

Via, the website sponsored by the Jackson County Historical Society. No Wikipedia this time!

In 1958, a used building materials dealer nearly got permission to demolish the Marshal’s Home and Jail and the right to claim the salvaged stone, brick and timber as the price for his work. The abandoned buildings were given a new lease on life when a group of civic minded citizens realized that there was yet another historic role for the unassuming two-story house at the corner of Main Street and what is now Truman Road. […]The marshal or the jailer lived with his family in the Marshal’s residence, which was the front half of the structure. The wife often cooked meals for the prisoners, as well as her own family, in a small kitchen at the back of the house. The Marshal was paid about $50 per month, plus the use of the house, for his services. The marshal’s office formed part of the residence, where he would work with his deputies and the jailor. This office had a separate entryway from the house. […]

During the American Civil War, the jail held both military and civilian prisoners, and served as the U.S. Provost Marshal’s office. William Clark Quantrill, the famous Confederate guerrilla leader, was briefly incarcerated there, as were those who refused to take a pro-Union loyalty oath. William Quantrill, met an angry mob upon his release from the facility. Scores of women and children were detained behind bars in the jail during Order Number 11. After the war, its most famous inmate was Frank James, the older brother to the famous outlaw Jesse James. Frank James spent 112 days in the jail. During his time at the jail, James’ cell was furnished with a Brussels carpet, fine furniture and paintings, and he was permitted free run of the jail and hosted card games in his cell at night. Frank James’ cell is preserved as it was when he occupied it, as part of the modern museum.

– JCHS

• 
• 

Reading(s):

My readings for this edition were: Lock Down: Outlaws, Lawmen & Frontier Justice in Jackson County, Missouri (2012) By David W. Jackson and Blood on the Streets: The Civil War comes to Jackson County, Missouri, August 1862 by Ralph A. Monaco II. The former is specifically about the jail, and the latter is a book I already used for my article on the Battle of Lone Jack State Historical Site, it’s useful because it has a section on how the jail came into play during the First Battle of Independence. Both books have purchase links in their respective review pages.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The Trip:

As I stated before, this site is located right in the middle of downtown Independence, not too far from the Court House. This site consists of the main jailhouse, two stories tall with one story available to peruse, the Marshal’s house, a courtyard, a museum wing, and an old school building that was relocated to the site in the 1960’s. I was unable to see the schoolhouse nor the courtyard during my visit due to the little guy being somewhat of a handful, but that gives me something to do next time.

I was most interested to visit this site due to the fact that the jail served as one of the focal points of a minor Civil war battle – The First Battle of Independence on August 11, 1862. Since I have rekindled my love of learning about the Civil War, things like this are always awesome for me. George Todd, a prominent Missouri guerilla leader, made it a point to raid the jail during the fighting. Since the jail was being used to house people that refused to take a Union loyalty oath, and others that may have even been suspected guerilla fighters, it was seen as a fertile recruitment center for the cause. In a stroke of sheer luck, Todd discovered that City Marshal James Knowles was in a cell, being jailed for the killing of a rowdy citizen without due process. Todd also had a prisoner named Aaron Thomas that he blamed for a recent raid against the group. Both men were executed in the jail itself. Fun fact – George Todd was later killed at the Second Battle of Independence, in 1864. It seems the City would get it’s revenge at some point.

The museum itself does not dwell too much on this chapter in the jail’s history, however, Civil War era items come into play during the guided tour. One can learn things such as the jail’s use during the war, and how it helped house those who refused to show loyalty to the Union. There is also discussion on the brief period of time where the jail housed a young William C. Quantrill after he flipped allegiances during an abolitionist raid and was near being hanged by the townspeople for his act of treachery. One can only imagine how history might have changed, had that event come to pass.

The jail itself is pretty spooky due to the antiquated cells, shackles and bleak living conditions of the time. If you are into the paranormal at all, consider this: Think of the emotion of being torn from your home and tossed in jail for not pledging allegiance to the Union, or the fear felt in the handful of murders that happened on the premises. Whether you believe in ghosts or perhaps residual energy (like the Stone Tape Theory), the jail feels like it has the heavy “must be haunted” sort of feeling. I know that in the autumn, they have special ghost tours of the property, so maybe I’m not too far off. I know that’s not for everyone, but I keep an open mid with that sort of thing.
Frank James
I was quite taken aback with how close the jail was to the Marshal’s house – the site where the Jail’s Marshal and his family would have stayed while administering the building. On the second floor, a door to a child’s room is basically directly across from the upper wing of the jail, with such a close proximity that I’m sure children could have easily heard inmates conversations. Since one always hear about jailbreaks and such, it’s crazy to me that a family would live that close to possible thieves and murderers, but it was the time back then. I’ve heard Alcatraz had a similar living situation for staff. The marshal’s house is decorated with period furnishings and other items to make it look similar to what it could have been like in that time period. The study has antique desks, the parlor has an old piano and other items, and bedrooms are filled with things such as children’s toys.

The museum portion of the building is pretty interesting, showing off a number of artifacts including shackles and even shivs confiscated by jailers. There are a number of exhibits for the most noteworthy incarcerated individuals that were housed there. I mentioned Quantrill earlier, but perhaps the most notable of all inmates was Frank James of the infamous James gang. James was sent to Jail for 112 days for the murder of Captain John Sheets at a robbery in Gallatin, Missouri. During his stay, he was permitted to roam the halls, and lived in a comfortably furnished cell that has been recreated in one of the first floor jail cells. Other notable inmates include Reverend Abner Deane, who was imprisoned at the 1859 Jail after the Civil War because he refused to sign the “Ironclad Oath” to the Union and a woman named Rose Jenkins, who was likely not that noteworthy but is one of the few extant female mugshots on file, showing that female prisoners were also present.
Public workhouse at the former jail
Later portions of the museum talk about the turn of the century and the jail’s later use as a public workhouse. According to the JCHS website: “The Jail and Marshal’s Home was decommissioned in 1933. After the last jailer hung up his keys, Jackson County found a use for the jail and home when it housed several offices, work training programs, and government bureaus during the Great Depression. There were many public work programs that operated in the old jail. Sewing, canning, and ironing were just a few jobs that gave people viable work during the Depression.”

The site includes a giftshop that boasts a large collection of local history books curated by the JCHS, I was able to find one specifically about the Civil War in this area that I will read eventually for this series. Items for children include things like cup and ball games and Jacob’s ladders.

Conclusion:

This was a fun little day trip idea if you are around Independence Square and have a hour or so to kill. It’s not a huge museum, but the quality of the artifacts and importance to the city itself are immeasurable. Like stated before, this isn’t the best place for VERY small children, but older kids should have fun. During the fall, The JCHS runs ghost tours and paranormal investigations of some nature, which may just be something I do this year assuming I can snag a ticket. I was unable to see everything during my visit and will likely go back at some point to see The small schoolhouse and the courtyard. Keep your eyes peeled for an addendum if that happens!

This is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#AmericanCivilWar #civilWar #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #incarceration #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #Jail #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #militaryHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips #prison

History of the Jail — JCHS

​

^{Jackson County Historic Truman Courthouse}

REVIEW: Lock Down: Outlaws, Lawmen and Frontier Justice in Jackson County, Missouri (2012)

Prior to my trip to Independence, Missouri’s 1859 Jackson County Jail and Marshal’s Home, I wanted to make sure I was prepared with a reading (as I do with this series). I was quite surprised to find this very specialized, and seemingly way to specific book on Amazon, not realizing it was somewhat of a souvenir book that was created for the museums very own giftshop. That said, this book is in no way flimsy, nor a mere retelling of the museum exhibit – it’s a history of Jackson County, itself, in many ways.

Starting with the expedition of Lewis and Clark and the founding of Fort Osage, this books moves from different times in the history of the area using law enforcement as the main lynchpin. We get descriptions of the very first log cabin-styled jail in the area, a newer brick jail, then the jail the majority of the book is about. The book chronicles all of the early sheriffs, and how the jail was used during the antebellum period. Then we get to the “meat and potatoes” of the book (at least for me because its what I’m the most interested in) – the usage of the jail during the “Border Wars” and “civil War” periods.

“This commemorative souvenir documents the origin and evolution of the oldest structure on the historic Independence Courthouse Square-the 1859 Jackson County Jail and Marshal’s Home (and its 19th Century predecessors). “Captured” here is an in-depth study offering “skeleton keys” to “unlocking” history of the early lock downs, of those who defied frontier justice, and the systems and strongmen (and their overlooked wives) who tried to keep law and order in Jackson County, Missouri. A roster of ALL Jackson County Sheriffs AND Jackson County Marshals, and separate “rap sheet” of ALL legal hangings in Jackson County “caps” this first-ever comprehensive study spanning from 1826–when Jackson County was formed–to 1933 when the 1859 Jackson County Jail was decommissioned. David W. Jackson and Paul Kirkman have also explored how the site was adaptively re-used during the Great Depression of the 1930s; through World War II in the 1940s; and, how it was saved by the Jackson County Historical Society in 1958, and continues as a unique, cultural history museum, located at 217 North Main Street, Independence, Missouri.”

Notable incarcerated individuals of the 1859 Jackson County Jail included men like William C. Quantrill and Frank James. Quantrill was housed in the jail before he became the infamous historical figure we know him as today, and was nearly hanged for his betrayal of an abolitionist raid to free slaves. This was a moment that signaled a switched allegiance and the beginnings of the path he would take as a charismatic leader of numerous infamous raids into the heart of Kansas. James (the brother of Jesse James) was an infamous outlaw after the war, and although he gets overshadowed by all of the mythology surrounding his brother, was a force to be reckoned with. When he stayed at the jail, he lived a life of privilege most prisoners would never get, with an ability to walk the halls freely and a furnished room. While the death of Jesse is quite dubious with many claiming his grave or no grave at all (I’m sure he’s hanging out with Elvis as we speak), we know for certain that Frank is in fact dead and is even buried in Independence, MO as well!

The back half of this book is information about the jail’s later decommissioning, the changing of the guard in terms of policing and how justice was served at the turn of the century (chain gangs, for example), and the jail’s eventual use as a workhouse during the depression. Set for demolition, the jail was saved by the Jackson County Historical Society in 1958 (Including former President Harry S Truman) and became the museum it is today. Each section of this book (labeled as “cells” cell one, cell two etc) is well-detailed and filled with footnotes and appendices that will keep many historians happy.

This is a solid purchase for anyone visiting the jail, or honestly anyone interested in Jackson County history, Law enforcement, Civil War, or Border Wars history. I was happy to find this on Amazon, as the purchase will hopefully fund the historical site itself. Like stated before, my favorite portion of the book is the very middle, talking about outlaws and Civil war stuff, but you might find something else that grabs you more.

If you like what you just read, and would like a copy for yourself, please look at this LINK. This review is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#civilWar #Historical #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #Jail #jailing #Kansas #kansasCity #lawEnforcement #LocalHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips #prison

2021: History Boy Summer (Part 4) 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum

So far we’ve seen an old fort, the site of a two different Civil War battles, and read a bunch of books; now its time for something a little different!

1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home and Museum: Independence, MO

For this edition of “History Boy Summer” I am once again visiting a site that I have yet to visit in the past. Nestled right in the middle of downtown Independence, MO this is a blink and you miss it sort of situation but a cool place to see. You can tell that, as time moved on, this jail was somewhat obscured with other buildings being set right next to it, almost making it hard to find. Good news is that my GPS took me right to it, and there was ample parking in the rear of the building. The museum has a VERY narrow timeframe of people to plan visits (just Thurs-Sat), so I had to do the trip before work on a Thursday afternoon, which isn’t my ideal timeframe for this. I had the little guy with me, and went through a quick self-guided tour of everything, although I’d like to go back myself at some point for an actual guided tour. I’ve mentioned before that some museums are more kid friendly than others, and this one is somewhat on the “not so kid friendly” side of things. That said, we made it work, and had a fun day!

Background:

Via, the website sponsored by the Jackson County Historical Society. No Wikipedia this time!

In 1958, a used building materials dealer nearly got permission to demolish the Marshal’s Home and Jail and the right to claim the salvaged stone, brick and timber as the price for his work. The abandoned buildings were given a new lease on life when a group of civic minded citizens realized that there was yet another historic role for the unassuming two-story house at the corner of Main Street and what is now Truman Road. […]The marshal or the jailer lived with his family in the Marshal’s residence, which was the front half of the structure. The wife often cooked meals for the prisoners, as well as her own family, in a small kitchen at the back of the house. The Marshal was paid about $50 per month, plus the use of the house, for his services. The marshal’s office formed part of the residence, where he would work with his deputies and the jailor. This office had a separate entryway from the house. […]

During the American Civil War, the jail held both military and civilian prisoners, and served as the U.S. Provost Marshal’s office. William Clark Quantrill, the famous Confederate guerrilla leader, was briefly incarcerated there, as were those who refused to take a pro-Union loyalty oath. William Quantrill, met an angry mob upon his release from the facility. Scores of women and children were detained behind bars in the jail during Order Number 11. After the war, its most famous inmate was Frank James, the older brother to the famous outlaw Jesse James. Frank James spent 112 days in the jail. During his time at the jail, James’ cell was furnished with a Brussels carpet, fine furniture and paintings, and he was permitted free run of the jail and hosted card games in his cell at night. Frank James’ cell is preserved as it was when he occupied it, as part of the modern museum.

– JCHS

Reading(s):

My readings for this edition were: Lock Down: Outlaws, Lawmen & Frontier Justice in Jackson County, Missouri (2012) By David W. Jackson and Blood on the Streets: The Civil War comes to Jackson County, Missouri, August 1862 by Ralph A. Monaco II. The former is specifically about the jail, and the latter is a book I already used for my article on the Battle of Lone Jack State Historical Site, it’s useful because it has a section on how the jail came into play during the First Battle of Independence. Both books have purchase links in their respective review pages.

The Trip:

As I stated before, this site is located right in the middle of downtown Independence, not too far from the Court House. This site consists of the main jailhouse, two stories tall with one story available to peruse, the Marshal’s house, a courtyard, a museum wing, and an old school building that was relocated to the site in the 1960’s. I was unable to see the schoolhouse nor the courtyard during my visit due to the little guy being somewhat of a handful, but that gives me something to do next time.

I was most interested to visit this site due to the fact that the jail served as one of the focal points of a minor Civil war battle – The First Battle of Independence on August 11, 1862. Since I have rekindled my love of learning about the Civil War, things like this are always awesome for me. George Todd, a prominent Missouri guerilla leader, made it a point to raid the jail during the fighting. Since the jail was being used to house people that refused to take a Union loyalty oath, and others that may have even been suspected guerilla fighters, it was seen as a fertile recruitment center for the cause. In a stroke of sheer luck, Todd discovered that City Marshal James Knowles was in a cell, being jailed for the killing of a rowdy citizen without due process. Todd also had a prisoner named Aaron Thomas that he blamed for a recent raid against the group. Both men were executed in the jail itself. Fun fact – George Todd was later killed at the Second Battle of Independence, in 1864. It seems the City would get it’s revenge at some point.

The museum itself does not dwell too much on this chapter in the jail’s history, however, Civil War era items come into play during the guided tour. One can learn things such as the jail’s use during the war, and how it helped house those who refused to show loyalty to the Union. There is also discussion on the brief period of time where the jail housed a young William C. Quantrill after he flipped allegiances during an abolitionist raid and was near being hanged by the townspeople for his act of treachery. One can only imagine how history might have changed, had that event come to pass.

The jail itself is pretty spooky due to the antiquated cells, shackles and bleak living conditions of the time. If you are into the paranormal at all, consider this: Think of the emotion of being torn from your home and tossed in jail for not pledging allegiance to the Union, or the fear felt in the handful of murders that happened on the premises. Whether you believe in ghosts or perhaps residual energy (like the Stone Tape Theory), the jail feels like it has the heavy “must be haunted” sort of feeling. I know that in the autumn, they have special ghost tours of the property, so maybe I’m not too far off. I know that’s not for everyone, but I keep an open mid with that sort of thing.
Frank James
I was quite taken aback with how close the jail was to the Marshal’s house – the site where the Jail’s Marshal and his family would have stayed while administering the building. On the second floor, a door to a child’s room is basically directly across from the upper wing of the jail, with such a close proximity that I’m sure children could have easily heard inmates conversations. Since one always hear about jailbreaks and such, it’s crazy to me that a family would live that close to possible thieves and murderers, but it was the time back then. I’ve heard Alcatraz had a similar living situation for staff. The marshal’s house is decorated with period furnishings and other items to make it look similar to what it could have been like in that time period. The study has antique desks, the parlor has an old piano and other items, and bedrooms are filled with things such as children’s toys.

The museum portion of the building is pretty interesting, showing off a number of artifacts including shackles and even shivs confiscated by jailers. There are a number of exhibits for the most noteworthy incarcerated individuals that were housed there. I mentioned Quantrill earlier, but perhaps the most notable of all inmates was Frank James of the infamous James gang. James was sent to Jail for 112 days for the murder of Captain John Sheets at a robbery in Gallatin, Missouri. During his stay, he was permitted to roam the halls, and lived in a comfortably furnished cell that has been recreated in one of the first floor jail cells. Other notable inmates include Reverend Abner Deane, who was imprisoned at the 1859 Jail after the Civil War because he refused to sign the “Ironclad Oath” to the Union and a woman named Rose Jenkins, who was likely not that noteworthy but is one of the few extant female mugshots on file, showing that female prisoners were also present.
Public workhouse at the former jail
Later portions of the museum talk about the turn of the century and the jail’s later use as a public workhouse. According to the JCHS website: “The Jail and Marshal’s Home was decommissioned in 1933. After the last jailer hung up his keys, Jackson County found a use for the jail and home when it housed several offices, work training programs, and government bureaus during the Great Depression. There were many public work programs that operated in the old jail. Sewing, canning, and ironing were just a few jobs that gave people viable work during the Depression.”

The site includes a giftshop that boasts a large collection of local history books curated by the JCHS, I was able to find one specifically about the Civil War in this area that I will read eventually for this series. Items for children include things like cup and ball games and Jacob’s ladders.

Conclusion:

This was a fun little day trip idea if you are around Independence Square and have a hour or so to kill. It’s not a huge museum, but the quality of the artifacts and importance to the city itself are immeasurable. Like stated before, this isn’t the best place for VERY small children, but older kids should have fun. During the fall, The JCHS runs ghost tours and paranormal investigations of some nature, which may just be something I do this year assuming I can snag a ticket. I was unable to see everything during my visit and will likely go back at some point to see The small schoolhouse and the courtyard. Keep your eyes peeled for an addendum if that happens!

This is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#AmericanCivilWar #civilWar #Historical #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #incarceration #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #Jail #KansasCityMissouri #LocalHistory #militaryHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips #prison

Stephen K.

2021-07-04 07:57:28

REVIEW: Lock Down: Outlaws, Lawmen and Frontier Justice in Jackson County, Missouri (2012)

Prior to my trip to Independence, Missouri’s 1859 Jackson County Jail and Marshal’s Home, I wanted to make sure I was prepared with a reading (as I do with this series). I was quite surprised to find this very specialized, and seemingly way to specific book on Amazon, not realizing it was somewhat of a souvenir book that was created for the museums very own giftshop. That said, this book is in no way flimsy, nor a mere retelling of the museum exhibit – it’s a history of Jackson County, itself, in many ways.

Starting with the expedition of Lewis and Clark and the founding of Fort Osage, this books moves from different times in the history of the area using law enforcement as the main lynchpin. We get descriptions of the very first log cabin-styled jail in the area, a newer brick jail, then the jail the majority of the book is about. The book chronicles all of the early sheriffs, and how the jail was used during the antebellum period. Then we get to the “meat and potatoes” of the book (at least for me because its what I’m the most interested in) – the usage of the jail during the “Border Wars” and “civil War” periods.

“This commemorative souvenir documents the origin and evolution of the oldest structure on the historic Independence Courthouse Square-the 1859 Jackson County Jail and Marshal’s Home (and its 19th Century predecessors). “Captured” here is an in-depth study offering “skeleton keys” to “unlocking” history of the early lock downs, of those who defied frontier justice, and the systems and strongmen (and their overlooked wives) who tried to keep law and order in Jackson County, Missouri. A roster of ALL Jackson County Sheriffs AND Jackson County Marshals, and separate “rap sheet” of ALL legal hangings in Jackson County “caps” this first-ever comprehensive study spanning from 1826–when Jackson County was formed–to 1933 when the 1859 Jackson County Jail was decommissioned. David W. Jackson and Paul Kirkman have also explored how the site was adaptively re-used during the Great Depression of the 1930s; through World War II in the 1940s; and, how it was saved by the Jackson County Historical Society in 1958, and continues as a unique, cultural history museum, located at 217 North Main Street, Independence, Missouri.”

Notable incarcerated individuals of the 1859 Jackson County Jail included men like William C. Quantrill and Frank James. Quantrill was housed in the jail before he became the infamous historical figure we know him as today, and was nearly hanged for his betrayal of an abolitionist raid to free slaves. This was a moment that signaled a switched allegiance and the beginnings of the path he would take as a charismatic leader of numerous infamous raids into the heart of Kansas. James (the brother of Jesse James) was an infamous outlaw after the war, and although he gets overshadowed by all of the mythology surrounding his brother, was a force to be reckoned with. When he stayed at the jail, he lived a life of privilege most prisoners would never get, with an ability to walk the halls freely and a furnished room. While the death of Jesse is quite dubious with many claiming his grave or no grave at all (I’m sure he’s hanging out with Elvis as we speak), we know for certain that Frank is in fact dead and is even buried in Independence, MO as well!

The back half of this book is information about the jail’s later decommissioning, the changing of the guard in terms of policing and how justice was served at the turn of the century (chain gangs, for example), and the jail’s eventual use as a workhouse during the depression. Set for demolition, the jail was saved by the Jackson County Historical Society in 1958 (Including former President Harry S Truman) and became the museum it is today. Each section of this book (labeled as “cells” cell one, cell two etc) is well-detailed and filled with footnotes and appendices that will keep many historians happy.

This is a solid purchase for anyone visiting the jail, or honestly anyone interested in Jackson County history, Law enforcement, Civil War, or Border Wars history. I was happy to find this on Amazon, as the purchase will hopefully fund the historical site itself. Like stated before, my favorite portion of the book is the very middle, talking about outlaws and Civil war stuff, but you might find something else that grabs you more.

If you like what you just read, and would like a copy for yourself, please look at this LINK. This review is part of my 2021 series History Boy Summer, which you can read more of following this LINK.

#civilWar #Historical #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #Jail #jailing #Kansas #kansasCity #lawEnforcement #LocalHistory #missouri #MuseumTrips #prison

Amazon.com

^amzn.to

REVIEW: Jackson County Historical Society – Young Historian Passport Program [History Tour]

A Youth Program Sponsored by the Jackson County Historical Society in Missouri

In 2022, my son and I jumped onto the opportunity of being in the first handful of participants of the Jackson County Historical Society Young Historians program. As an educational program, it’s a cool idea. With museums always wanting more participation, and most children’s tendency to love “gamifying” things and building towards tangible achievements, something like this is a genius idea. When we finished up, supposedly the first in 2022, we were awarded with some prizes including a generous free meal at a local restaurant and some sticker packs. Overall it was a great experience with a few hitches, but I would love to do more things like it. We also did a similar thing in Topeka, Kansas for Topeka Dino Days, with the same sort of results – he had a blast!

The program appears to have changed a tad since we did it, as not every museum was offering free child’s admission in 2022, and there was a free T-shirt as well (which is still on the order page, but I cannot confirm). It looks like the participating museums are the same, and the general idea has continued. Since doing our History Boy Summer and History Tour stuff, we had already attended a few of the sites, but getting out of the house is good for everyone, and re-visiting some museums was cool because no two trips are entirely the same.

I mentioned there were a few hiccups, and those were honestly to no fault of the program, but they were annoying. One museum greeted us with a somewhat belligerent ticketing agent that insisted they were not part of the program, almost refusing to give us a stamp. Considering this was blatantly false and the price of an ink stamp is literally free, the person in question was insanely over the top with his bad attitude. We got it all sorted out after I had him read the passport, but it seemed like not all of the sites gave their staff adequate training on how to handle everything. This also resulted in what I assume was us paying more than we should have for tickets, as I was pretty we were supposed to get free kids’ admission to almost every site. Since these sites are cheap anyways, I was not too worried, but not everyone was on the same page.

With the 2023 season over, and 2024 looming on the horizon, I’m hoping it’s all better now, and maybe in a few years we’ll consider doing it again, especially if the sites rotate out to different participants at some point.

From their website:

Calling all Young Historians!
The Jackson County Historical Society is excited to offer a new educational program designed for children. If you have a child from the ages of 5 to 15 years old interested in visiting local historic sites and museums, we have a fun program for them! Create memories and learn about the county you live in. This is a perfect gift for any child in your life too and not limited to just your child. Perfect for grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or your friend’s children too!

All Young Historian members will receive

• An annual membership in their name.
• 1 copy of the Historic Illustrated Atlas of Jackson County
• 1 Jackson County Historical Society Passport

Each passport is good for FREE museum admission to participating historic sites and museums in Jackson County throughout the year starting on the purchase date of the passport. The exception is at the WWI Museum, the admission is buy 1 get 1 free. Visit each site and receive a stamp. The child must be accompanied by a parent/ guardian/ adult. Redeem the passport at the end of the year for various prizes.

So where did we go?

1859 Jail Museum

This was a museum I have attended a few times now, with write-ups HERE and HERE. On our second trip we got to see a section of the museum that was unavailable before (the second floor cell-block) and a one-room schoolhouse we had missed before. It’s a site packed with all sorts of cool history, and a must see for those in the area. If you couple it with the Pioneer Trails Adventures Mule Tour, usually parked right outside the museum, it makes for a perfect day for anyone wanting to learn something about Independence, MO.

Fort Osage

This is another site we’ve frequented quite a bit, and was the actual very first entry into my History Boy Summer series way back during the Covid-19 Pandemic. This particular visit was coincidentally when we attended during the Fourth of July weekend, which is definitely a great time to visit some historic sites due to having living history reenactors on hand. Fort Osage is one of the few things in Missouri from around the time of The War of 1812, and once served as the literal edge of America before westward expansion really took off. It’s a unique bit of American history with no long trip to one of the former colonial settlements on the East Coast tacked on.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Perhaps one of the best kept secrets in Kansas City is The Negro leagues Baseball Museum on 18th and Vine. Kansas City was perhaps one of the hottest parts of the country for baseball at the time, and it rested almost entirely on Negro League teams like The Kansas City Monarchs. This trip was the first time taking my son, who at the time was six years old. Truthfully, and thankfully I suppose, he’s not really to clued in on what racism is as of yet, but the concepts of people people treated differently because of how they look upset him. Amid the stories of racial injustice are also stories of the triumph and ingenuity of everyone involved in the Negro Leagues, as many of their players, game rules, and even scheduling ideas eventually folded directly into a non-segregated Major League Baseball. There is also The American Jazz Museum located in the same building that I have never visited, so one of these days I need to try that out as well.

Kansas City Museum

Once more of a Natural History Museum, which Kansas City really needs to step up on, The Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall is an interesting hybrid of a museum telling the story of how some of the city’s leaders lived during the early 20th Century, an overall history of Kansas City, and a modern art museum rolled into one, all depending on what floor you are on. When most historic houses in the area are either plantation houses or small mansions decorated with nineteenth century artifacts, this is one of the few things in the area one could compare to “a palace” with the sort of crazy items from the wealthiest Americans on display. I’m not sure stuff like this is something we should aspire to, and I have my opinions on the ultra-wealthy, but it’s a side of the city you don’t see much anymore, and an important part of what makes it what it is.

Alexander Majors House

The Alexander majors House and the John Wornall House are both allocated the same spot on the Passport, so getting a stamp at one of the two locations is all you need. We chose, however, to visit both houses because they were not very far apart, and the admission had a deal if you tried to do both in one day. The Alexander majors House, in particular, was the home of a man that, along with notable business partners William Russell and William waddell, controlled the freight transport industry west of the Missouri River. Majors owned and operated a number of side ventures and, along with his business partners, helping create such notable businesses as The Pony Express and The Pike’s Peak Express, neither of which had lasting power, but have imbued themselves onto the collective mythos for The Frontier times that one would assume they were more prevalent. The actual tour is not atypical of most mansions turned museums in the area, but there is a character to the house and the artifacts inside that you won’t see anywhere else.

John Wornall House

The John Wornall House, in comparison to the Alexander majors House is a slight bit more “cozy” and feels like something that could have been lived in more. The house is most notable for being situated right in the middle of the site of The Battle of Westport, a definitive American Civil War battle that solidified the Union’s win in Missouri, pushing CSA General Sterling Price off into Kansas towards the total defeat of his army at The Battle of Mine Creek. The house itself was used as a field hospital during the engagement. The tour here is self-guided and fairly standard for historic houses in the area.

Harry S. Truman Library

There are currently only fifteen presidential libraries in the whole United States, and thankfully one of those sits firmly in the middle of the very town that I call home. While the Harry S Truman Presidential Library is not new, it was shut down for an extended period of time and re-opened in 2022 after a huge upgrade. Aside from holding records and other items from one of history’s most important wartime presidents, the building houses a state of the art museum detailing the life of Truman, World War I and II, The Cold War, and McCarthyism. It’s a wide swath of time to cover, but the museum does it very well. In my opinion, a stop in Independence, Missouri is incomplete without at least one Truman-related museum, and you can’t get much better than this. I will say, it may be a bit dry for younger children, but my son injured all of the interactive exhibits – especially one that was basically a WWI artillery videogame.

National World War I Museum

if anyone has read my blog in any capacity, they will know that I go to this museum a LOT. I’ve been on a somewhat large WWI kick for the past few years, and love going here. The following are some examples of a few trips I have made in the past.

• National WWI Museum
• War remains
• Snapshots
• Black Citizenship
• Empires at war
• Captured
• Entertaining the Troops
• Living The Great War Weekend

My son always loves seeing things like tanks, planes, and weapons – something that this museum has a LOT of. While some of the information about this war can be very bleak, there are plenty of interactive exhibits and a well-stocked gift shop with a number of historical toys for the kiddos.

Vaile Mansion

Built by Colonel and Mrs. Harvey Vaile in 1881, this picturesque mansion is a delight to visit, and I assume would be absolutely astounding if visiting around Christmas-time since they do all sorts of crazy decorating. While not as “In your face” and over-the-top as Corinthian Hall, The Vaile Mansion is obviously a huge show of wealth in the area. My son is honestly not as enamored with seeing old houses, as one can imagine, but weird little tidbits like a wooden indoor toilet caught his attention for some reason. Still a gorgeous place to visit, and well worth the the trip.

Toy and Miniatures Museum

I went to this museum a LONG time ago and remember it being cool, but somewhat cluttered and not organized. Apparently somebody could read my mind, because the whole building was entirely re-done and modernized at some point and it is basically a whole new place now. The museum collects toys and miniatures from as far back as hundreds of years ago on up to our modern era and stands out as a wholly unique little bit of history tucked away into the middle of Kansas City. When we went, there was a special superhero toy exhibit that my son loved, so be sure to see if they have anything like that when you go!

Missouri Town 1855

We have visited Missouri Town 1855 a few times, and I would especially recommend going during the Fourth of July Weekend unless it is splintering hot outside. As I mentioned with Fort Osage, they have living history reenactors there and just that little glimpse of what it could be like with people doing their day-to-day tasks way back then is really cool. There was also a number of games available, including a children’s area with toys from 150+ years ago, and demonstrations on how children lived long ago. It’s the perfect time to take kids out to the museum, and they will absolutely have a blast!

Conclusion:

Instead of writing eleven separate blog posts, I figured this was a good way to look at this program as a whole, and perhaps help you get an idea of what to expect in 2024 if you should like to participate. We managed to get all of these done within about two months, but had the ability to go to a museum or two every weekend during that summer. I know not everyone will have an open schedule like that, but we made it somewhat like a quest, and my son was excited to keep gathering stamps as we went. Overall, this was a great experience, and I hope I can find something else like this around here!

#childrenSActivities #education #educational #Historical #HistoricalHouse #HistoricalSite #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Independence #IndependenceMo #JacksonCounty #kansasCity #KansasCityMissouri #KCMO #missouri #museum #MuseumTrips #Museums #NationalWorldWarIMuseumAndMemorial

Stephen K.

2022-08-18 08:23:54

REVIEW: Topeka Dino Days 2022 [History Tour]

In 2020, during the ravages of the worst parts of the Covid-19 Global pandemic, a staple of any sort of struggling entertainment complex (in my area) was the numerous animatronic dinosaur exhibits that popped up everywhere. I can recall a particular time when there were no less than three going on concurrently – ones that you drove through, and ones in otherwise abandoned event spaces. We went to a handful of these, and it really ignited my son’s passion for dinosaurs much more so than any time prior. Sure they were made of robots at varying qualities, and some were pretty silly like one where they put dinosaurs in front of suburban houses and other modern backdrops for some reason. Since then, there has almost always been some sort of “dinosaur thing” going on in and around Kansas City, and perhaps the best one we attended was a four month long City-wide event held in Topeka, Kansas with numerous activities and exhibits to see.

Topeka Dino Days 2022; Topeka, Kansas

While this sadly happened in the late Spring / Early Summer, with only one of the four attractions still operational (Topeka Zoo), I wanted to talk about this and show what it was like with the optimism that they do a similar program in the future. I will try to talk about each section of the event, show some pictures, and come back at the end with a look at what would happen had a child completed all four parts. Speaking of that, yes this was obviously designed for children, but every aspect of this, save the children’s museum component, could be enjoyed by anyone of any age.

One of the perks was that kids were supposed to use an app to record their four stops at the four participating locations to win a prize – in this case a nifty commemorative patch!

Background:

According to the website:

“Topeka Dino Days is a four-month-long celebration featuring incredible dinosaur-themed exhibitions, activities, and events at various locations throughout Topeka, Kansas. This spring, step into the world of SUE the T. rex to uncover the mysteries about the life of this fearsome fossil at the Great Overland Station. Enjoy learning about dinosaur eggs, nests, and babies through colorful, hands-on, interactive experiences at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center. Journey back to the age of dinosaurs in an immersive experience featuring life-size, animatronic prehistoric giants appearing throughout the Topeka Zoo. Joining in on the fun, businesses and organizations across Topeka have created dinosaur-themed specials, merchandise and events for visitors and locals to enjoy throughout the spring. Start your journey in Downtown Topeka at Topeka Dino Days Base Camp and track your experience on the Topeka Dino Days Explorer Passport app.”

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Reading(s):

For this series of trips, my son and I read A Dinosaur Named Sue: The Find of the Century, which was a children’s book, and I read Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought over T-Rex Ever Found. We figured that the “crown jewel” of this whole thing was the traveling exhibit of Sue, so reading a book about “her” was fitting.

The Trip:

I live a little more than an hour from Topeka, so traveling there is always pretty easy and not very stressful. I always recommend taking the toll road, even though it costs a bit, simply because I’d rather do a straight shot for a few bucks than take a series of backroads and deal with traffic and road construction just to spend my saved money on extra gas money. I discovered this a LOT recently when my GPS took me the back-way home from Lawrence, Kansas, adding around thirty minutes of drive time for no reason whatsoever. I even went as far as getting the K-Tag because you save some money.

Destination 1 – Basecamp

“Start your journey at Topeka Dino Days Base Camp! Here you’ll find information about all the great things to see and do in Topeka and Shawnee County. This space also feature a pop-up store with Topeka Dino Days merchandise and memorabilia perfect for remembering this amazing event.”

Base Camp was where the journey was supposed to begin, however we actually did this step last due to being late on our first day to get in. Ostensibly, this was the “gift shop” of the event with numerous shirts, trinkets, and other merchandise for the city and dinosaurs alike. The back area was set up as a mini-museum with a full-size Allosaurus skeleton and informational signs. This is also where one would “trade in” their proof of visiting all four sites for the prize. Overall, there wasn’t much here, but as a launching point for the rest of your journey, it did it’s job. My only issue was the parking – as this was in a fairly congested area downtown and not easy to get to when tons of people were around.

Destination 2 – Topeka Zoo – Dinosaurs Alive!

“This spring the Topeka Zoo presents DINOSAURS ALIVE! This new dinosaur exhibit is an immersive experience featuring life-sized, animatronic dinosaurs that move and make sounds just like the creatures that used to roam the planet! Travel through time and discover different time periods, admire the magnitude of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and learn about “modern dinosaurs” still living today. It’s sure to be a roaring good time!”

This one was a big surprise to me for the simple fact that the integration of the animatronic dinosaurs into the Topeka Zoo was amazing, and actually made the zoo way more interesting and feel far more exciting than it would had they not been there. I assumed the dinos would be roped off in the back of the park, perhaps even under a literal paywall (as they did at World’s of Fun), but they were all over the place – filling almost every open area. Truthfully, I think they should keep them there as it really adds something. The zoo itself is solid, however the day we went had a LOT on construction and numerous animals hiding rather than being out in their habitats – thus one of the main gambles of going to any zoo. Topeka Zoo is a smaller Zoo, especially in comparison to the Kansas City or St. Louis Zoos, but some exhibits like their tropical rainforest area are top notch and rival anything similar that I’ve seen.

Before you leave, make sure to stop by the park across from the zoo – there’s a cool old-school train ride for kids and a huge playground.

Destination 3 – Sue Exhibit

“Come between two titans with full-scale casts of SUE and T. rex’s nemesis, Triceratops. Experience a unique multimedia show transporting you to the Cretaceous forest alongside SUE. Learn how the fossil was unearthed, and how scientists continue to make discoveries about SUE, the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever discovered. Use all of your senses to take in SUE’s world. Take a whiff of their putrid breath, watch SUE tromp through the Late Cretaceous forest, feel the texture of dinosaur skin, and hear the subsonic rumble of a T. rex. See the fossils of animals, plants, and dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, and come face-to-face with a full-size, fleshed-out replication of a ferocious T. rex battling the duck-billed herbivore, Edmontosaurus.”

Sue was actually one of the main reasons I wanted to see this whole thing, seeing that she is still the largest T-Rex remains ever found, as far as I know, and can tell us a lot about how those mighty monsters may have lived. This was housed in an old train depot called The Great Overland Station, and was packed to the gills with all manner of fossil and recreation, not just Sue. Interactive segments and a film theater completed the experience and made this worth every penny. My only issue was the third party ticketing company for this event was not very good, and we initially had a snafu where I was assigned a specific time in their computer that was not relayed to me on my end. Thankfully staff made it right and there were no issues.

Destination 4 – Tiny Titans Exhibit

“Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies is hatching at the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center! This remarkable hands-on exhibition offers an astounding array of authentic dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all over the globe, in addition to great hands-on play experiences! Kids can dig for eggs, dress up like a parent dinosaur to brood their nest, and feel the texture of dinosaur eggs. Cute babies and fun dinosaur facts will keep the whole family playing and learning.”

Tiny Titans was tucked into a small exhibition area within the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, a children’s museum akin to Science City in Kansas City or equivalent. The exhibit, as the name would suggest, was entirely about dinosaur eggs and contained many interactive aspects such as sand pits where kids could dig for fossils and a photo op where kids could dress as a feathered dinosaur protecting their nest. The exhibit aloe was well worth the money, and that wasn’t even including the indoor and outdoor activities that are always there. If you are looking for something fun for kids and are in and around Topeka, this is a great choice.

Conclusion:

What was cool about this was that if all four of the destinations, you could win a prize using an app that you “checked in” using some sort of GPS ping. After all four were tallied, participants could swing by Base Camp and get their commemorative patches as seen below.

Overall, this was a fun idea for the city of Topeka, and it definitely got me in there to do more things than what I normally would have done there. If anyone else was like me, I’d imagine Topeka tourism had a nice bump this year. It wasn’t too expensive to do everything, especially if you split it into two separate day trips like we ended up doing, and there was plenty to do at each location. I hope they do something like this next year as we honestly had a blast.

See More:

The Topeka Dino days Website

#dinosaurs #Historical #History #HistoryBoySummer #HistoryTour #Kansas #kansasCity #museum #MuseumTrips #Museums #Topeka #Zoo

Visit Topeka, Kansas

Topeka, Kansas is the capital city with family-friendly attractions, history -- Civil War to Civil Rights -- and festivals throughout the year. Hotels are 20 minutes or less from Rock Chalk Park.

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