November 2010

A Living Museum has been referred to as a "Jewel on the Mountain." Start with Dr. William Henry Burritt's eclectic mansion, add a historic park with restored 19th century houses including barnyard and animals, and finally throw in the artistic side with concerts, plays and exhibits, and you have a delightful mixture of old and new for young and old.
In 1955 Dr. Burritt willed his mansion and surrounding acres of Round-Top Mountain to the city of Huntsville, making it Huntsville's first museum. Since that time, volunteers and community activists have brought original homes from the area to Burritt to be restored and utilized as an educational facility. Interpreters demonstrate activities as one would see on a 19th century farm. Blacksmithing, spinning, and cooking over an open hearth are just some of the skills employed in the historic park. In the Burritt Barnyard visitors can get up close and personal with an animal that would have been used for work, wool, or even food for the farmers and their families

Jefferson County was founded in 1819. Birmingham, the state's most populous city, founded in 1871, has an abundance of historical sites, societies and museums – but no central museum to tell the varied stories of all its people.

The organization currently owns 412 separate collections, containing 8,200 artifacts. Of those, about half are single photographic negatives of local retail, industrial and city scenes from the 1960s and early 1970s. Others range from the 3,300-lb. terra cotta nameplate from the former Birmingham News building, to documents, personal correspondence of Birmingham's prominent citizens, vintage restaurant menus, patent medicine and pop bottles made in Birmingham, and the Blach's Knight – a 1963 suit of armor used as an advertising symbol by Blach's Department Store.

The building was once again enlarged in 1977 and with this addition, a large collection of firearms was donated. The final addition to the museum was competed in 1991, making it a three story building containing 40,000 square feet of exhibit space and includes 20,000 square feet for offices, storage and a research library.

The museum has fostered the study of Carthage history through use of its archives and reference library, by providing educational programming on-site and off-site, and by producing cooperative community events such as Chautauqua.

The museum was created by the generosity of lifelong Carthaginian Marian Powers Winchester. At her death in 1981, Mrs. Winchester left a bequest to the City of Carthage "for the establishment and operation of a museum for the citizens of Carthage and the surrounding area." She requested the museum's name honor her parents Dr. Everett Powers (1869–1954) and Marian Wright Powers (1880–1969).

In addition to the original museum collection left by the Winchester estate, the museum accepts donations of artifacts and archival pieces related to the history of Carthage and her citizens in order to expand the founding collection.

The facility is a museum, interpretive center, and research library dedicated to telling the rich history of America’s principle western trails.

In 1989-90 the National Frontier Trails Museum was built by the State of Missouri with the surviving portion of the Waggoner-Gates Mill incorporated into the design. The old mill's locker room was refurbished as well, and serves as the national headquarters of the Oregon-California Trails Association. Operated by the City of Independence, the Trails Museum tells the story of the exploration, acquisition, and settlement of the American West. An award-winning introductory film prepares visitors for the interpretive exhibits which guide them along the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails. Quotations from trail diaries are extensively used, allowing pioneer travelers to tell of their experiences in their own words.

Opened on December 2, 2006, the museum contains objects and documents ranging from weaponry and uniforms used during the war, to letters and postcards from the field.

The historical collections of the museum began years before an actual museum building existed. Immediately after the armistice of November 11, 1918, a group of Kansas Citians gathered to propose a memorial to the men and women who served in the war and to those who died. The earliest ideas for the memorial included a museum of objects from the war.The first items in the collection were a number of posters from the war. Other materials soon followed, and the museum continues to collect today. The museum has remained faithful to the initial objective: to collect, preserve, and interpret the physical objects of World War I.

The mission of the museum is to collect and preserve the material history of the Military Police of the U.S. Army from 1775 to present. 

The museum also promotes the heritage and traditions of the Military Police branch and the values of the U.S. Army to Soldiers and civilians through public exhibits, educational programs, and branch training support.

Today, the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park offers exhibitions and events, including theatrical performances; concerts; family festivals; special events; workshops; and presentations.

The Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum boasts one of the world's most exceptional collections of lead and zinc ores as well as other minerals found in the Tri-State District. This museum interprets the geology and geochemistry of the area and illustrates mining processes and methods used from the 1870s through the 1960s.

The Dorothea B. Hoover Historical Museum emphasizes the growth and development as the result of the mining in the Tri-State District. On display are assorted historical items from Joplin's mining era including a circus room, a child's playhouse (children are invited in with adult supervision), a 1927 American LeFrance fire engine and Victorian furnishings, textiles, and a doll collection.

Now engulfed by Kansas City's Brookside neighborhood, the John Wornall House originally sat on the Missouri frontier, the center of a 500-acre farm. During the 1864 Battle of Westport, both Confederate and Union armies occupied the sturdy brick farmhouse and used it as an emergency field hospital. This significant part of the Kansas City landscape is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today guided tours take visitors through the house, where they experience the daily life of a prosperous, pre-Civil War family. At the end of the tour, enjoy the museum gift shop filled with a wide array of unique items. Visitors may also wander through the Museum's historically accurate herb and perennial gardens. The museum features special events throughout the year including: children's classes, adult workshops, changing exhibits, and Christmas tours.