November 2010

This civil war museum preserves and interprets Northern Kentucky's unique role in the Civil War through archaeology, education and research by informing visitors about the history of the city of Fort Wright and its neighboring communities. Donations to the museum are readily accepted, especially pertaining to the city of Fort Wright history or authentic Civil War artifacts and memorabilia.

After a monumental five-year, $3 million restoration the museum now stands as one of the most accurately restored 19th Century buildings in America, reflecting the high-Victorian opulence of the 1880s. The museum contains hundreds of original Campbell possessions including furniture, paintings, and a unique set of interior photographs taken in the mid-1880s.

Sitting atop a 120-foot bluff, Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site can't be missed by travelers heading north on Highway 65 from Sedalia. This castle-like building was constructed between 1897 and 1928 for a prominent Sedalia lawyer, John Homer Bothwell. Bothwell was active in local politics, represented Pettis County for eight years in the Missouri General Assembly, and unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1904. His influence helped to make Sedalia the permanent home for the Missouri State Fair.

Bothwell Lodge was built in four sections on top of three natural caves, using native rock from the estate grounds. The 12,000-square-foot lodge, an example of the Arts and Crafts style of architecture of the early 20th century, was a getaway for Bothwell and his numerous guests. Bothwell's eclectic furnishings, most of which remain today, and informal atmosphere represent his intentions of providing a recreational retreat.

Built in 1770 out near the river on the Le Grand Champ field by Louis Bolduc, a Canadian lead miner, merchant and planter, the house is the first instance of an authentic and complete restoration of a French colonial house of the Mississippi Valley.

The house is built with "posts on a sill", the heavy oak timbers set about six inches apart and infilled with plaster made from mud, Spanish moss, and animal hair. The steep roof, supported by heavy tresses held together by mortises and tenons, spreads out on all four sides to cover the gallery. The house features a distinctive stockade fence, galleries and hip roof. After the great flood of 1783 the house was taken apart, and reassembled in its present location in 1784.

The house, which changed hands three times,  provided the downstairs hallway where many soldiers lost their lives.  It was once called "the largest and best arranged dwelling house west of St. Louis." Today Oliver Anderson's mansion is best known for the three bloody days in 1861 when it was a fiercely contested prize in a Civil War battle between the Union army and the Missouri State Guard.

The battlefield is quiet now, and restored gardens and orchards dot the landscape. But the remnants of the trenches can still be seen, and the graves of unknown Union dead echo a time less peaceful.

In addition to tours of the 1853 Anderson House, visitors may explore the 100 acres of the battlefield preserved at the historic site. A visitor center with exhibits and audio-visual programs explains the stirring events of Sept. 18-20, 1861, and why the "Battle of the Hemp Bales" lifted Southern spirits and further dampened Northern hopes of an easy victory in the struggle for Missouri.

AMM provides a forum for dialogue and an exchange of ideas, provides resources to create and sustain strong cultural institutions, and fosters professional development and leadership within the museum community. Through its programs and activities, AMM encourages professional standards for all areas of museum administration and provides cutting-edge information and resources to museums and cultural institutions in the Midwest and the greater museum community.

Over the past decade, the museum has adopted a strategic plan, guiding the museum in a transformation from an institution with displays of legacy collections to a dynamic, active place with exciting, new, interpretive exhibits; completed an $830,000 capital campaign to support the new exhibit program; won passage of a county-wide sales tax to support the museum’s annual operating expenses; and researched, planned, designed and installed a 900 sq. ft. orientation exhibit which summarizes Andrew County’s history and serves as introduction to A Rural Way of Life, a new, permanent, 3,900-square-foot exhibit.

Penobscot's collection is housed in five different buildings, all dating from the first half of the 19th century. One is furnished with typical 19th century Sea Captain artifacts and furniture.

The Museum's Collection ranges from the indispensable tools of the Mariner to fine marine art. Period costume and other domestic items that families saved is an important part of our vast collection as are boats used on the immense Penobscot Bay, which can be found housed in three buildings on our village grounds.

The Windsor Historical Society aims to inspire public awareness and appreciation of the diverse peoples, places and events that contribute to Windsor’s evolving history. We preserve and interpret Windsor’s historical record through active collecting, research, exhibitions, programs and communications in the belief that an understanding of history can provide individuals and communities with connections to the past, a sense of belonging in the present, and responsibility for the future.