Smithville Historical Society Founders Day at the Museum
Join us on June 19, 2021, for the Smithville Historical Society Founders Day at the Museum. There will be free tours of Smithville’s Museum, along with various outdoor games and programs: a wood chopping contest, Jacks and Marbles, Cornhole, Missouri History Quiz, Tie Dye water blasting to create a 2021 background for a quilt that will have the Missouri Star in dedication to Missouri’s Bicentennial, Basketball, Tree Dedication to Mr. Col. Kindred and Ms. Lou Kindred at 2:00pm, at 3:00pm all to meet at Smithville’s Founder, Calvin Smith’s burial site for laying of wreath. Wreath provided by local florist “Jean’s Flowers and Gifts.” Please visit any time from 10am-3pm. You can also just attend the Wreath dedication, tree dedication or tour the Museum for free.
Historic Downtown Liberty Missouri Bicentennial Farmers’ Market
Come join us on August 14, 2021, in the Liberty Historic Square District for a Bicentennial themed Farmers’ Market! There will be family-friendly games and activities, historic highlights, and lots of great local vendors.
Liberty African American Legacy Memorial
We will celebrate Missouri’s Bicentennial in 2021 with a memorial honoring more than 700 African Americans buried in the segregated sections of Fairview and New Hope Cemeteries. Persons who were enslaved, domestic staff, day laborers, housewives, infants and children, businessmen, war veterans, and more are buried on this hallowed ground. In a 6 acre field, these mothers, sons, fathers, and daughters are buried, largely in unmarked graves. We have made it our mission to acknowledge them in their final resting place. Coming together as a community, we recognize that their contributions to Liberty helped build the town we call home and we invite all to join us in honoring their lives and legacy.
After Missouri statehood in 1821, Clay County was formed in 1822 with Liberty as the county seat. In that first settlement there were enslaved persons. This memorial will honor the known persons with inscribed names and also unknown persons — who are buried in what was the segregated portion of Fairview/New Hope cemetery. Permanent story panels will enrich the experience. We plan to have a commissioned art piece in the plaza center. We will have a paved walkway from the road to the center plaza area. The project dedication (August 2021 is the goal) will be a permanent gift to our City.
Roaring Through the 1920’s in Kearney
When you visit Kearney Historic Museum between March 1 and August 31, 2021, you will journey back to when Missouri was celebrating her 100th birthday and Kearney was in her sixties. There will be a variety of displays depicting daily life in the early 1920’s in Kearney and the surrounding area. Clothing to cooking, money to music, even hats to hooch! Big changes were in the air, there were horse drawn wagons and automobiles sharing the dirt streets here in Kearney at that time. This event will give visitors a good overview of rural Missouri at her Centennial Celebration. It will help them understand and visualize the changes that were happening in the early 1920’s—not just in Kearney, but also the surrounding area. This celebration of Missouri’s Centennial is free to the public. Hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm and by appointment. The Kearney Historic Museum is located at 101 South Jefferson in downtown Kearney by the water fountain. Handicapped accessible rear entrance and restroom. Call 816-903-1856 for more information.
Alexander Doniphan Community History Project
Some suggest that Alexander Doniphan was one of the most influential people in Missouri history, yet he is little known. As an attorney he defended a religious minority when the state expelled and authorized their extermination. Doniphan developed the Kearney Code that established the rule of law in what would become New Mexico. He was an accomplished military leader and is recognized in Fort Leavenworth’s Hall of Fame. Doniphan was chiefly responsible for the founding of William Jewell College in Liberty, and for establishing public schools in Clay County. Members of the Alexander Doniphan Committee decided to sponsor a community writing project to help tell Doniphan’s story. Such a project would also be a great way for more people to learn about Doniphan and would be a meaningful way to celebrate the Missouri Bicentennial. Anthology editors Steve Potter and Jeremiah Morgan will be online to discuss the historical significance of Doniphan and the importance of community writing projects like this anthology. This State of Stories program was produced in partnership with The University of Missouri Extension Community Arts Program to commemorate and celebrate the Missouri Bicentennial.
Historic Mt. Gilead School
The Historic Mt. Gilead School is a one room school house built in the 1870s. Join the Historic Mt. Gilead School for field trips and tours in 2021 that will teach adults and school groups about the history of Missouri during the time it was admitted into the union. The program is open to the public, suitable for all ages, and can be scheduled throughout the 2021 calendar year.