The Lexington Historical Museum is a museum with a collection of historic items related to Lexington, Missouri. The

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

building was constructed in 1846 and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1978. It is located in the

Old Neighborhoods Historic District Old Neighborhoods Historic District is a national Historic district (United States), historic district located at Lexington, Missouri, Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri. The district encompasses 267 contributing buildings in a predominant ...

Description

The museum has been housed in the 1846 Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Lexington since its opening in 1976. The museum has a collection of early Lexington pictures. It also has on display an Overland Mail Company Bible as one of its many items related to the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pi ...

mail service. It also contains historical memorabilia related to steamboats, coal mining, Osage Indians, and the

Wentworth Military Academy Wentworth Military Academy and College was a private two-year military college and high school in Lexington, Missouri. Wentworth was one of six total military junior colleges in the United States. The institution was founded in 1880 and closed in ...

. A sword that James A. Mulligan turned over in surrender, but was later allowed to keep per orders of General Sterling Price, is on display. The historical records on the sword show it was stolen by a young boy shortly after Mulligan's surrender and hidden in his father's farm near Lexington. It was returned to a lawyer around 1900. The lawyer returned it in 1912 to the widow of Colonel Mulligan. Her daughter returned it to the city of Lexington in 1917, where it stayed in a bank vault for 50 years. The family later donated the elaborately decorated sword to the Lexington Historical Museum in 1967. The sword was originally presented to Mulligan by the city of Chicago. The museum is located in downtown Lexington, where there are over one hundred pre-Civil War buildings. The city has more pre-Civil War homes and buildings than any other community in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. The battlefield where the

Battle of Lexington The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, ...

of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

took place is at this location. Lexington Historical Museum owns and operates the Heritage Park in Lexington, Missouri. The park commemorates the 1852 ''Saluda'' steamboat disaster. in which seventy-five Mormon immigrants were killed. A memorial bell tower is at Heritage Park.

History

The 1846 Cumberland Presbyterian Church was restored by funds raised by the local garden club in the 1970s. The garden club hosted tours of older homes of Lexington to gain profits that were contributed to the community. One such project was the restoration of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. After completion of the restoration in 1976 the doors officially opened as the Lexington Historical Museum. The building that contains the museum was at one time the Old Library Building of Lexington besides being the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Location

The museum is located at 112 South 13th Street in Lexington, Missouri. The museum is open to the public during the week in the summer, with visiting additionally on Saturdays and Sundays in May and October.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Lexington Historical Museum
- Visit Missouri
Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area - Draft FFNHA Statement of National Significance
{{Authority control Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Missouri Presbyterian churches in Missouri Greek Revival church buildings in Missouri Churches completed in 1846 Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Museums in Lafayette County, Missouri History museums in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Lafayette County, Missouri