Acoustic Holiday Music at Historic Church

Saturday, December 10th brings the Thayer Family Band to Historic Mt. Gilead Church in Kearney. They will play holiday music on a variety of acoustic string instruments including the banjo and dulcimer. Performance begins at 2:00 pm and ends at 4:00 pm. This is a free event sponsored by Clay County Parks, Recreation, Historic Sites & Tourism. Refreshments by the Rock Inn will be available for purchase. Call (816)736-8500 for more information.

Record Attendance At Pharis Farm Christmas Event

A record 374 people attended the annual Pharis Farm Christmas open house on Sunday, December 4th. This year, the volunteers and staff gave visitors an idea of what Christmas was like during the Civil War through period costumes, decor and music. Historic intreperters greeted guests in each room and each described holiday traditions of the era. Santa was there with a candy cane and small gift for each child. Refreshments, cookies and cider, was served in the log cabin.

Arrowhead Presentation

Sunday, September 25^th from 2:00pm to 4:00pm the arrowhead collection of Mr. Donald Pharis will be on display at Historic Pharis Farm, just six miles east of downtown Liberty. Local historian and arrowhead enthusiast, Dan Borthko will speak about the collection, the varied functions of the arrowheads in the collection and their cultures of origin. Mr. Bortko helped the Clay County Historic Sites Department identify items in the collection.

Donald Pharis bequeathed his home, its contents and 160 acres of farmland to the County and the County accepted his gift in 2002. Mr. Pharis collected many things, typically items related to agriculture, but he was also an avid collector of arrowheads. Some items in the collection were found on Nebo Hill, just a few miles southwest of his farm. The Nebo Hill Culture lived along Fishing River, a tributary of the Missouri River, and flourished from 3,000 to 1,000 BCE. Their distinctive spearhead and axe designs have been found as far north as Canada.

This is a free event. Historic Pharis Farm is located at 20611 EE Hwy, Liberty, MO 64068. For more information about this event, go to www.claycountymo.gov/historic or call (816)736-8503.

Lincoln/Douglass Debate

Sunday, October 23rd at 6:00pm at Historic Mt. Gilead Church - Clay County Historic Sites commemorates the sesquicentennial of the Civil War with “Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: The Measure of Great Men”. Kansas City Actors Harvey Williams and Bill Warren assume the roles of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln in a performance that draws upon the words of both men to re-create the struggle of both men as the two wrestle with how best to abolish slavery and reunite the nation.

For more information about this free event please contact Clay County Historic Sites at 816-736-8502

Janet Reed Book Signing

Saturday, October 15th from 10:00am to 2:00pm - Janet Reed, author of Excelsior Springs: Haunted Haven will be selling and signing copies of her book at theJesse James Farm & Museum.

Book Description: Excelsior Springs: Haunted Haven takes the reader back to a time when miracle cures were the stuff of legend. Here in the late 1800s, rumors of healing mineral water springs spread faster than wildfires, and the growth of a city was ignited by mankind’s obsession for health. Practically overnight, Excelsior Springs grew from a farming community to a luxury resort town known as “America’s Haven of Health.” Discover tales of the famous and infamous who sought out treatments for various ills of the day. Many who arrived hoping to be restored by in the waters that gushed forth from the depths may still linger on as spirits. Ghostly tales surrounding this area have been carefully researched and are presented as a legacy to the town’s founding fathers, their descendants, and current residents who still welcome visitors from around the world.

Bridal Open House

Sunday, October 2nd from 11:00am to 4:00pm - Historic Mt. Gilead Church will host a bridal open house. Tour the church and meet local wedding service providers. This is a FREE event. Call (816)736-8503 with any questions.

September Black Powder Shoot

Saturday, September 17th, 2011 at the Jesse James Farm and Museum - hosted by the Friends of the James Farm - Test your skills, win a prize! Cap & Ball Revolver or Cartridge Revolver, Replicas OK. Fixed sights & dueling stance only. $15 entry fee includes Friends of the James Farm membership. $5 for additional target, Jim Lane, the Jayhawker that burned Osceola.

Registration begins at 8:00am, shoot begins at 9:00am. 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners receive prizes, special prizes for General McNeil target. Historiclly accurate costume is encouraged, but not required. Call (816)736-8500 for more information.

The Thayer Family Band

Join us for an evening of acoustic folk music by the Thayer Family Band at Historic Mt. Gilead Church, Saturday, August 20th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.This is a FREE event. Historic Mt. Gilead School will be open for viewing prior to the concert. Refreshments by Rock Inn will be available for purchase.

Another Tea with Addy, an American Girl

Registration for the July 27th Tea with Addy event is now filled. however, we will be repeating the event on Saturday, August 20th. Same time, same place, same event. This event is quite popular and registration filled up quickly, so we decided it was worth repeating.

Young ladies and their dolls are cordially invited to a tea party.

Activities and craft projects will be centered around the life of the American Girl character, Addy.

Saturday, August 20th

9:00am – noon

at Historic Mt. Gilead Church

15918 Plattsburg Road Kearney, Missouri

Cost is $10 per child. Refreshments and all craft materials provided.

Call (816)736-8500 to reserve your child's place as space is limited.

Sponsored by Clay County Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites

Tea with Addy, an American Girl

Young ladies and their dolls are cordially invited to a tea party.

Activities and craft projects will be centered around the life of the American Girl character, Addy.

Wednesday, July 27^th

9:00am – noon

at Historic Mt. Gilead Church

15918 Plattsburg Road Kearney, Missouri

Cost is $10 per child. Refreshments and all craft materials provided.

Call (816)736-8500 to reserve your child's place as space is limited.

Sponsored by Clay County Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites

The Great Missouri Treasure Hunt

The Historic Sites department is taking part in a fun project sponsored by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and the Missouri State Archives. It's called the Great Missouri Treasure Hunt.

They're encouraging the public to dig through archives, libraries and their personal family collections for documents and photos. Anyone can post photos on The Great Missouri Treasure Hunt Flickr page. There's also a contest. Prizes will be awarded in three categories, Family History, Missouri History and Civil War Treasure.

Bluegrass Music event photos

Photos from the Blue Grass Music Event at Pharis Farm on Saturday, June 18th.

Congratulations Liz Murphy!

A historic interpreter and archive librarian at the Jesse James Farm & Museum, Liz received the Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) Gold Star Award at the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association's annual business meeting on Tuesday, May 10th. Receiving this award automatically nominated Liz for the National CTA Star award, which she won! It was presented to her at the Jesse James Farm Museum on Thursday, June 9th. A reception was held after the award ceremony. Clay County Presiding Commissioner, Pam Mason was in attendence, as well as Liz's son, staff from the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association, James Farm staff and Parks staff.

Bluegrass/Folk Music Event

Bill Graham & the Bluegrass Tornadoes

Saturday, June 18th Join us at Historic Pharis Farm for an evening of music, a blend of traditional, bluegrass & folk with Bill Graham & the Bluegrass Tornadoes, Patti Nance of the Hootin' Annies & other Kansas City area folk & bluegrass performers. The bands will be warming up from 5:30 to 6:30 & will play from 7:00 to 9:00. Seating is BYO (bring your own) lawn chairs or picnic blankets. Questions? Call (816)736-8500.

Patti Nance of the Hootin' Annies

Clay County Tourism Employees Visit New Attractions

On Thursday, May 12th, 2011, Employees from Clay County's tourist attractions visited the County's 3 newest attractions. The goal was to send staff from different attractions throughout the County to learn about the newest attractions so that they can in turn educate their fellow staff members & visitors to their attractions about the newest things to do & see in the area. They started the day at The Elms with a presentation about why tourism is important to Clay County. Then they had lunch at Belvoir Winery in Liberty while listening to a presentation from a member of the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association about the economic impact of tourism in Clay County, then toured the facility. The next stop was the Mormon temple, north of Pleasant Valley Rd., west of 435. The building is under construction, so the group gathered at the Police Training Academy across the street from the Temple to hear a presentation from Elder Adams about the facility. The final stop was The Atkins-Johnson Farm in Gladstone which is still under renovation & open to the public only for special events. It certainly was an educational day!

Summer Deals

Times are tough. But the kids don't know that money's tight. They just know that summer is so close they can practically taste it. Soon they'll be itching to get out of the house to see & do & experience summer (probably you are too). That's why we're offering 2-for-1 deals on admission. Here's 2 ways to save some $$ at the Jesse James Farm & Jesse James Bank Museums...

Print your 2-for-1 admission coupon at visitkc.com.

You can also access their website with your smart phone & show us the coupon on your phone when you arrive at The Jesse James Farm & Museum, or the Jesse James Bank Museum.

Bring your McDonald's coupon to The Jesse James Farm & Museum, or the Jesse James Bank Museum & we'll give you the 2-for-1 admission deal. Check out roadtriprewards.com to learn more.

Happy savings!

James Farm Employee Receives Gold Star

Liz Murphy, historic interpreter and archive librarian at the Jesse James Farm & Museum received the Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) Gold Star Award at the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association's annual business meeting on Tuesday, May 10th. Liz is probably our most knowledgeable staff person regarding local history, Civil War history, the genealogy of Jesse James and the history of the James Farm. When we're asked an obscure question we can’t answer, our standard reply is “Let’s ask Liz!” She goes above and beyond to thoroughly explain visitors’ questions, providing ample background and context, sometimes pulling out maps and documents. Liz is very dedicated to our museum and every aspect of her work here, giving tours, doing research, helping others do research, providing a broad range of information to our visitors (local history, local events, local attractions) and making recommendations based on their interests. She is genuinely passionate about what she does. This is more than a job to her. Anyone who met Liz would quickly realize that she lives and breathes history and lives to share it with others. She is an outstanding representative of our museum, the County’s Historic Sites Department and our local community. Her knowledge and interaction with visitors makes her a shining example of a CTA.

Tree Planting at Pharis Farm

Photos from the tree planting at Pharis Farm on Saturday, April 23rd

Clay County Parks Dept. Acquires Free Trees for Pharis Farm

Clay County Parks has received bald cypress trees, free of charge, from Project CommuniTree, a community assisted nursery located in Creve Coeur Park, Missouri. CommuniTree is a venture of Forest ReLeaf of Missouri which is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to inspiring volunteer efforts in planning and caring for trees, particularly those on public and not-for-profit property.

On Saturday, April 23rd from 8:30am to 12:30pm, the Friends of Pharis Farm with the Clay County Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Department will be welcoming members of the public to help them plant 23 of these trees along

the driveway at Historic Pharis Farm, just a few miles east of downtown Liberty. The addition of these bald cypress trees will be reminiscent of the past, when the driveway was tree-lined to provide a grand entrance, shade and a wind-break. Bald cypress are native to Missouri and have been readily available for purchase since the mid to late 1800's.

Jasen Ballenger, Prairie Trails and Wildlife Manager for the Clay County Parks Department, has laid out a stunning landscape design for Pharis Farm. "In future autumns, the bald cypress trees will really put on a nice color show for the visitors to the farm. I think Mr. Pharis would have liked that." Mr. Ballenger's landscape design will be on display at Saturday's event so that volunteers can get a glimpse of what the site will look like in the near future and see the grand scheme of what they're taking part in, beautifying a historic site for years to come.

Tree planting at Historic Pharis Farm

Join us Saturday, April 23rd

8:30am - 12:30pm

at Historic Pharis Farm

20611 EE Highway

Liberty, MO

No digging required.

All materials provided, but don't forget your gardening gloves!

Black Powder Shoot at the James Farm

Photos from the most recent Black Powder Shoot held at the Jesse James Farm on Saturday, April 9th, 2011. Sponsored by the Friends of the James Farm with the Clay County Historic Sites Department. We had the biggest turn-out yet and were pleased to see that nearly everyone made an effort to dress in period costume. Great weather, great people, great event!

(Check out the video at the end of the slideshow!)

Black Powder Shoot at James Farm

The Friends of the Jesse James Farm and Museum will host their annual Black Powder shoot, Saturday, April 9 at 9:00 a.m.

This shootout is always a blast with great opportunities to see Civil War Era dress and period firearms in action.

The event is held at the Jesse James Farm and Museum, 21216 Jesse James Farm Rd., Kearney (map).

Here are photos from last year's event.

Smithville Lake hosts migrating birds

Prairie, Trails and Wildlife Manager Jasen Ballenger captured these images of Double-crested Cormorants and American White Pelicans at Smithville Lake.

Take a look at the photos below then head to the Camp Branch Marina (map) to see them in person.




Learn more about Double-crested Cormorants here and American White Pelicans here. 

Surprise!

Bud Deppeler (left) poses with his cake & Parks staff members Mandy Pickett & Mike Kaullen

Thursday, February 17th, as the Clay County Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites Department gathered for their monthly safety training & luncheon, staff members were met with a pleasant surprise. Bud Deppeler, frequent park visitor, cyclist & sailboat enthusiast paid the staff a visit to thank them for their service & presented a colorful & delicious cake as a token of his appreciation. The staff enjoyed meeting Mr. Deppeler & hearing his positive remarks. His gesture was very much appreciated.

Clay County Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites staff

Civil War aprons focus of Ladies Spring Tea

Clay County Historic Sites will host its 16th Annual Ladies Spring Tea at historic Mt. Gilead Church in Kearney at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 26. This year’s event will highlight the history of aprons used during the Civil War. Participants will make felt totes and paper boxes.

At 4:00 pm on February 13^th, 1866 approximately 12 men wearing long, blue, Union soldier coats rode into Liberty, Missouri on horseback. They entered the square and stationed themselves on the south and west sides of the Clay County Savings Association, on the corner of Franklin and Water Streets. Two of the men dismounted and entered the bank. Minutes later they exited with the contents of the safe.

Link: Historypin

Historypin is an extremely cool, user-generated archive of historical photos and stories. The website combines Google Maps with photos and stories uploaded by the public to act as a virtual time machine. You can even use Streetview to take a tour of places with historic images overlaid. 

The site is relatively new, so some areas are lacking for photos, but it's worth a look. You might even want to help the cause by uploading some of your own photos or stories.

[update]

Historypin is currently featuring several Clay County Historic Sites photos. Head over to their twitter feed to see links and some kind words! 

Thanks to Emily Doolan for adding so many great photos to the site. 

Trumpeter swans at Smithville Lake

These beautiful trumpeter swans were photographed by Trails and Prairie Manager Jasen Ballenger near the Camp Branch marina (map).





Learn more about trumpeter swans here.

True Grit

Have you seen the new Coen brothers' new movie, True Grit yet? Our own Frank James and Cole Younger played a small role at the end of the film. The main character, Mattie Ross seeks out Younger and James at a Wild West show. Though Mattie converses with Cole, Frank has no lines. As she leaves, Mattie says something to the effect of “Keep your seat, trash” in reference to his reluctance to stand in the presence of a lady, as Cole did.

Missouri's abolition of slavery

On this day in 1865 Missouri's slaves were granted their freedom. Because Missouri was a Union state, it was not affected by the national Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln two years earlier therefore; the state had to carry out its own emancipation program. Reportedly, when the ordinance passed, spectators in the room went wild with applause, swung their hats, waved their handkerchiefs, stamped, clapped, and cheered.

The James-Samuel family, like many Clay County families, did own slaves and this would have meant changes for them and their farm. They may have owned between 7 and 11 slaves in 1865. We can't be entirely sure because slave schedules (like a census that only includes age, sex and race) were taken only every 10 years, the last being 1860.

Eagle Days 2011

The Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri Department of Conservation and Clay County Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites present Eagle Days 2011.

This is your chance to see live eagles up close and personal. Diane Johnson of Operation Wildlife will present Saturday, Jan. 8 and Sunday, Jan. 9.

Other events include kid's crafts, informational booths and bus trips to eagle viewing stations.
For more information on event dates and times, see below: