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