Black Historic Sites to Visit In Missouri

 Fulton

Celia, A Slaves - Slave Quarters. Celia, the young slave who killed her master and was sentenced to a hanging death. 

 St. Joseph

Aunt Jemima was created here.  Also, check out the wonderful collection in St. Joseph’s Black Archives Museum

Columbia

Museum of Art and Archaeology, in National Register-listed Pickard Hall on the University of Missouri campus (corner of University Avenue and 9th Street) has a small but excellent exhibit of African art called “Expressions of Africa.”

Traditional African art is not only displayed but is explained in relation to its practical use. Pieces range from Ashanti fertility figures to intricately carved masks, giving physical form to the spiritual. Works of black artists also form part of the museum’s collection and there are often visiting African American art exhibits.

Diamond

The George Washington Carver National Monument, southeast of Joplin and two-and-one-half miles southwest of Diamond, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The young Carver spent his childhood on the Moses Carver farm at this site. The trails that the young Carver enjoyed walking have been preserved, along with his own private garden area. In the midst of this garden is a bronze statue of the boy Carver. Visitors may listen to a tape recording of Carver’s last public speech.

Independence

Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, at the northeast edge of Independence, on U.S. 24 at Delaware Street. It was from Independence that many wagon trains started their long, dangerous trips west in the 19th century. Artist Thomas Hart Benton’s mural, “Independence and the Opening of the West” at the Truman Library shows an African American blacksmith hard at work. The man in the painting is Hiram Young who lived in Independence and made his fortune building wagons for many of the pioneers.

The museum also contains important documents relating to the civil rights movement that were executed by Truman during his presidency.

Jefferson City

Lincoln University, 820 Chestnut Street, was founded on the dreams of uneducated ex-slaves, the men of the 62nd Missouri Colored Volunteers who served during the Civil War. The money for the school was raised from the regiment. enlisted men who drew only $13 a month in pay gave as much as $100. Begun as the Lincoln Institute in 1866, its first permanent building was erected in 1871. The Lincoln University Hilltop Campus is a National Register historic district.

The Inman E. Page Library, on the campus, has a collection of art works by noted black American artists, such as Aaron Douglas, Hale Woodruff, and James Porter.

Kansas City 

Black Archives of Mid-America, 2033 Vine Street, is housed in the first fire station in Missouri to be managed by blacks. The museum highlights notable black figures in sports, entertainment, and politics, and serves as a regional research center and repository of records and information relating to the African American experience in the Midwest.

 Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, at 3700 Blue Parkway (Swope Parkway and Benton Boulevard) commemorates the history of Kansas City’s black community. Bruce R. Watkins was a black community leader throughout his adult life. Among the highlights of the center are the Spirit of Freedom fountain, the brush Creek Amphitheater, and the Grand Hall of Fame. Within the hall is the Wall of Fame, which honors notable black Kansas Citians. The center offers dramatic and musical productions as well as educational and art exhibits.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. When this museum is completed, it will be part of the International Jazz Hall of Fame in the 18th and Vine National Register Historic District. Upon arriving, the visitor will be greeted by a statue of Satchel Paige throwing his famous “hesitation pitch.” Exhibits will weave black history into arrangements of artifacts and photos about the Negro League, which was organized at Kansas City, Missouri, in 1920. Call (816) 924-7373 for more information. [Location: 1601 East 18th Street, phone: 816-221-1920.]

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak Street, has a collection of African art as well as African American pieces by Richard Hunt, Jacob Lawrence, and Julian Binford.

St. Charles

Lewis and Clark Center, 701 Riverside Drive, has life-size exhibits and dioramas on the Lewis and Clark expedition that explored the West in 1804. The exhibits include information about York, the black servant of William Clark, who proved invaluable as a hunter and fisherman as well as for his skills in negotiating with the Indian tribes.

St. Louis

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, on the waterfront at Market Street, includes not only the world-famous National Register-listed Gateway Arch but also the Museum of Westward Expansion, which is housed beneath the Arch. The museum contains fascinating exhibits on black pioneers and the rangers who conduct tours through the museum point out the role that black men and women played in the westward trek.

The Old Courthouse, at Broadway and Market Streets, is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Before the Civil War, slaves were sold on the courthouse steps to settle estates. It was here that the slave Dred Scott filed suit to gain his freedom in 1846. The litigation went on for 11 years, eventually making its way to the Supreme Court. Although Dred Scott finally lost his case, the decision handed down by Judge Taney widened the split between the North and the South over the issue of slavery. Ironically, Dred Scott himself was set free by his owner a few weeks after the decision was rendered and died a year later. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery.

The courthouse has two restored courtrooms and five museum galleries on St. Louis history, including exhibits on the Dred Scott Case. The building is listed in the National Register.

Quinn Chapel, at 225 Bowen Street, near the Mississippi River was built as a public market in 1870. The building was transferred to the Carondelet African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1880. This black congregation had formed in 1845 and called its new church Quinn Chapel, after the A.M.E.’s fourth bishop, William P. Quinn, who opened up the West to African evangelism. The church, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, has been used by the same organization at the same location for more than 100 years.

St. Louis Art Museum stands on the top of Art Hill in Forest Park. The museum has a good collection of African art and a small collection of works by African American artists, including Robert S. Duncanson’s oil painting, “View of the St. Anne’s River, Canada.”

Historic Museum in the Jefferson Memorial, also in Forest Park (off Lindell Boulevard), chronicles the history of St. Louis, including a display of photographs and artifacts of blacks in the city’s history.

St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, 100 Stadium Plaza, is on the Walnut Street side of Busch Memorial Stadium, between Gates 5 and 6. This live-action museum of St. Louis sports history includes all sports, but in large part tells the story of baseball. The room honoring players of the St. Louis Cardinals team has larger-than-life-size pictures of famous black Cardinal baseball players, such as Bob Gibson and Cool Papa Bell. World Series movies are also shown.

Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, 2658 Delmar Boulevard, just west of Jefferson Avenue, was the home of the King of Ragtime. One of the nation’s most creative black musicians, Joplin lived on the second floor of this four-family flat at the turn of the century during his “St. Louis period,” and composed some of his most famous works there.

The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and has been restored to look as it did when Joplin lived and worked there. The building also includes a museum and exhibit area for black history and culture, including a room for musical performances. The building next door, the “new” Rosebud Club, will be turned into a museum of ragtime music.

Stowe Teacher’s College (now Harris-Stowe), 3026 Laclede, was founded a century ago as a training school of black teachers, the first black institution of higher education west of the Mississippi. Stowe merged with Harris Teachers College, a training school for white teachers, in 1954. The small but excellent archives of historical black material in the library at Harris-Stowe is available to the public by appointment.

One of Stowe’s outstanding graduates was Julia Davis who went on to teach three generations of black students at the college. She contributed the Julia Davis Collection of black resource material to the St. Louis Public Library and a branch library has been named in her honor. The Julia Davis Library, 4666 Natural Bridge [New branch location: 4415 Natural Bridge], has memorabilia of Julia Davis.

Vaughn Cultural Center, 525 North Grand, has changing monthly exhibits on African American history and culture. Bus tours of black St. Louis also begin at this center, led by experienced tour guides, who describe black St. Louis history with fascinating stories, legend, and fact.

Sedalia

Maple Leaf Room Ragtime Collection has a permanent home in the Learning Resources Center at State Fair Community College. Sedalia has been called the cradle of classical ragtime. It was while black composer Scott Joplin was playing his ragtime music at the Maple Leaf Club here in 1899 that John Stark, a music store owner, purchased the “Maple Leaf Rag” from Joplin for $50 and Joplin’s royalties. The sale of the music made both Stark and Joplin financially independent…and ragtime music internationally famous. The “Maple Leaf Rag” became one of the first pieces of American sheet music to sell over one million copies.

The original Maple Leaf Club stood at the intersection of Lamine and Main Streets. A monument marks the spot. The ragtime collection at the college contains sheet music, piano rolls, tapes of interviews, and memorabilia of Scott Joplin and other ragtime greats. The Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival is held annually in June.

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