Day 15 of 117 on our “Go West, Young Man” Two Lane Adventure – Wednesday 7/11/18

We are spending the next 5 days in Jefferson Missouri with Tom & Peg Welch, friends from our park and camping club. I should probably tell you how we decided on Jefferson City, for our extended stay stop. Looking at the maps with Charlie, there was not much to see ... so I put a question on a Facebook Group, Living the RV Dream. I got the standard answers of RVParky, not much to see .... but then a lady said Jefferson City MO. Gave us a campground (which is a hidden gem) and many, many things to see. She even gave us a recommendation on a church, if we were going to be here on a Sunday.

We decided to check out the Visitors Center this morning, to get a better idea of what we are doing on which day. The Visitors Center is located in the old Missouri State Prison Warden’s House, across from the closed prison. The house is still as beautiful on the outside as it was back in its time.

Inside featured carpeted staircases, antique furniture and a very helpful staff of ladies.

In the lower level of the Colonel Darwin W. Markaduke house (the former warden’s house) is the Missouri State Penitentiary Museum. This museum houses many of the artifacts recovered from or donated to the preservation of the history of this museum. I won’t go into too much detail, since we have a guided tour of the prison in a few days. Missouri State Prison was the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi. It was decommissioned in 2004 and operated for 168 years. It now serves as a great historic landmark in downtown Jefferson City.

A couple of notable items were the prison art items that the inmates crafted. I am trying to limit the number of salt & pepper shakers I add to my collection, but I would have purchased this set for my collection!

The museum also has a replica cell that demonstrates the living conditions at the prison. We learned about prison industries, contract labor and private industries that used prison laborers.

We also discovered that women were housed in the prison too. "Red" Kate O'Hare was imprisoned for Espionage in 1918. She had a year sentence for lecturing against the draft ... so much for free speech in the early 1900's!

We took a self-guided tour of the Carnahan Memorial Garden, next to the Governor’s Mansion. This sunken garden is chiseled out of the hill adjacent to the 1871 Governor’s Mansion that overlooks the Missouri state capital. The gardens were started in the late 1930s by the WPA (Works Progress Administration.) 

Work included extensive rock wall work. There is a grand stairway that ascends to a pergola that is lit with original lighting. The view of the capital would have been stunning, if not for the construction! The site is filled with flowers, pools, and walkways. 

The gardens were renamed the Carnahan Memorial Gardens after the untimely death of former governor Mel Carnahan in 2001. The former governor died in a plane crash during a campaign trip for the United States Senate. He won the election; his widow, Jean Carnahan, was appointed to serve his term.

At the Lewis & Clark Trailhead Plaza on the edge of the Missouri State Capitol complex, we discovered the Lewis & Clark Commemorative “Corps of Discovery” Monument. The concept began in 2002 and was dedicated on June 4^th, 2008. The sculptor was Sabra Tull Meyer and the monument is called “The Captain’s Mess.” 

Looking at the monument from left to right, the first figure is York, William Clark’s companion and slave. Meriweather Lewis is next, in the Commander’s Hat. In the center of the monument is Seaman, a Newfoundland dog that belonged to Lewis. William Clark is the 4^th figure, he was co-captain and is holding the sextant. On the far right is George Drouillard, he acted as the interpreter, guide and hunter for the expedition. This monument pays tribute to the Corps of Discovery that scouted the Missouri River and found a viable route to the Pacific Ocean.

Jefferson Landing State Historic Site is significant because it is a rare surviving Missouri River landing. When the capitol moved to Jefferson City, the lower end of Jefferson Street became a thriving commercial and transportation hub. In 1839, James Crump built what is known today as the Lowman building. It is a sturdy stone structure that served as a telegraph office, tavern and hotel and it its heyday it also housed one of the city’s largest warehouse and mercantile businesses.

With the coming of the Pacific Railroad, business boomed in the 1850’s. Jefferson City became the transfer point for goods coming from the east by rail and heading west by steamboat. Much of this activity occurred in the landing.  In 1852 Charles Maus and his brother-in-law, Charles Lohman, bought Crump’s building and opened a general store.

In response to a growing demand for hotel rooms, Maus built a hotel across the street from the Lohman Building in 1855. It was first called the Missouri Hotel, then the Veranda Hotel, the final name change occurred when Maus returned from the Civil War. He renamed it, the Union Hotel, as a declaration of his wartime sentiments. After the war, river traffic slowed and both Maus and Lowman relocated their businesses away from the landing. Both buildings were used for storage and tenements until the early 20^th century when they became a factory and offices for the Tweedie Shoe Company.

Today, the Lohman building features exhibits on the history of the capitol city and a welcome center that replicates a mercantile. The Union Hotel houses the Elizabeth Rozier Gallery. She was instrumental in spearheading the movement to preserve the buildings. The ground floor maintains the tradition of providing transportation to the heartland, by housing the city’s Amtrak station.

With the brutal temperatures, we have tried to get out sight seeing done by 3pm ... so we can get back to the RV and cool off. We did brave the high temps and had Zwiegles hot dogs and brats on the grill, with beans and macaroni salad for dinner at the campground.