BOONE JUNCTION:
A History Village

May 22, 2008, marked the opening day

of the second season in our history village.

Docent guided tours showcase

three historic Boone county properties --

Maplewood house (1877),

the Gordon-Collins cabin (ca. 1821),

and the Easley country store (ca. 1890).

The 2008 regular season ends September 14.

Normal Tour Hours Are:

Thursday - Sunday, 12:30 - 4:30 pm

(Last tour leaves at 3:30 pm)

Just come on out and enjoy the afternoon

with no appointment needed.

Tours do involve walking but all facilities are

handicap accessible (except the second story of Maplewood).

Special Tour Hours For Groups Are Available

about any time of the year.

Just call the office at 573-443-8936

and we'll work with your group to schedule a time

or make special arrangements.

Admission is:

$4 for adults, $2 for children 12 and under.

Discounted group rates are available if scheduled in advance.

The first stop on the tour is Maplewood, a fine example of a late 19th century home.  The house and other outbuildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.  Slater and Margaret Bradford Lenoir completed Maplewood in 1877.  The two-story brick farmhouse is furnished largely with original family pieces.  Dr. Frank and Lavinia (Lenoir) Nifong were the only other couple to live in the house, moving into it in 1905 to help Lavinia's aging parents. 

 

Next we move back in time to the

formation of Boone county and enter possibly its oldest surviving log structure.  Built around 1821 by David Gordon, Sr., the cabin is said to have served as the family's quarters while a large plantation-style house was built.  The cabin served later as slave quarters.  The cabin was moved by the City of Columbia from the Gordon family farm east of Columbia to Nifong Park in 2005.  Furnished now with typical period furniture, this cabin speaks volumes about early pioneer life in Boone county.

We conclude our tour with a visit to a county landmark, the Easley country store.  The store provided services to the Easley community for one hundred years, all by three generations of the Easley family.   Built originally in 1890 by William Greene Easley on the banks of the Missouri River in the southwest part of the county, the store has been reconstructed at Boone Junction using historical photographs, detailed interviews, and portions of the original building. 

 

Map of Boone Junction