Red Cedar Inn, Pacific

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A Route 66 landmark has been born again.

The famed Red Cedar Inn in Pacific, which lured travelers on Route 66 with its fried chicken, was a popular stop from its opening in 1934 until its closing in 2005. The City of Pacific purchased the building and, after extensive renovation, reopened it as a museum and visitor center in August of this year. It is well positioned for the upcoming Route 66 centennial in 2026.

Crossing the threshold is a bit like time traveling. On the outside, the building looks much the same as it always has—logs with chinking in between, a shady porch with rocking chairs —but the inside is bright and open, with museum display cases, neon signs, a gift shop area and much more. Remnants of the original building are incorporated, such as the wooden booths and bar counter in the side room, and a section of the original exterior wall.

The business opened in 1934 as the Red Cedar Tavern, advertising steaks, fried chicken, frog legs and fish. The two gasoline pumps in front enabled travelers to fill up their tanks when they stopped to fill up their stomachs.

In the 1940s, the name was changed to Red Cedar Inn. With the addition of an outdoor brick barbecue pit, the restaurant added barbecued ribs to the menu, served with a special Red Cedar Inn sauce. In the 1950s, according to the museum signage, “Business was so good it was difficult to make a left turn into Red Cedar traveling east.”

Then I-44 opened in the 1960s, and traffic along Route 66, or Osage Street, declined. The Red Cedar Inn went through several phases and was leased to various tenants with varying success until the third generation of the Smith family decided to take the reins in 1987. In the 1990s and early-2000s, the Red Cedar Inn was featured in Route 66 books, magazines, calendars and documentaries and was recognized as a roadside attraction by the Route 66 Caravan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. It closed on March 7, 2005.

Today you can see the original neon sign, a place setting of dishes, a uniform and cap and other Red Cedar mementoes. A time line walks you through the inn’s history.

Other museum exhibits focus on Route 66, the Meramec River watershed, the history of Pacific and the Union Pacific and Burlington Frisco railroads that run through town. A large room in the back is the children’s museum area, with lots of hands-on activities.

Red Cedar Inn Museum and Visitor Center is located at 1047 East Osage Street and is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Visit PacificMissouri.com/324/Red-Cedar-Inn-Museum-Visitor-Center or call 636-271-0500 for more information.

MoArk Regional Railroad Museum, Poplar Bluff

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All aboard!

Housed in the historic Frisco Depot in downtown Poplar Bluff, the MoArk Regional Railroad Museum features exhibits of seven different railroads—Iron Mountain, Missouri Pacific, Union Pacific, Frisco, Butler County, Cotton Belt and Amtrak—as well as an extensive model train layout. There is also a gift and hobby shop, and a model railroad repair shop.

The depot, itself, was built to replace the original Southern Missouri and Arkansas Railroad depot which was destroyed in 1927 by a tornado. Built by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad and completed in 1928, the Spanish Colonial-style building served Poplar Bluff until the branch was abandoned in 1965. The depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

There is a lot to see on the museum grounds, too. You can explore two cabooses, a mail service car, working cross lights and a block signal, and you can take a look at the train schedule posted for December 1944.

This is the 32nd year for the non-profit museum, which has no paid staff and relies totally on volunteers who work about 2,500 hours annually to maintain the museum. Their work pays off; from July 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023, the museum welcomed 1,505 visitors from 146 cities in 26 states, the District of Columbia and Japan.

The museum sponsored its first train show and swap meet in May. It participates in the town’s Iron Horse Festival held annually in late September. Christmas trains and visits by Santa Claus highlight the holiday season at the museum.

The Amtrak station is two blocks away at 400 South Main Street in the brick Union Pacific depot, which was built in 1910 by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, the first railroad to come to Poplar Bluff in 1873. That railroad was succeeded by the Missouri Pacific in 1917 and the Union Pacific in 1982. Restoration of this station is ongoing. There are plans to create a Depot District that would connect the Amtrak depot with the 1928 Frisco depot housing the museum.

As you drive or walk downtown, be sure to note the three-plus miles of historic brick streets along Main and Vine, completed in 1913 following specifications established for brick streets in New York City.

MoArk Regional Railroad Museum is located at 303 South Moran Street and is open Saturdays 1-4 p.m. except during major holiday weekends. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Annual memberships are available for $12 per individual or $20 per family. The museum is east of the Black River Coliseum. For more information call 573-785-4539. For group tours, call 573-686-2241 and leave a message.

The Bible Museum, Houston

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by BARBARA GIBBS OSTMANN
The small pinkish building is tucked away on a quiet side street near the Texas County Courthouse in Houston. A second glance reveals the name under the porch eaves: The Bible Museum. The front door stands open in welcome, and there’s a key in the lock with a tiny Holy Bible dangling on the key chain.

Take the time for a stop to visit an unexpected treasure trove and experience a generous helping of hospitality from Brenda Christensen or one of the other local volunteers who help operate The Bible Museum for its founder, Pastor Terry Snelling, a Houston native.

Brenda smiles when I notice the Bible keychain, and says, “Jesus is knocking at the door.”

She is happy to answer questions—or to let visitors wander in silence. However, it is difficult to remain silent when looking at some of the displays, such as the dozens of teeny-tiny Bibles that require magnification to see the type. Those elicit exclamations of wonder.

The museum contents are part of Snelling’s personal collection of Bibles and related items that he has assembled over the years from around the world. In addition to the miniature Bibles, most from the 1800s, there are large-print volumes, braille versions and editions printed in German, Spanish, Danish, Chinese and Japanese. There’s even a Bible on 8-track tape. One of the oldest items is a framed, authenticated page from a 1589 Bible. Bible-themed jewelry includes a belt buckle, necklace and ring.

Vintage musical instruments are scattered throughout the displays and Bible quotations are stenciled on the walls. There are also photos showing the evolution of the museum from a rundown building with caved-in ceiling to the large display room packed with religious items.

The museum is surrounded by a peaceful garden with walkways, benches and inspirational quotations. Volunteers maintain the garden, which is always open to visitors.

When the not-for-profit museum opened on Easter Sunday 2017, it was the fulfillment of a dream that Snelling had held for more than 45 years. Snelling has a degree in theology and has been the pastor of a rural church in Tyrone, shared God’s word on a television show in West Plains and a radio station in Salem and worked with inmates at the South Central Correctional Center in Licking.

The Bible Museum is located at 219 Second Street at the corner of Second and Walnut streets. It is open 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, from Easter Sunday to late September or mid-October, depending on the weather. (The building is not air conditioned or heated.) Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.

Crawford County Museum, Cuba

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by BARBARA GIBBS OSTMANN
When you’re getting your kicks on Route 66, you might well find yourself cruising through Cuba, which proudly claims two miles of the historic Mother Road. For an interesting stop along the way, make a slight detour to the Crawford County Historical Museum, home of the Crawford County Historical Society and a treasure trove of interesting exhibits.

The museum is housed in what was originally part of the Cuba Public School complex. The 1934 rock building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was in use as a school until the 1960s. The museum covers the area’s history from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s via carefully designed displays, including hands-on areas for school children’s programs.

Naturally, there is a selection of Route 66 memorabilia, including a 1936 route map. Back in the heyday of America’s Main Street, Cuba offered a wide choice of lodgings for Route 66 travelers: Lazy Y Cabins, Red Horse Inn, Midway Rooms, Southern Hotel, Cuba Hotel and the famous Wagon Wheel Cabin Court, which has been renovated and is a popular stop for today’s Route 66 fans.

Other displays include the Native American area, focusing on the Osage tribe; a one-room school house interior, circa 1900; a gallery of wedding gowns, plus a selection of vintage undergarments; a children’s area with antique toys and bicycles; a dentist’s office circa 1920; blacksmith shop; military room; a kitchen with shelves packed full of vintage equipment and dishes; a wardrobe filled with mourning clothes; lots of quilts, hats, period clothing; and much more. As the museum likes to advertise, there are “three floors of history.”

The historical society offers a genealogy department that includes family histories, maps dating back to 1904, school yearbooks from 1923 on, cemetery books and census records from 1830, military listings for the Civil War and World War I and lists of churches, schools and businesses from 1829 to 1960. Visit the museum website for information on how to access the genealogy records.

Crawford County Historical Museum, is located at 308 North Smith Street. The museum is open late April through late November, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday or by appointment. (Hours may vary, so please call to verify.) Group tours can be arranged. Donations are requested for admission. There is a small gift shop area with history books, cookbooks, locally made items, hand-carved birds, postcards, notecards and more. Books also can be ordered online. The museum is part of Recklein Commons, along with the public library, auditorium and veterans memorial. For more information, call 573-885-6099 or visit CrawfordMoMuseum.com.

Ozark County Historium, Gainesville

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by BARBARA GIBBS OSTMANN
Ozark County prides itself on being the “real Ozarks.” History and tradition play key roles in the county’s identity, as do two pristine lakes, two crystal-clear float streams, four historic mills and thousands of acres of scenic public land in the Caney Mountain Conservation Area and the Mark Twain National Forest.

Amid this bounty of riches, volunteers at the Ozark County Historium strive to preserve, cherish and share the county’s history.

The Historium, established by the not-for-profit Ozark County Genealogical and Historical Society, is housed in the former A.D. McDonald Mercantile building on the west side of the square in Gainesville, the county seat. Totally renovated from top to bottom, the 1920s-era building provides a beautiful and welcoming space for exhibits, meetings, classes and other gatherings.

Part emporium and part museum, the Historium is all about the unique culture and history of the county. Display cases around the perimeter of the room showcase artifacts from the county’s history. Quilt exhibits and other displays change seasonally. Local quilters meet there weekly to work on joint quilting projects. You can pull a chair up to the quilt frame, put on a thimble, and try your hand at making 12 stitches per inch. You could sign up for a basket-making class or stop in for a fiddling session or to hear a local old-timer talk about how things were done back in the day, such as plowing with a team of mules or turning cane sorghum into molasses.

The OCGHS, founded in 1986, purchased the building in 2010 and oversaw the renovation. In addition to the museum display cases and event space, the building houses a well-stocked genealogy library where a volunteer genealogist may help you find your roots, as well as a display area with maps, brochures and other local and regional information provided by the Ozark County Chamber of Commerce. The society has published several books and CDs about Ozark County, which are available at the Historium or from its online store. The Historium also offers locally made gift and craft items.

Ozark County Historium is located at 361 Main Street in Gainesville. It is open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, or by appointment. OCGHS membership is open to anyone with an interest in Ozark County and includes a subscription to the newsletter, The Old Mill Run, and quarterly meetings. Visit the website, OzarkCountyHistory.org, Ozark County Historium on Facebook or call 417-679-2400 for more information. Upcoming holiday events include the annual Christmas pageant and parade at 6 p.m. December 16 on the Gainesville square. For more tourism information, contact the Ozark County Chamber of Commerce at Ozark County.net or 417-712-9465.