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Clay County Historical Society Museum
From Top to Bottom, our Museum has Treasures on each of its 3 floors, just waiting for you to explore. We are located at – 14 North Main Street – Look for our building, right in the middle of the (West block) on the Historic Downtown Liberty Square. Start on the top floor with the parlor and doctor’s office, then tour the first (main) floor both front and back, leaving the lower level for the grand finale! The lower level has Janie the Scarecrow and Bullseye the Sawhorse welcoming you to discover Clay County’s historic, rustic past. Also on display is a tribute to Youth Programs including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Campfire.
Early settlers came with family, livestock and dreams. Clay County was timber land needing to be cleared, fields waiting to be uncovered and planted and history to be written. The cottage industries demonstrate the various ways families were able to bring civilization to an untamed frontier.
Browse all 3 floors and ask the docents questions
Enjoy our Past in the Present and Come again in the Future!
How the Clay County Missouri Historical Society came into being
The Clay County Missouri Historical Society was formed in 1934 by community leaders interested in the preservation of local history. The present-day Clay County Historical Society & Museum sprang from this organization in 1963. These individuals had been activists in saving the old courthouse that was razed to be replaced by the current large block courthouse. That effort failed but they formed the society and worked in the interest of history.
Below is a transcription of their 2nd meeting which took place shortly before Christmas, 1934.
“Minutes – Dec 14, 1934. The Clay County Missouri Historical Society met at Hessel-Myers Chapel in Liberty on the evening of Dec 14, 1934, with about twenty in attendance.
The President called the meeting to order and in the absence of the Secretary, Mrs. Earl Sevier, appointed Samuel Laffoon to serve in that capacity. Since the minutes of the first meeting were not at hand, the president reviewed the incidents of the organization meeting, which was held in the circuit court room of the historic old courthouse on the afternoon of Sep 3, 1934 – this being the last public gathering in the courthouse before its destruction was begun on Sep 17.
While the historical society was being organized in one part of the courthouse, the building was sold in another part to a wrecking company for the sum of $330.
Report of Resolutions Committee was given by Mrs. Mary B. PerLee, a member, in the absence of Mrs. Pearl Wornall, chairman. The gist of this was that the County Court declined to reserve any of the structural parts of the old courthouse as historic relics, or to provide for an historical museum room in the new courthouse. Mrs. Burton Maltby, chairman of the Committee on Constitutions and By-Laws, reported. Mrs. PerLee read for Mrs. Maltby. The Constitution and By Laws submitted by the committees were considered in detail and, after a few minor changes proposed by motion and accepted, these were adopted as read and amended.
The historian, Mrs. Chas. A. McCoun opened a discussion on the type of scrapbook most desirable for her work. It was left to her to make the selection. A motion that the president purchase the books necessary for the preservation of the Society’s records was made by Edgar Laffoon and seconded. The motion carried. Open discussion of future plans with several worthwhile projects receiving attention occupied the remainder of the evening. Motion for adjournment was made and seconded. Motion carried.
Ethel Masie Withers, President; Samuel Laffoon, Secretary Pro. Tem.”
The following year, the new Clay County Historical Society sets its sights on saving Watkins Mill for posterity. In this effort, they, with others, were successful. Their overall mission was to seek out and preserve historical sites while educating the community on local history. The board of directors was made up of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Historian and Treasurer for the executive committee plus a director from each of the six townships in Clay County: Fishing River, Liberty, Gallatin, Kearney, Platte and Washington. At the outset they had seventy odd members and each paid yearly dues of 50¢.
They put action to their mission with programs featuring various Senators, including a newly elected Harry S. Truman as well as other notable Missourians. They sponsored essay contests for elementary and high school students, with the original prize in 1937 being $4.00. By 1941, the society had begun a tour of homes that was continued for several decades.
This organization and these first members are the reason the Museum exists today. They were just concerned people, interested in preserving the history of Clay County and its people. At its beginning, the Clay County Historical Society boasted seventy members; today we have less than fifty. The Clay County Museum needs volunteers to continue its mission to preserve, protect and present history. Be a part of a great organization and help preserve history for the future – for your children, grandchildren and beyond.