We marvel at the “old homes” of the area … as they also did some 80+ years ago.

This article from the Liberty Tribune in October 1937 or 1938

 

“Century-Old Houses Discussed at D.A.R.“

 

The beautiful country home of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Pharis, itself a part of the early days of Clay County, was the scene Tuesday afternoon, October 12, of the regular monthly meeting of the Alexander Doniphan Chapter, D.A.R., at which Miss Edna McKinley, chapter historian, presented a paper on ‘Century-old Houses in Clay County.’ Miss McKinley prefaced her remarks with the statement she had hoped to call her paper ‘The Romance of Old House,’ but had found little of romance, rather she imagined of love and forbearance for the pioneer wives to live in some of the house their husbands provided for them.

 

She discussed five houses which are definitely over one hundred years old. The Jacob Groomer home, located east of Kearney, was built in 1822. The home is 115 years old and is occupied now by family connections of the notorious James brothers, who preserve it somewhat as a museum of these characters. The Archibald McIlvain house, also located east of Kearney, was built in 1830, remained in that family’s possession for 100 years and was then sold. The Garrard Arnold home, located on Thornton’s Mill Creek near Maple Park was built in 1830 also. This house remained in the family’s possession until 1907.

 

The Daniel Hughes’ home, built in 1828, in the western part of the county near Acme Springs, is the only one Miss McKinley found which continues to be occupied by members of the family which built it, the fourth generation of the Hughes family now lives there. Frank Hughes, Jr., told Miss McKinley that this house originally had three rooms, 16×16 feet square, with nine-foot spaces between each room. Mr. Hughes said he had heard this was to allow wagons with wood to drive between the rooms. These spaces later were enclosed forming other rooms.

All four of these early houses are of log construction and have been weather-boarded in later years, some have had other improvements made. All are sturdy and attest to the skill and effort of their pioneer builders.

 

The first brick house in Clay County so far as Miss McKinley’s research has revealed, was built in 1827 by James Marsh, three miles west of Kearney. This house was built with slave labor and contained work of one of the fine cabinet makers of the times, Anthony Harsel. Mr. Marsh, himself a brick-maker, made the bricks.  In this house were born Dr. J.T. Marsh, Mrs. Martha North and Mrs. Mattie Simrall. Mrs. C.A. McConn, a granddaughter of this pioneer family, was a guest of the chapter Tuesday. This home remained in the building family until 1881.

 

Mrs. Harry Boggess (Rita Crews Boggess) and Mrs. Owen A. Teague, jr., reported on their attendance at the state conference of the Missouri Daughters of the American Revolution at Cape Girardeau last week. They spoke in detail and gave as much of the work of the conference as possible.

 

by Chery Carr-Holtman