The mission of the Friends of Historic Boonville is to plan, promote, expand, and celebrate the cultural life of Boonville, MO through the arts, history, and historic preservation for the betterment of the community.

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The Friends’ organization was established in 1971 by a small group of local citizens dedicated to restoring the Old Cooper County Hanging Barn which hosted the last public hanging in the state of Missouri. Since 1971 our organization has steady grown and today, we have over 350 members from all over the country.

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In addition to preserving three historic properties – Old Cooper County Jail & Hanging Barn (view more); Thespian Hall (view more); and Hain House & Memorial Gardens (view more); we serve as the community arts organization for Boonville (view Events/Festivals); and maintain an extensive archives library of local items significant to our history.

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The operations of our organization are largely supported by annual membership dues, grant funding from Missouri Arts Council and City of Boonville, private donations and sponsorship’s from local businesses. The Board of Directors is comprised of individuals in the community who are interested in preserving our local history.

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The Friends of Historic Boonville has only one staff person, who at times must attend off-site meetings during business hours. For that reason, if you are traveling to Boonville for a tour, we suggest you contact us in advance and let us know the date and time. We will insure that someone is available to give your tour.

 

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Collections below are available at Friends of Historic Boonville

Collection #1—Directories—includes telephone directories for Boonville and other Cooper County towns, 1869-2018. 

 

Highlights are:

• Boonville City Directory, 1869/1870

• Boonville City Directory, 1876/1877

• Maloney’s Cooper County Directory, 1912/1913

• Farmers and Merchants Hand Book of Cooper County, 1916

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Collection #3—Small Collections—Collections only one or two folders in size:

• Folder #36 Cooper County Extension Homemakers, 1988-1991

  • Enrollment forms, County Council records

• Folder #54, Cooper County, Plat Book, 1897, 2000

• Folder #93, Cooper County Area Retired Teacher Association, Papers, 1995-2011

  • Handbooks which include directory of members and dates of meetings, and minutes, 1997-2003

• Folder #120, Cooper County Public Schools, 1914

  • Names of district clerks, presidents of boards, and teachers, with salaries paid

• Folder #125, Cooper County Sunday School Association, Papers, 1918

  • Sixth annual convention  program

• Folder #142, American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Cooper County, Map, 1970's

  • Historic sites map of Cooper County

• Folder #228, Cooper County Bicentennial Commission, 1976

  • Bicentennial Pageant program, written by Uncas McGuire, directed by Dennis Smith (3 copies); and schedule of summer celebrations

• Folder #250, Cooper County, Superintendent of Schools, 1945

  • County School Directory, includes school districts on map, rosters of teachers, school district statistics,

• Folder #379, Cooper County, Plat book, 1960's

• Folder #434, Cooper County Record, Ledger, 1955-1964

  • Expenses of the paper

• Folder #442, Guide to Boonville and Cooper County, 2011

  • Published by the Boonville Publishing Company, Boonville Daily News, includes local information and local advertisements

• Folder #465, Cooper County Court House, Cornerstone Centenary, 2012

  • Program for the ceremony and two cups used at the ice cream social after the ceremony.

• Folder #469, Cooper County Court House, 1912

  • Copies of articles from Boonville papers concerning the building of the court house (used for presentation during centenary of court house

• Folder #478, Cooper County Law Enforcement and Communications Center, 1999

  • Dedication ceremony program (2 copies)

• Folder #492, Cooper County Farm Directory, 1928

  • Alphabetical listing of farmers by township and advertisements

• Folder #493, Cooper County, Plat Book, 1925

• Folder #529, Cooper County Public Schools, 1910's-1959

  • Cooper County School Directory, 1943/1944; Sixth, Seventh and Fourteenth Annual Report of the County Schools, 1958, 1959 and 1967; and miscellaneous clippings about consolidation in 1949 and lists of graduates from county schools in the 1910's.

• Folder #565, Cooper County Jail, 1970's

  • News clippings about the need to close the old jail and build a new one.

• Folder #593, Cooper County Court House, 1930's

  • Hand drawn plan of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of the building

• Folder #599, Cooper County Counseling Center, 2004

  • Brief history of the center presented to the Cooper County Human Services Council by Timothy Von Engeln

• Folder #604, Cooper County Missouri Plat Book, 1987

• Folder #605, Cooper County Missouri Plat Book, 1991

• Folder #606, Cooper County Missouri Plat Book, 1978

• Folder #626, Cooper County Historical Society, 1993

  • Cooper County Church Sketches by Florence Chesnutt

• Folder #662, Cooper County Historical Society, 2007

  • Old Pleasant Green "Underground" list of burials at the cemetery

• Folder #663, Cooper County, 1995, 2017

  • Financial statement--included in the Boonville Daily News

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Collection #5—Illustrated Atlas Map of Cooper County, 1877—more easily accessed through the State Historical Society of Missouri website

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Collection #6—Illustrated Atlas Map of cooper County, 1897—more easily accessed through the State Historical Society of Missouri website

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Collection #7—Standard Atlas of Cooper county, 1915—more easily accessed through the State Historic Society of Missouri website

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Collection #9—Photographs—donated over the years from many donors

• Image #59 Groundbreaking, possibly at Cooper County Memorial Hospital,  1960's

• Image #83 Soldiers and band standing in front of Cooper County Court House, 1920's

• Image #347 Cooper County Memorial Hospital--dedication, 1971

• Image #348 Cooper County Memorial Hospital--dedication, 1972

• Image #468 Daughters of the American Revolution standing on the Cooper County Court house steps, 1921

• Image #472 Missouri Drummer's Association with band standing in front of Cooper County Court house, 1917

• Image #502 Cooper County Memorial Hospital, 1973

• Image #794 Cooper County Home, 1960's

• Image #802 Drawing of Cooper County jail, n.d.

• Image #803 Cooper County jail, man standing by screen door, sign to right of door "Visitors, Hours 2-4, Wednesday Only", 1940's

• Image #804 Cooper County jail, after closed, 1970's

• Image #1328 Arthur Bradley, Sheriff of Cooper County, and Daniel Walters, deputy standing in front of entrance to sheriff's house, 1936

• Image #1412 Full view of Daniel Walters on front porch of Cooper County Jail, 1936

• Image #1889 and #2099  Statue of Liberty in front of Cooper County Court House, 1984

• Image #1944 Putnam Family of Cooper County standing outside of their house, 1917ca

• Image #2092 Cooper County Court House, 1980's

• Image #2093 Cooper County Court House, 1963

• Image #2094, #2095, #2096 #2097 Cooper County Court House, 1980's

• Image #2100 Cooper County Court House, 1980's

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Collection #20—Cooper County Agricultural Extension Records, 1930's-1980's--Annual reports, 4-H membership records, and other miscellaneous records

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Collection #25—Brochures—Many from the Boonville Chamber of Commerce, primarily to promote the area and businesses

• Item #8, Cooper County Memorial Hospital, Skilled Nursing Facility, An Extension of Care, n.d.; produced by Cooper County Memorial Hospital

• Item #9, We keep your heart in tune, Cooper County Hospital Cardiac Rehab, 1990's

  • Produced by Cooper County Memorial Hospital

• Item #14, Tour of Homes, Historic Cooper County, Missouri, n.d.

  • Produced by unknown

• Item #36, Cooper County, Missouri, Community Shelter Plan, 1968

  • Produced by Cooper County Civil Defense Agency

• Item #57, City of Boonville and Cooper County Map, 1985

  • Produced by Chamber of Commerce

• Item #74, City of Boonville and Cooper County Map, 1995

  • Produced by Chamber of Commerce

• Item #83, Cooper County, Missouri, A Gas Tank Tour of Living History, n.d.

  • Produced by Chamber of Commerce, Cooper County Hist. Soc.

• Item #84, City of Boonville and Cooper County Map, 2001

  • Produced by Chamber of Commerce

• Item #100, Cooper County, Missouri, Living History Tour, 1994

  • Produced by Cooper County Historical Society

• Item #108, Cooper County Memorial Hospital, what you're looking for, 1980ca

• Item #109, Cooper County Memorial Hospital, 1970's

  • Produced by Cooper County Memorial Hospital

• Item #110, Dedication of Cooper County Memorial Hospital, 1973

  • Produced by Cooper County Memorial Hospital

• Item #134, 2014 Guide to Boonville and Cooper County, 2014

  • Produced by Boonville Daily News

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Collection #34—Cooper County Marriages Records, 1870-1912--Marriage licenses giving bride and groom names, date of marriage, location of wedding—these were the records that were used to enter the information into the official records of the county

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Collection # 38—Mt. Sinai School Records, 1904-1964—board minutes, enumerations, and attendance records. Also includes a scrapbook of the PTA

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Collection #55—Cooper County Historic Buildings Survey, 1970's-1980's—a survey undertaken by the Friends of Historic Boonville, includes photographs of the buildings, mostly houses

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Collection #63—Bluffton School Scrapbooks, 1930's--One scrapbook showing 1939 Homecoming, including pictures of former students, local farms; the other a social studies project

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Collection #75—Cooper County Records, 1818-1959—primarily volumes from various county offices including the assessor’s office, 1842-1867; circuit court, 1841-1948; county court minute books and other records, 1822-1935; justice of the peace dockets and other records, 1818-1942; probate court, 1821-1959

 

Collection #97—Maps and Plans, 1874-2000—maps of Cooper County

 

Collection #98—Newspapers, 1844-1996—includes Cooper County Record, 1939-1987—more easily accessed through the State Historical Society of Missouri newspaper library

 

Collection #104—Cooper County Bicentennial Commission Papers, 1970's--commission that planned activities for the Bicentenary in the county