Bushwhacker's Museum and Jail

What is a bushwhacker?  The definition is one who is accustomed to beat about or make his way throught the bush; a backwoodsman, in the Civil War- a confederate guerrilla.

During the Civil War the town of Nevada, Missouri became known as "the Bushwhacker's Capital". The town was burned by Federal troops in 1863.  

I received the opportunity to visit the town of Nevada and visit their museum and old jail.  

The museum has 3 sections at the main location.  The first section is the Native American, early settlers and Civil War artifacts. The Osage Indians lived in this area of Missouri.  The museum has exhibits showing how life was like for people moving to and living in the area-- crude tools, weapons and the such. They also show some of the military memorabilia and the history of the Civil War that raged in this part of the country.

The second exhibit was about the area people that fought in the wars around the world. Local residents have donated their uniforms.  They also exhibit weapons, medals and letters home. The guide who helped us through out tour had his uniform displayed.  He also shared with us additional stories beyond what was we could read on the display signs.

The final exhibit at the main location- and probably the largest is the Hornback House Exhibit.  Dr. Hornback was a physician that worked in Vernon County in 1896. The Hornback family donated the family home to the museum.  The exhibits range from the doctor's office to the dining room. We enjoyed looking at all the beautiful antique dishes and old medical equipment.

After we were done in the main building, we walked a short distance to go through the Bushwhacker Jail.  For 100 years the Vernon Country jail was housed in this stone building. The jailer and his family lived in part of the building and the remaining part was the jail.  The women prisoners were kept in an upstairs cell room away from the men prisoners.  

The house portion of the jail is decorated like it would have back in the Civil War time period. The house was not equip with a kitchen. A separate  kitchen building was next to the house.  We were not able to tour the kitchen building. The food for the sheriff's family and the prisoners were cooked there.

Visitor information:

• Admissions-- Adults: $3.00, Teens (12-18): $2.00, Kids under 12: 1.00
• Website: www.bushwhacker.org
• Open Daily (10:00 am- 4:00 pm) except Sunday
• The main museum location is in the basement of the Nevada library
  

I highly recommend this museum if your are in the Nevada, MO area.  It takes about 2 hours to tour the main location plus a little extra to visit the jail.