Welcome to Marion County, MO and Hannibal, MO

Historic Groups

Marion County Historic Society  (MCHS)

   Friends of Historic Hannibal    (FOHH)

Marion County Historical Society (MCHS)

*****Meeting, Tuesday February 9, 2010,  7:00 PM *****

Rescued Buildings       Reprint of Marion County History

Picnic           Projects        Contacts        Meetings        Minutes

The Marion County Historical Society has been preserving local history for nearly fifty years.  

              Welshman's House

Rescued Buildings

In the 1960s MCHS rescued two important historic buildings, the Molly Brown (Margaret Tobin) birthplace and the stone Welshman’s House. The Molly Brown House was in a sorry condition and about to be demolished when MCHS members stepped forward to save it. The group held the home open for tours for several years. MCHS also stepped forward to save the little stone house called the Welshman’s House, which was located on Denkler’s Alley.  When the state highway was slated to come through and the little house was in the way, MCHS numbered each stone and reassembled the house on its present site next to the Hannibal Visitor’s Bureau.  Actually, the Welshman’s House was used as Hannibal’s Visitor’s Bureau until the present structure was built. 

Happily, the Welshman’s House is once again in use, as a meeting place for MCHS.  The house is also a repository for historical documents and papers relating to Marion County’s history.  Some historic documents were being thrown out by the city when they were rescued by both historic groups.  MCHS’s next project will be to spruce up the Welshman’s House to make it more attractive, and also to do further organizing of the documents stored there so they can be used for historical research.  Meetings of the group have been held in different locations, including historical buildings in Palmyra, as well as Hannibal. In February 2008 MCHS held its first meeting in the Welshman’s House which was being used for storage by the city. The group gathered in front of the fireplace in the cozy little house to make plans for preserving the house and historic documents related to Hannibal and Marion County.

      Molly Brown House Before                     Molly Brown House After

Projects

MCHS has accomplished some very large projects during the past ten years.  One project was the creation of Hannibal’s newest historic district, the Maple Avenue Historic District.  This district encompasses approximately the area between Seventh St. and Maple Ave., Broadway and Hill St.  This project was funded by state, city and the MCHS combined resources and energy.  Members of MCHS did almost all the footwork, documenting the structures to be included in the district, and it involved hundreds of hours of sometimes very tedious work. Creating the historic district qualify home and building owners in the district that have buildings that contribute to the history of the neighborhood to apply for Missouri tax credits when doing substantial renovations to their properties. The tax credit program helps in the expense of preserving and renovating these historic homes and buildings so they will be around for future generations. For tax credit information go the Links page.

Reprint

Another recent large project accomplished by MCHS was the second reprinting of The History of Marion County Missouri, first published in 1884.  The book was reprinted by MCHS in 1979, and copies were becoming scarce, as are the original copies.  MCHS reprinted the book, using money that had accumulated in the treasury. The reprinted books are available in both Hannibal and Palmyra in several locations.  Call Candace Klemann for information (573) 248-1321 or e-mail

Or you may write to :     MCHS 

                                                c/o Joyce Conley

                                                1001 Hill Street,  Hannibal, MO  63401

Contacts

               President                      Bob Kilmer      573 221-7231        

               1st  Vice President       Bill Conley

                2nd Vice President      Bruce Anton

               Treasurer                     Joyce Conley

               Secretary                     Candace Klemann

Meetings              Meeting dates vary, usually the first Tuesday of the even months.      

                                  Check our webpage or e-mail Candace Klemann for meeting dates.

                                  Yearly Dues:   $10.00 per person   or   $15.00 per couple

PICNIC

Minutes

Rescued Buildings       Reprint of Marion County History

Projects        Contacts        Meetings        Minutes