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Owned and operated by the Washington Historical Society, the Firehouse Museum features three antique fire trucks and three antique vehicles on display. These are: a 1917 Model T Ford, a 1935 Dodge, a 1918 Jeffrey. a 1908 Economy, a 1907 Ford, and a 1912 Maxell Messenger. The 1917 Model T Ford was the city's first fire truck (it is a converted 1914 Model T car) and the 1907 Ford is the city's oldest car. 

Firehouse Museum

This Missouri River town tour starts at the Louis Kohmueller home and includes several museums and landmarks that are central to the history of Washington. Be sure to check out the railroad museum just south of the walking tour and several other sites of interest in the region that are listed in Clio.

In 1849, the state of Missouri charted the Pacific Railroad with the hope of connecting St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, this goal was never achieved.&nbsp;The outbreak of cholera caused a severe delay in the initial construction of the railroad. Work had just begun on July 4, 1951 with the official groundbreaking.&nbsp;The railroad started with the short term goal&nbsp;of reaching all the way to Kansas City. On December 9, 1852 the first train ran on the Missouri&nbsp;Pacific Railroad in between St. Louis and Cheltenham. The locomotive arrived at the railroad from the&nbsp;Taunton Locomotive Manufacturing Company of Taunton, Massachusetts August 20, 1852. Expansion of the railroad continued, but in 1853, during the construction of an extension to Franklin, Missouri, the company ran out of funds and stopped construction. An effort to overcome the problem succeeded by incorporating the Southwest Branch in 1853, and was completed in 1860, connecting the town of Rolla to the railroad. Jefferson City was connected to the railroad in 1855, then came the Civil War. After the war, the railroad changed ownership several times as it continued to expand. After several mergers, in 1997 the Missouri Pacific Railroad finally merged into the Union Pacific Railroad, which still survives as one of the largest railroads in the nation and serves 23 states in the western United States. The railroad mostly serves industry and agriculture as would be expected for the Midwest. Also, the railroad connects into Canada and is the only railroad to serve all six ports of entry from the United States and Mexico.

The Pacific Railroad reached Washington, Missouri in February of 1855. The original goal was to connect St. Louis to the Pacific Coast, but this goal was never achieved. The railroad did endure multiple hardships and financial troubles, eventually growing into a sizable railroad. Several merges were made and the Union Pacific Railroad was born. Over the years the Union Pacific Railroad donated several caboose cars to townships that the railroad ran through, one of which sits on the grounds of the Heritage Park.

Washington Railroad Heritage Park

On October 2, 1864, a Confederate force led by General John S. Marmaduke raided Washington as part of a larger campaign to retake control of Missouri and rekindle the Confederate cause. The campaign was orchestrated by Major General Sterling Price, who moved to Missouri as a young adult and served as governor from 1853-1857. He commanded an army of 12,000 men and divided it into three divisions, one of which was led by Marmaduke (he would also become governor in 1884). On the night of the September 30, the Confederates camped at the town of Sullivan, which is located to the south. Warned of their impending approach, the local militia built some breastworks but it was clear that defending the town would be impossible against the much larger force. The town surrendered but the troops ransacked homes and businesses and plundered whatever they wanted. The next day, a remaining contingent set fire to the ralroad depot to prevent it from being used by the Union. In the end, Price's Missouri Expedition, as the campaign was called, failed—a result that contributed to the eventual defeat of the Confederates the next year.

Historical Marker: The Civil War Comes to Washington

The first members of the church were&nbsp;twelve German&nbsp;families, who arrived in what would become the town of Washington in 1833. The church and congregation were administered by the Jesuits (the Society of Jesus) and continued to do so until 1894 when the Franciscans took over. Catholic schooling began in 1856. A few years later in 1859, the School Sisters of Notre Dame started to teach at the school; they would remain there 150 years.&nbsp;By the time the Franciscans arrived, the rectory, school building, and convent had been built. A high school opened in 1933 and operated until 1982 when it moved to another building of the parish campus. Today, priests from the St. Louis Diocese run the parish.

Constructed in 1869, St Francis Borgia Catholic Church is a historic church that is home to a congregation founded in 1834 by German immigrants. It was built with red brick and combines elements of Federal, Neoclassical, and early Romanesque architectural styles. Notable features of the church include stained glass windows, a tall steeple, and arched windows. The building is the third church built for the congregation; the first was erected in 1838 and the second in 1846. In addition to the church building, the site also includes a rectory built in 1883, a school built in 1884 that was converted to a hall, and a convent built in 1891. The church is a contributing property of the Downtown Washington Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

St Francis Borgia Catholic Church

Also known as the Godt House, Gottfried's Cabin is the oldest building in Washington. It was built in 1834 by its namesake George Gottfried Beyreis. It was declared a local historic landmark in January 2019 and was managed by Downtown Washington Inc. and the Historic Washington Preservation Foundation. Today it operates as a small hotel for those interested in a rustic setting (guests rent the whole structure).

Gottfried's Cabin

Exhibits include: The Missouri River and Bridge Turnverein (Turner Society)&nbsp; Franz Schwarzer Zithers Corn Cob Pipes Historic Buildings John B. Busch Brewery Military Veterans Shoe Factories Elijah McLean Firehouse Museum

The Washington Historical Society was founded in 1959, focused on preserving Washington,  Mo., history. The society purchased the old Presbyterian Church building at Fourth and Market Street in 1995 and in 2001 hired a full-time director.

Besides its many exhibits and archives, the museum also houses the Four Rivers Genealogical Society and the Ralph Gregory Library. 

Washington Historical Society

William Owens bought the land that would become Washington in 1829. Tragically, he was murdered in 1834 but Lucinda kept the dream alive. She bought the property and on May 29, 1839&nbsp;filed a plat of the county, which established the town. The cemetery continued to accept burials until 1880 and it was officially closed in 1883. The cemetery was then left neglected and by 1926 it was decided that it should be eliminated altogether. However, the majority of burials were not moved, including Lucinda and William. William's grave was found in 2012 and records indicated that Lucinda's grave was located nearby. This is why the two tombstones are located next to each other.

Though a place for rest and relaxation today, Krog Park was actually a former cemetery called Bassora Cemetery. Here, many of Washington's early settlers are buried, including the town's founders William and Lucinda Owens. The park features a large stone marker with an inscription and the names of those buried here. The Owens' gravesite features a historical marker and matching tombstone pillars. The one for Lucinda was created in 2012 since her grave was unmarked. The park also features a Korean War memorial, a Vietnam War memorial, and a veterans memorial. 

Krog Park

John Baptiste Busch was born in the&nbsp;Rhineland region of Germany in 1832 and immigrated to the United States at the age of 17. He made his way to St. Louis where his brother, George, had established the first Busch brewery in 1848. John trained there for two years then attended college in Illinois and Missouri. As stated above, John, his brother Henry, and their friend Fred then founded the brewery, which was initially called Washington Brewery. It was not the first one Washington but quickly became the largest. During these early years, several family members worked at the brewery. Eventually, John remained the sole owner and Adolphus would go on to found Anheuser-Busch with his father-in-law. John's wife, Antonia, eventually became vice president. They had seven children who survived into adulthood. The brewery stopped producing its own beer for good in 1918 after Prohibition (the federal law that prohibited the production and consumption of alcohol) was enacted. It did not close, however, and started to make ice, soda water, and even potato chips. After Prohibition was repealed in 1933, it began&nbsp;to bottle Budweiser beer for&nbsp;Anheuser-Busch.&nbsp; John passed away in 1894 at the age of 62. His son, John Jr., continued to run the business until he died in 1937. John Jr's son, Ulrich, carried on the family tradition until 1953. It was then rented for many years as storage space for a corn-cob pipe company. In 1988, the brewery was converted to retail, restaurant, and office space. VFW Post 2661, which was established in 1938,&nbsp;bought the Busch mansion sometime in the 1950s.&nbsp;

This historic site features the Historic John B. Busch Brewery complex and the Busch Mansion. Established as Washington Brewery in 1855 by German immigrants Fred Gersie and brothers John Baptiste and Henry Busch, the brewery grew to become the largest brewery in the city and operated until 1953. The three buildings that stand today are the only structures left from the brewery. John was the older brother of Adolphus Busch, the co-founder of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery which is located in St. Louis. The brewery complex is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now an event venue. John Busch built the mansion, which is not included in the district, in 1855. It is now the location of the Max W. Mueller Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2661.


Historic John B. Busch Brewery & Busch Mansion

Frederick Kohmoller, was born in 1805 in Hanover Province, Germany. He arrived in the United States in late 1843 and made his way to St. Louis by November. In February, he bought the 80-acre property for $900. He married his wife, Anna, in April and they had seven children; five died before the age of nine. At some point, Frederick opened a clay mining business on the property, selling the clay to brick makers in St. Louis. When he was 18 (in 1864), Louis joined the 54th Enrolled Missouri Militia; it is not clear whether he participated in any battles during the Civil War. He married his first wife, Anna Niemann, in 1873 and they had a daughter. As stated above, Louis built the house in 1878. He acquired the property by 1885, likely not long after Frederick died (the exact date of his death is unknown). Louis continued to operate the clay mine and the farm, which had various livestock, an orchard, and field crops. He married again in 1878 and had four more children. He died in 1921.Interestingly, the family made ice cream in the 1920s using ice in the smokehouse and milk from their cows. The property remained in the family until 1947 when one of Louis' daughters moved out due to illness. The house was then rented and fell into disrepair by the 1980s. The city bought it at this time and eventually the property was converted to athletic fields and trails for the adjacent YMCA. The Washington Historical Society acquired the house in 2012.

The Louis Kohmueller House is a historic 19th-century home located in Washington, Missouri. The home was built in 1879 by Louis Kohmueller on property that had been purchased by his father Frederick in 1844. The house is a well-preserved example of typical Missouri-German architecture from the late 1800s. It was constructed with red bricks, which were made using the clay found on the property. The property, which is called the Kohmueller Farmstead, also includes a large barn built c.1908, and smokehouse connected to the main house by a roof. The farmstead is owned by the City of Washington and is operated by the Washington Historical Society, which uses the house for living history demonstrations and tours. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Washington Missouri History Tour

Firehouse Museum

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