Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society

10/29/2026

https://callawaymohistory.wixsite.com/kchsstudentjournals/post/usct-research-cowboy-days-event

By Drew DoebelinIts been almost two weeks since I last wrote a post, and it’s been very busy! A lot of what I’ve done has been research towards the USCT project, but I’ve been able to help out with a little bit of scanning and cleaning items for the museum. My brother and I also finished work ...

10/28/2026

Gidley found another fascinating historical place in our community! Did you know that the Fulton State Hospital opened in December 1851 as the first public mental health facility west of the Mississippi River? The Missouri General Assembly voted in 1847 to create the asylum. Callaway County won the location bid by providing $11,500 and 500 acres of land. Another fun fact: During the Civil War, the facility temporarily closed and served as a Union barracks.

The Fulton State Hospital has played an important role in our community’s history for 175 years. Learn more about the history of Fulton State Hospital:
https://www.callawaymohistory.org/then-and-now-fulton-state-hospital

Where will Gidley go and discover next?

https://www.callawaymohistory.org/

10/26/2026

While Fulton lacks a historic covered bridge, it preserves other notable historic spans:
The 11-panel, pin-connected Pratt Through Truss bridge crossing Stinson Creek.

Originally built in 1878 by the Kellogg Bridge Company for Grain Valley, Missouri, it was relocated to Fulton in 1902 to service fire clay pits and was converted to a pedestrian trail in 2006. It is recognized as the oldest known remaining railroad truss bridge in Missouri.

Keep following Gidley. You never know where he might go next?

https://www.callawaymohistory.org/

10/22/2026

Gidley wandered up Hockaday Hill to visit another one of Fulton’s historic landmarks — the John Augustus Hockaday House.

The impressive two-story brick Italianate home was built between 1863 and 1868 by John Augustus Hockaday, a prominent Fulton attorney and Missouri state senator. The home stands on an elevated area that became known as Hockaday Hill, overlooking Stinson Creek.

The Hockaday family had deep roots in Callaway County. Judge Irvine Otey Hockaday moved to Fulton from Kentucky in 1821 and originally settled in a log cabin on this same hill. His grandson, John Augustus Hockaday, later built the grand brick residence that still stands today.

But the Hockaday House has another fascinating connection to American history.
In September 1875, former Confederate President Jefferson Davis visited Fulton while touring agricultural fairs. Davis arrived on September 10 and was welcomed with a reception and dinner at the Hockaday home. Local leaders — including both former Confederates and Union sympathizers — gathered together for the occasion in a spirit of reconciliation.

After dinner, a local band and a crowd gathered on the front lawn to serenade Davis. He responded with a brief address from the property. The following day, September 11, 1875, Davis delivered the major speech everyone had come to hear at the Callaway County Agricultural Fairgrounds, located at what is now Westminster College’s Priest Field. An estimated 10,000–12,000 people attended.

It was during this visit that Davis famously remarked: “If I ever move to a kingdom, it shall be to the Kingdom of Callaway.”

Gidley sure does find some fascinating places — and some pretty amazing stories — right here in our own backyard!

https://www.callawaymohistory.org/

10/19/2026

Gidley wandered up the hill to the Westminster College Gymnasium!

This historic building has hosted at least 15 world-renowned figures over the years. Dedicated in 1929, the Classical Revival-style structure was originally built as a state-of-the-art campus athletic facility. But its place in world history was secured on March 5, 1946.

That day, former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill stepped to the podium inside the packed gymnasium to deliver his famous “Sinews of Peace” address. Introduced by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, Churchill famously warned that “an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” The speech is widely recognized as a pivotal moment marking the beginning of the Cold War.

Because of this world-changing event, the Westminster College Gymnasium was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.

Notable Speakers Over the Years:
U.S. Presidents & Vice Presidents: Harry S. Truman, Gerald R. Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Vice President Dick Cheney, who delivered a campaign address inside the gym.

British Prime Ministers: Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Clement Attlee, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, and John Major.

International Leaders: Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who visited in 1992 to symbolically declare the end of the Cold War, and former Polish President L**h Walesa.

Prominent Thinkers & Public Figures: Ralph Nader, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and General David Petraeus.

That's a LOT of history in one building!!! It’s incredible to think that world leaders and history-makers have stood on this very stage, right here in our small community.

Thank you, Gidley, for continuing to lead us on this amazing adventure! And with every stop, we’re getting closer to Court Street and the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society Museum. Construction is nearing completion, and soon we’ll be able to move back in and open our doors to the community once again!

Keep following Gidley’s journey home!

https://www.callawaymohistory.org/

10/17/2026

https://callawaymohistory.wixsite.com/kchsstudentjournals/post/events-preservation

10/16/2026

https://callawaymohistory.wixsite.com/kchsstudentjournals/post/digital-archiving-events

10/16/2026

From William Woods to Westminster College! Another incredible historical site right here in our small community.

Westminster College was founded in 1851 by Reverend William W. Robertson and local Presbyterians as Fulton College. Reverend Robertson had begun advocating for a church-sponsored college for young men as early as 1841, and the college went on to operate as an all-male institution for more than a century before welcoming its first coeducational class in 1979.

Westminster is also home to an important moment in world history. On March 5, 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered his famous “Sinews of Peace” address—better known as the “Iron Curtain” speech—at Westminster College, following an invitation facilitated by President Harry S. Truman.

To commemorate this historic event, the 12th-century Church of St. Mary, the Virgin, Aldermanbury, was relocated from London and reconstructed on the Westminster campus. Today, its undercroft is home to America’s National Churchill Museum.

Another remarkable piece of history is “Breakthrough,” created by artist Edwina Sandys, granddaughter of Winston and Clementine Churchill. The monument is made from eight original, contiguous sections of the Berlin Wall—the largest contiguous display of original Berlin Wall sections in the United States. Sandys carved abstract male and female figures into the concrete, creating openings that allow visitors to literally walk through the wall.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan dedicated “Breakthrough” on September 28, 1990, less than a year after the Berlin Wall fell.

It’s amazing to learn just how much history is right here in our small community! 🇺🇸

Thank you, Gidley, for leading us along this adventure. We’re getting closer and closer to Court Street and the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society Museum. Construction is nearing completion, and soon we’ll be able to move back in and open the doors to our community once again!

The journey continues… and Gidley is getting closer to home!

https://www.callawaymohistory.org/

10/15/2026

https://callawaymohistory.wixsite.com/kchsstudentjournals/post/preservation-events

By Drew DoebelinWe are on the final boxes of items to clean that came from the Museum! One of the parts of cleaning all the items is that if they needed to be cleaned, they would have a pink piece of tape attached. A habit I got into was that I would stick the sticker of whatever I was cleaning to m...

10/13/2026

KCHS Museum Director, Haley Sylvia, applied for the State Historical Society of Missouri's Richard S. Brownlee Local History Grant back in September. On Friday afternoon, we got the notice of being a recipient!

Thank you so much to the The State Historical Society of Missouri for choosing our project!