Bushwhacker Museum

05/28/2026

The Vernon County Historical Society will hold its first summer Lunch & Learn of 2026 on Tuesday, June 2nd, 12pm at the Bushwhacker Museum. The speaker is Paula Kraft Neal, who will give a program titled "Cottey College Through the Eyes of Jane Bewley" based on the memoirs of her grandmother. Lunch will be catered by the museum volunteers. The cost is $20/ person. Reservations can be made by calling the Bushwhacker Museum at 417-667-9602 or purchase online at https://bushwhacker.org/product-category/event-tickets/

05/20/2026

The Deepwood Cemetery, Nevada, Missouri will host a walking tour on Saturday, May 30th. The tour is titled "Buried History" and will explore the hidden meanings of cemetery monuments. Tours start 11am and 1pm from the cemetery entrance at 800 S. Washington Street. The event is free and open to the public but RSVP's are requested to select a tour time. RSVP to: [email protected].
Tours last about one hour. Freewill donations can be made to the Deepwood Cemetery Association.

05/12/2026

BUSHWHACKER ROYALTY PAGEANT 2026
Age Divisions: Queen (18 yrs. & above), Princess (14-17 yrs.),
Junior Miss (11-13 yrs.), Little Miss (8-10 yrs.), Miss Pioneer (5-7 yrs.)

Candidate Requirements:
Candidates must be Vernon County residents and may be sponsored by a local family, business or organization. NO entry fee required.

Candidate forms may be picked up at the Bushwhacker Museum, 212 Walnut Street, Wed.-Friday, 10am-4pm, at the Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce.

Entry deadline is May 28th.

05/05/2026

The new Vernon County Jail & Sheriff's Home sign is now completed and installed at 231 N. Main Street. Many thanks to the Nevada Tourism fund for sponsoring this beautiful new signage.

The Bushwhacker Museum and 1871 Jail are now open for tours, Wed.-Fri, 10am-4pm and Saturday, 10am-1pm. Come check these places out!

03/30/2026

The Vernon County Historical Society's Quarterly program on Sunday, April 12th, 2:00pm, will feature Becky Bruce of the Bushwhacker Quilt Guild. Becky will discuss the history of quilting in America. A selection of quilts held in the Bushwhacker Museum collection will be temporarily displayed for the occasion. Don't miss the opportunity to view these rarely seen works of art!

03/25/2026

Yesterday, the Bushwhacker Museum took donation of an 1860 account book. The ledger once belonged to the Schwartz family of Riverside, California.

After examining the book, it appears to be an account ledger for the Withers, Keithly, & German Grist Mill & Steam Saw Company, which operated in Old Montevallo, Missouri from 1857 until it was burned in 1862 by Union soldiers during the Civil War. Many of the names contained in the book feature prominently in our local Civil War history, such as Albert Badger, John Gabbert, and James Gatewood. Obediah Keithly ended up in Carrollton, Missouri, where he passed away in 1906.

This book survived the destruction of the Civil War and was passed down through at least four generations of Obediah Keithly's descendants. It ended up at swap meet in Beaumont, CA, where a man picked it up with a box of other family papers and photos and contacted the Riverside Historical Society. After 160+ years and thousands of miles of travel, this piece of local history has made its way back to Vernon County.

Many thanks to Debbie Newton of the Riverside Historical Society for taking the time to research and send the book to the Bushwhacker Museum. It is a great addition to our local history archives.

03/06/2026

Ther are still plenty of tickets available for the Vernon County Historical Society's annual spring fundraiser "Night at the Museum" on Tuesday, March 10th at the Bushwhacker Museum. This year, we will have a soup and pie dinner with rolls served from 5:00pm-7:00pm. The Nevada High School Show Choir's "Treble Effects" will perform at 6:00pm. The theme is "The Wild, Wild West." Tickets are $20.00 for age 13 & up, $10.00, age 7-12, while children 6 and under get in free of charge. Purchase tickets at the Bushwhacker Museum, Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm or online at https://bushwhacker.org/product-category/event-tickets/

02/18/2026

Join the Vernon County Historical Society for our annual spring fundraiser "Night at the Museum" on Tuesday, March 10th at the Bushwhacker Museum. This year, we will have a soup and pie dinner with rolls served from 5:00pm-7:00pm. The Nevada High School Show Choir's "Treble Effects" will perform at 6:00pm. The theme is "The Wild, Wild West." Tickets are $20.00 for age 13 & up, $10.00, age 7-12, while children 6 and under get in free of charge. All proceeds benefit the Vernon County Historical Society.

01/30/2026

The Vernon County Historical Society and Cedar & Vernon County Genealogical Society are partnering in a project to collect historic Vernon County newspapers. If you have any of these newspapers stored in your attic, we would like to have them to be microfilmed for posterity. A list of what has already been microfilmed can be found at this link https://files.shsmo.org/research/newspapers/counties/Vernon.pdf . The newspapers can be dropped off at the Nevada Public Library, February 2nd-March 15th. The newspapers will be sent to the State Historical Society of Missouri for microfilming and then will be returned to Vernon County. Any questions, please contact the Bushwhacker Museum at (417)667-9602.

01/09/2026

Just a few more days until the coin workshop at the Bushwhacker Museum.

Coin collector and dealer Dave Sorrick will teach attendees about how to sort, identify, and evaluate coins. The workshop is free to the public and attendees are

12/29/2025

THE VERNON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY WILL HOLD ITS ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS AT THE BUSHWHACKER MUSEUM ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 11th, AT 2:00PM.

THE MEETING WILL BE FOLLOWED AT 2:30PM BY A WORKSHOP TITLED "COMMON CENTS" HOSTED BY COIN COLLECTOR DAVE SORRICK. GUESTS MAY BRING THEIR SPARE CHANGE TO LEARN HOW TO IDENTIFY AND EVALUATE COINS LIKE A COIN DEALER. THE EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED. Anyone who cannot attend in person may request a Zoom link by e-mailing [email protected].