Miller County Historical Society Museum

04/23/2026

What happens when you get what you wished for.... by Greg Huddleston
"After a hot summer of digging and planting in the soil of two large gardens, of cutting and baling and hauling hay in dusty fields, of chopping and cutting and piling sprouts in every possible corner of the farm, and after all this to only then be confronted with endless lists of chores of every sort and kind and nature, a young boy's dream is to find an escape - even for a little while. That escape for my brother, Dave, and I was a dream of a horse. We could ride with the wind as we checked the cattle, we could easily best the worst desperado that might dare to sneak his way onto the farm, we would be more prepared in case any war party of Indians escaped off the reservation. Yes, a horse would be the perfect answer to our life of drudgery and toil.
Our prayers were soon to be answered in the form of a little, short-legged, cantankerous, spiteful, devious Shetland named Comanche. Mom worked at DeGraffenreid's store in Brumley and came home one evening telling us of a horse being raffled away on a splatter-card. (A poster board where you paid whatever monetary amount was asked - in this case $1 per chance - to draw an "X" on the card and your name placed beside it. Whenever the desired total was reached the board was placed outside as a target and then a shotgun was discharged at it. Whichever "X" was nearest a pellet hole that person was declared the winner.) Mom, knowing of our dream - as mothers so often do - had paid two dollars and placed my name and Dave's on the card. Dave won Comanche.
Dad wasn't exactly thrilled at the newest resident on Old Joe Branch Road. Comanche wasn't exactly thrilled either. Within the first day she figured out how to walk the concrete supports of the cattle-guard at the driveway entrance and made good on her first escape attempt. There were a multitude of more escapes that followed. We were correct. A horse would take our minds off the normal everyday chores. Only to be replaced by our already busy time now constantly preoccupied with a vigilance and awareness of Comanche's current location.
Comanche's rebellious nature left us with little choice. Dad wanted her locked up in the barn, but Dave and I couldn't stand to see such a free-spirit restrained and restricted to such a degree. It was finally settled that Dave and I would take responsibility for Comanche's freedom. We were given a 100' rope and told we had to keep Comanche on that rope at all times. We would tie her to a tree in the morning near a water source, and then move her every 4 hours or so to a different place. As we moved her from location to location we would take the opportunity to ride her. At one point it was my time to ride while Dave led her. I was jumping on and off her as Dave walked her toward the backyard. She kept trying to reach back and nip me during my shenanigans as it was apparent I was testing her patience. When Dave stopped to tie her to the clothesline pole he bent over to secure the knot, exposing a perfect target to Comanche. Since she couldn't reach me, she took it out on Dave.
We continued this routine for several weeks. Comanche actually seemed to become accustomed to our presence and mellowed out to some degree. One evening as we were leading her back to the barn for the night we were both walking alongside Comanche. Dave had the rope and, as was his habit, he had already wrapped the length of it around his arm, looping it between the palm of his hand and his elbow, keeping slack at a minimum. On this particular occasion we were accompanied by our beagle, Bimbo. As hounds do, Bimbo was paying little attention to us and was snuffling in large circles through the field around us. Bimbo, hidden in the tall grass, suddenly came upon his great nemesis, a cottontail rabbit. None of us saw the rabbit go by, but Bimbo's squalls of delight came straight toward us. Comanche spooked, up went her tail, up higher went her head, and away she went at a dead run. I stopped. Dave didn't have that luxury. He realized that the running horse was linked to his arm by the rope. Dave took off with great haste, running after Comanche, throwing coils of rope off his arm as quickly as he could. Bimbo was still filling the air with his sharp little cries of pursuit, having no idea of the chaos he had created behind him. Dave was now yelling for Comanche to whoa. Bimbo was going one way. Comanche, followed by Dave, was going another. This was becoming entertaining. I didn't think it could get much better, but it did. As Comanche quickly put distance between Dave and herself I watched in fascination as the rope she was dragging, that was invisible in the grass, suddenly popped up in the air. Dave's arm that still had the remainder of the rope wrapped around it seemed to jerk toward the fleeing horse, and Dave was instantly airborne, much like a water skier going over a ramp (except in a prone position). He looked like Superman taking off before gravity reclaimed him and he, too, disappeared into the tall grass. But I could tell where he was, and where he was going, by the wake being left in the parting of the tall grass that marked his passage. Comanche didn't stop until she reached the barn. Dave didn't quite make it to the barn. He was about 75' short. So much for Brumley cowboys."

More of Greg's stories are available on the MCHS web page at https://www.millercountymuseum.org/millcreek.html

Photo courtesy of Chuck Schulte

04/21/2026

We love to host events from wedding receptions to graduation parties, alumni celebrations to family reunions, and meetings and/or destination trips of organizations. Guests love to share stories as they tour the exhibits or take pictures on the porch of the log cabin. All six thousand square feet of the Museum are ADA handicap accessible. To learn more or to schedule an event please contact the Museum at [email protected].

04/15/2026

In the early 1900's several Miller County communities included Modern Woodmen of America camps. The organization began in 1883 to provide support to women and children if the family's "breadwinner" died. In addition to the life insurance focus the organization supported community-building events. They sponsored parades and baseball games; MWA was known statewide for their log-rolling competitions.
Membership was open to white males ages 18-45 from all religious backgrounds living in twelve states. Certain occupations considered as dangerous were excluded. A camp was organized in Eldon in 1898 with twelve members. Camp 5253 was organized in Iberia in 1899. Camps were also organized in Tuscumbia and Ulman.
By 1927 there were 444 MWA members in Miller County holding certificates valued at $682,000. MWA halls were constructed in Tuscumbia, Eldon, and Iberia.

04/06/2026

🌷Sunday, April 12th at 2:00 - Annual Membership Meeting and
Election of Officers in the lower level of the Museum.
If you'd like to become a member, please mail this form or bring it to the meeting. All efforts of the Historical Society are the work of volunteers. We hope to see you there!

04/02/2026

"Where there's dirt roads for miles
Hay in the fields and fish in the river
Where there's dogwood trees and honey bees
And blue skies and green grass forever"
[Craig Campbell, Outskirts of Heaven]

Wishing each a time to walk in the woods, sit on the riverbank, or drive around the back roads of Miller County this Easter weekend...

03/29/2026

Part 2 in honor of National Vietnam War Veterans Day 2026. Please help us add to the photos and information on this display.

03/29/2026

Part I in honor of National Vietnam War Veterans Day 2026.

03/28/2026

Applications to be recognized as a Century Farm are due by May 1.
https://extension.missouri.edu/programs/century-farms/cf-apply

The history of several Century Farms in Miller County is shared online at https://www.millercountymuseum.org/centuryfarms.html

The black and white photo is from the Condra Century Farm story: David Herman Condra was born in Boonville, Missouri, in 1853. His parents came to Missouri from Tennessee. In 1867 his father, Greenberry Condra, moved the family to a farm near Iberia. David married Emma Smith in 1891 and they lived in the original home, which at first was no more than a log cabin. David made some improvements, as did his son, Clate Condra.

The color photos recognize two Century Farms from 2021. Miller County has almost a hundred farms that have been recognized over the past fifty years. This is a list of Century Farms organized alphabetically by county name so view those in Miller by scrolling down the list. https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fextension.missouri.edu%2Fmedia%2Fwysiwyg%2FExtensiondata%2FPro%2FCenturyFarms%2FDocs%2FCenturyFarmsThrough2025.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

If you know of a Century Farm that we need to include please share the farm's story in a Message on Facebook or in an email to [email protected].

03/23/2026

What's New At the Museum: Capps Ferry / Andrew Barton photo

In 1862 Jacob Capps began a ferry service near the mouth of Humphrey's Creek at the site where an old road led to the river. The road began at Iberia and went northward to Hickory Hill in Cole County. The charge for two horses and a wagon on the ferry was 50 cents. The ferry service was operated by several men over the next seventy years. In the winter months it often fell victim to heavy ice. Diane Blankenship allowed the Museum to copy a photo of the ferry with Andrew Barton operating it.
By the 1930's the only toll ferries in Miller County still operating were at Bagnell and Capps. The construction of a toll-free bridge at Tuscumbia and the new highway Route E ended the era of the Capps Ferry.
At least four other ferries were located on the Osage River in Miller County - at Fair Play, Tuscumbia, Brockman's Ford, and Bagnell. MCHS only has photos of Tuscumbia and Bagnell - the other two ferries ended service by the Civil War era. The early ferries were operated by large oars. In order to make the landing on the opposite side, it was necessary to row the ferry boat upstream along the bank some distance before striking out across the river. By the 1880's the ferries changed to the use of a windlass and cable. Andrew Barton used his motorboat to pull the Capps Ferry across the Osage River.

03/16/2026

🍀 John McDowell left Ireland in 1729. The voyage that normally took two to four weeks took four months to sail to Massachusetts. During the voyage 98 passengers died including 10 members of the McDowell family.
John’s great-grandson William McDowell came from Tennessee to Miller County before the Civil War. William’s son John homesteaded land near where the Outlet Mall in Osage Beach is located. He was a farmer as was his son William Riley McDowell who had a total of thirteen children, four of whom became stone masons. Their names were Otto, Gordon, Bill, and Charley. Charley McDowell built the Anchor Milling Company Hardware store (where now is housed the Miller County Museum) on Highway 52 in 1943 using native field stone.
Charley never walked but ran, and so did everyone else who wanted to work for him. He always finished the jobs on time and on budget. The work was very hard requiring the use of hand tools to cut the stone and brawn and sweat to carry and place them.
The Reference Center at the Museum houses several volumes of history compiled by descendants of the McDowell family.

03/12/2026

KRCG 13 posted the Swinging Bridges video online. https://krcgtv.com/news/local/preservation-group-pushes-repairs-for-historic-brumley-bridge-at-lake-of-the-ozarks-park?fbclid=IwY2xjawQfwM5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFqSFRSMFFZUTU1MkkxbVZJc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkSQTioZWz0TSXMOcKZo8uJGmao_AQOeWNQSpgzX01dC7YoaI9pNtj-h5Fbi_aem_iuN1E8sfIj4Zl_Jxw-Immw

As America approaches its 250th birthday, we’re highlighting the places that make Missouri stand out.While they were created to solve a practical issue for rura