Heritage Seekers                 

               Gardner House Museum            

Gardner House Museum

Location and Hours, History, Displays, Pony Express, Photo Gallery:

Location and Hours

                             417 S. Main Street,  Palmyra, MO

                              Map to Museum

Hours:     June through September:,

              Wednesday to Saturday  10 AM  to  4 PM

        Phone (573) 769-3076

      For tours and information at other times call (573 ) 769 -3595

       Free Admission---Donations Appreciated

 (see Calendar of Events for exact dates)     

            Memorial Day weekend

            Fourth of July   

                                Living History Demonstrations--Dred Scott

     Living History   

         Jane Darwell                                Rosie Ingram                                           

                                  Civil War Re-enactor

                                            Mid- October

        Labor Day Weekend

       Christmas in Palmyra    

History of the Gardner House

    The Gardner House is one of the oldest structures in Palmyra and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, both because of its interesting history and its unique architectural features.  It has served as a stage coach inn, tavern, private school, and residence.  It currently is a museum.

    The ground on which the Gardner House stands belonged to Obadiah Dickerson, who helped lay out the town of Palmyra in 1819.  On April 28, 1828, he transferred the property to William Duncan,  who on May 3, 1828, sold it to Samuel Morton.  Morton built a house and in 1830 obtained a license for a dram shop.

    Later the house was used as a stagecoach stop between St. Louis and Des Moines, Iowa.  One of the coaches used on the line was built in 1847 by the Swartz and Stuhlman Wagon Factory, which was located across the street south.  It is now in the State Capitol Museum in Jefferson City.

    In 1847 Samuel Morton sold the house to John Devereaux, who maintained  it as a hotel until after the Civil War.  About 1870, Miss Sally Pryor and Miss Julia McGuire maintained a beginners school for boys and girls in this house.

    In the 1870's Mr. and  Mrs. Edward Gartner moved from Quincy, IL to Palmyra and engaged the saddle and harness business.  Mr. Gartner was also proprietor of the tavern operated in this building, said to be one of the city's most popular places of entertainment.  At that time it was called the Gartner (later changed to Gardner) House, and that designation has remained.

    In 1889 the house was sold to Mrs. Sarah Lauck and members of the Lauck family occupied it until 1959.  Subsequently, it was used as a warehouse and fell into disrepair.  The threat of its impending destruction in 1969 caused a group of concerned citizens to take action to save the historic structure.  In 1970 the Heritage Seekers organization was formed and applied for listing the house on the National Register of Historic Places., which was granted in 1973, making it eligible for the National Grant-In-Aid program.

    In 1972 the Heritage Seekers purchased the house from the Palmyra Chamber of Commerce and began the process of its restoration.  a generous gift in 1985 provided funds whereby the exterior was repaired and painted, in accordance to the research made by restoration experts.  Receiving gifts from several local clubs and a number of individuals, the Heritage Seekers have progressed with restoration of the interior.  The Palmyra Garden club beautified the grounds with a garden on the north side, a memorial to a deceased member. 

    The Gardner House, an early Greek Revival structure, has a number of interesting architectural details, including Flemish Bond masonry, nine-over-six windows with stone lintels, a classic Greek Revival front door and three-step gables on each end of the structure.

    Come in to see the Stage Coach Station room and the replica of the Stagecoach stop.

Some of the many Displays at the Gardner House.

    CCC Camps                                                  Stage Coach Station

    Pony Express                                              Pottawatomie Indians

    Big Spring                                                   Arrow Heads of the area

    Rose Ingram Room                                    Jane Darwell Display

    Vintage Clothing                                        Vintage Toys

    Palmyra Massacre/ Civil War                    Railroad Display

    National Register of Historic Places         Early Palmyra Businesses      

Palmyra's Role in the Pony Express

    In Palmyra's Greenwood Cemetery a monument stands recognizing William H. Russell.  Russell was one of the founders of the Pony Express.  He was a partner with Alexander Majors and William Waddell in the Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express, commonly referred to as the Pony Express. 

    Russell's investment in the Pony Express yielded bitter fruit.  After the telegraph and other factors doomed the Pony Express, Russell came to Palmyra financially busted.  He moved in with his son, John, a cashier at a local bank and died at the age 0f 60 in 1872.  (see the P. J. Sowers Home)

    During the Pony Express's brief success Palmyra was a vital link in its operation.   In the 1860's there was no bridge at Quincy over the Mississippi River.  The mail was ferried across the river to West Quincy, where it was placed on the Palmyra-Quincy Railroad for the next leg of its journey. The mail then traveled on the Hannibal-St. Joseph Railroad at a junction on the south side of Palmyra.  It was carried by the famous "Missouri" (Locomotive Number 35, a wood burning locomotive that ran the line for many years) to St. Joseph, Missouri.  It was then ferried across into Kansas across the Missouri River.  From there it was placed into the saddlebags of the Pony Express riders for its rapid and often dangerous journey to the West.

    One hundred years after the Pony Express  started, a group of citizens gathered to erect a monument to Russell at Palmyra's Greenwood Cemetery to honor him  and acknowledge his part in the Pony Express.

    Visit our display and get more information on the Pony Express.

Palmyra Massacre

    We have information and displays on the Palmyra Massacre.  The Palmyra Massacre was a tragic event in Civil War history that struck terror in many Palmyra citizens who sympathized with the South. President Lincoln called the execution of 10 confederate sympathizers who were paraded through town on their coffins "the blackest day in the history of the Civil War." We also have copies of "Robert Devoy--A Tale of the Palmyra Massacre", by Frank H. Sosey and Loren Humphrey's book "Johnny Come Home" for sale at the museum.

Photo Gallery

   Rose Ingram Room                             Rose Ingram

                                                                  Broadway Star

 Her generous bequest helps to support the Gardner House Museum

The Great Depression--CCC Camps, Palmyra

Civil War & Palmyra Massacre

                                              Vintage Clothing

                                                     Display listing her numerous film roles

 Palmyra born Jane Darwell as Ma Joad 

(Birthplace on Main Street listed on NRHP)

 Oscar Winner "Grapes of Wrath"