Lexington Travel Guide

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This is a great place to visit and take in the feel for what occurred in the Civil War. The hospital was used for a lot of the war, for regional mending of injured soldiers. It was actually a surgical hospital for the most part. The museum is good to see, and the artifacts inside are authentic and many look like still in use today. The grounds are nice and you can stroll the area to see the entrenchments dug during the battle of September 9-12, 1861. It was a fight between the Union troops and Missour Guard which were Southern leaning sympathizers.

Twelve such statues have been erected at various spots on the American frontier - all tributes to the pioneer women who endure the hardships of the westward settlement of our country. This statue sits astride the old Santa Fe Trail, high on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River.

Compare this to the Madonna of the Trail statue on my Council Grove, Kansas, page. That monument is also on the Santa Fe Trail.

This fine Greek Revival style home was built in 1853 by Oliver Anderson, a prosperous businessman in the manufacture of hemp products, and one of the better examples of the large homes built in the 1840s and 1850s by slave-holding southerners in Missouri. A show-house in its early prime, it is now best known for its role as a fiercely contested prize in a Civil War battle.

Though restored and furnished as it would have been just prior to the Civil War, damage from the three-day battle can still be seen in the building. The only way to see the interior of the home is to take one of the available tours.

During the Battle of Lexington, September 18-20, 1861, an errant cannon ball struck the corner column on the front of the court house. It remains lodged there to this day.

Begun in 1847, the Lafayette County Court House is Missouri's oldest court house still in use.

The most distinctive feature of this building can be seen in the next entry.

The Battle of Lexington State Historic Site
The Union knew the importance of securing the border state of Missouri with its economic ties to the North and cultural ties to the South, but their lost at the Battle of Lexington (Sept 18-20, 1861) had to have made them aware of the haul they were in for.

   The Anderson House (pictured right) served as a hospital and changed hands three times in three days. As you tour the inside, especially the downstairs hallway, take a moment to reflect, men died right where you are now standing.

   On September 20, the rebels took cover behind tightly wound hemp bales, using them as moveable breastworks, eventually gaining control of the area and winning the battle. Not to make light of tragedies, but they're right, hemp can be used for just about anything!

The Classic-Revival style structure was built in 1847-49 and is the oldest courthouse west of the Mississippi River that is still in use. That's not its draw though, head to the east column and look up. Yes, that's the original cannonball, embedded and serving as a reminder of the Confederate victory and the damage done to the town during late September, 1861.

Built in 1890, this building has served many businesses, but is now once again a pub. Several elements from the original 1890s bar still remain - the stain glass window (left top), the back bar, the tin ceiling, the tile floor in the front room.

Other than for Guinness and the green decorations, I didn't see much that was Irish about Riley's, but I may have just missed it.

Warning - if cigarette smoke bothers you as much as it does me, you might want to go somewhere else. The place is small and cramped (see photo in my next entry) and lots of places in Missouri don't allow non-smokers the right to eat without breathing other peoples vices.

Favorite Dish: See my next entry for Riley's.