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New Franklin, Howard County
Research Assistantship
Research
Hickman House
Tours and Events
People
Contact us
Superintendent:
Gene Garrett
Farm Manager:
Ray Glendening
Nancy Bishop
10 Research Center Rd.
New Franklin, MO 65274
Phone: 660-848-2268
Fax: 660-848-2144
Email: Bishopn@missouri.edu
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Hickman House
The 1819 Thomas Hickman House: A Historical Missouri Treasure located at
the University of Missouri Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, New
Franklin, Mo.
"The most remarkable
home in the county and indeed in Central Missouri, is the Hickman House..."
"It was elaborate for
its period, very comfortable and spacious. The bricks are well made and of
excellent color and carefully laid..."
- The Fayette Advertiser, August 1934
New! Restoration Progress Updates
One of Missouri's oldest intact brick houses, the Thomas Hickman House, was
built in 1819 and stands on the property of the University of Missouri
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center (HARC). The Research Center,
located in New Franklin, Mo., encompasses more than 600 acres of scenic Missouri
River Hills landscape and contains numerous varieties of fruit and nut trees and
horticultural plantings. A highlight of the Research Center is the Thomas
Hickman House, which depicts important aspects of early 19th century
agricultural living in Missouri. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
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| Interior, 1930 |
The House
The 1,800 square-foot house represents the southern "Georgian" cottage design, a
distinctive architectural style that hallmarks the early development of the
Boonslick region of Missouri. Thomas Hickman, one of the original settlers of
Howard County, was a local businessman who bought the land on which the home
rests, just two miles from Old Franklin - the site where William Becknell and
his party began the legendary Santa Fe Trail in 1821.
Thomas Hickman and his wife Sarah M. Prewitt came to the Boonslick area of
Missouri from Bourbon County, Kentucky, around 1818. One of Hickman's business
ventures included a partnership with Wm. Lamme & Co., a dry goods and hardware
business in nearby Old Franklin. The one and a half-story house is constructed
of hand-made brick and built on a stone foundation. The large eight-foot wide
central hallway provides access to three of the four main rooms and an
unfinished attic. Portions of the original woodwork remain, and in accordance
with southern vernacular architecture, a separate summer kitchen is believed to
have existed near the home. Although the exterior doors and all but two of the
windows have been modified over the years, the house is intact - but in need of
serious restoration if it is to convey the story of early 19th century
agricultural life in the Missouri River Hills region.
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Left: Exterior view of non-original window, prior to restoration.
Right: Replica historic window featuring a double-hung wood sash with 12/12 historically accurate divided lights.
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The Restoration
The goal of this project is to restore the house to its historic condition and
to develop it as a visitor center for the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research
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| University of Missouri researchers excavate the summer kitchen site. |
Center. The Hickman House will hold permanent educational displays of local
archeological, geological and historical interest, in addition to period
artifacts from the early 1800s. Botanical collections will focus on the natural
heritage of the Boonslick region. Exhibits will also introduce visitors to
current research projects at the Center. Period gardens will be established to
reproduce an early nineteenth-century landscape, and the grounds will be
developed to accommodate a picnic area, parking facilities and restrooms.
The Progress
In 1996, the University received a generous gift to support restoration of the
Hickman House, and the work began in earnest. Researchers have excavated the
summer kitchen, uncovered and preserved artifacts that help tell the story of
this historic homestead, and carefully evaluated the materials used in the
building of the home. An advisory board including historians, architects and
archaeologists from across the state has been formed to see the project brought
to fruition as an educational visitor's center.
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December 2005: Senator Kit Bond, left, and Center for Agroforestry Directory Gene Garrett, right, explore the home’s architectural hallmarks during the formal announcement of $500,000 in federal funds to be allocated to the restoration project. Photo: Jason Jenkins
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In November of 2005, Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond announced that $500,000 in
federal funds has been secured to restore the historic homestead. Bond secured
the restoration funds in the 2006 Transportation-Treasury-HUD Appropriations
bill, which passed Congress in late November. Read more about this
exciting development.
In addition to federal funding, in 2005, the MU College of Food, Agriculture and
Natural Resources presented a match of $250,000 for the restoration project.
2007 brought the final piece of the funding puzzle, as the Missouri
Department of Economic Development presented the city of New Franklin,
Mo., with a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant for the home’s
rehabilitation.
For Generations to Come
You can help preserve a Missouri treasure for generations to come.
With your support, the Hickman homestead will remain one of the most significant
examples of early American architecture in the state-and across the country.
Through the completion of the home restoration, visitors center, period gardens
and interpretive exhibits, a remarkable educational center will foster
appreciation for our state's cultural and natural history well into the next
century.
Join us each October for the annual
Missouri Chestnut Roast
to take a guided tour of Hickman House.
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The Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station is the research arm of the
College of Agriculture, Food and Natural
Resources
at the University of Missouri-Columbia
Site maintained by people at AgEBB
agebb@missouri.edu |
