Historic Places Close to Home

When you love to travel, you find it possible to have a great experience even if your destination is close to home. We recently spent the day with a group affiliated with the University of Kansas on a bus tour where not a single place on the agenda was more than an hour away from home.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Kansas offers non-credit short courses and events designed with the over 50 population in mind. Established in 1977 by namesake Bernard Osher, the Osher Foundation supports a network of 125 Lifelong Learning Institutes across the United States to meet the needs of adults who want to learn for the sheer joy of learning.

This was not our first bus trip with Osher and because we enjoyed the others so much, and because the timing was right, we didn’t hesitate to sign up for a trip titled “Visit Amelia in Atchison and Enjoy Weston, the Best Small Town in Missouri”.  

Amelia who, you might ask? Well, Amelia Earhart, of course! She was an American aviation pioneer and the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. She lived in many places, but Amelia Earhart always considered Atchison her home. It was there she was born and raised in a modest white two-story house near the banks of the Missouri River until she was 12.

The first stop on our trip was at the new Amelia Earhart Hanger Museum. It is a modern museum with a unique blend of historical facts and hands-on exhibits. You are quick to learn that Amelia was always challenging herself, even as a child. At the center of the museum is Muriel, the world’s last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E. She is identical to the airplane Amelia flew on her final flight around the world in 1937, from which she never returned.

From the museum, we proceeded to lunch downtown, then took a short walk to the river. With over 20 sites on the National Register of Historic Places, Atchison displays its diverse past with five museums showcasing its history, railroad heritage, Victorian influence and obviously, its Amelia Earhart legacy.

After lunch we departed for the second location of our trip: Historic Weston, Missouri. Nestled in beautiful hill country high above the Missouri River, this pre-Civil War town seems untouched by modern America. The town’s 1600 residents carry on the community culture and family traditions of its early settlers.

Our first stop in Weston was the Lewis and Clark Exhibit. In 1804, the Lewis & Clark Expedition camped overnight near the site which, in 1837, would become the town of Weston. The exhibit is in the old train depot and chronicles the history and environment of this part of the lower Missouri River from the time of Lewis and Clark to the years just prior to the Civil War when Weston was the largest town in the country west of St. Louis.

Up next was a tour and tasting at McCormick Distilling Co., part of the historic Holladay Distillery. Ben Holladay knew the natural limestone springs prevalent in the area would be a great ingredient for whiskey. He started his distillery in 1856. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi River still operating from its original location.

We made our way to the Weston Historical Museum, founded in 1960 at what was once the First Baptist Church. The original structure was destroyed by fire and the existing building was constructed in 1900.The museum captures the history and character of the town through artifacts and mementos.

The last stop before dinner was at the Laurel Hill Cemetery, also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and one of only a few maintained slave cemeteries in the state. One section has nearly 400 unmarked graves of African American slaves and their descendants.  

We had dinner at O’Malley’s, a step back in time. It opened for business in 1842, survived prohibition, and re-opened as a sprawling restaurant and pub, including a section almost 60 feet underground. The dining room has no electric lights and relies on oil lamps at night. To be honest, the food was just average, but the trip as a whole was nicely varied and very informative. The cherry on the top was the lovely group of traveling companions we had. Great job once again, Osher!