Jefferson County Historical Society




 

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About Us




Welcome!

to the Jefferson County Missouri Heritage & Historical Society ... online!

The emphasis of our organization is to collect, preserve and print historical materials, to record cemeteries, and to make the public aware of the rich heritage in Jefferson County, Missouri.

All transcriptions are copyrighted by the Jefferson County Historical Society and are available for your personal use only.
They are not to be sold or reproduced for any commercial purpose, or used on any other web site.

site search by freefind

President: Bernard Laiben

Vice President: Ken Bahr

Secretary: Kay Clerc-Fakhar

Treasurer: Lisa K. Gendron

 

 

Jefferson County Heritage & Historical Society meets every other month on the 2nd Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Meetings are held at our museum, located at 5321 Chouteau Ave, Victoria MO

 

Upcoming meeting dates:

December 2024 (Members only Christmas Party)

February 9, 2025

April 13, 2025

 

 

Membership is $20 a year and everyone is welcome to attend! 

 

 

 

Our Museum is open every Thursday evening from 6:00 to 7:30 (free)

 

Please join us on the first Thursday of each month on KJFF - 1400 radio at 10:30 a.m.

as Bernard Laiben of the Jefferson County Heritage & Historical Society

presents the Jefferson County Missouri History Show!

 

 

 

Photos from the Grand Opening of the NEW Museum location in Victoria, MO

 

 


Please use this button if you would like to donate funds to help the Historical Society

 

If you have historical items with Jefferson County MO significance from schools, churches, scout groups, organizations, etc...

 that you would like to display or donate to the museum, please contact Historical Society President

Bernard Laiben at  blaiben@outlook.com

 

 

 


 

 

DESTROYED  JEFFERSON COUNTY CEMETERY!

 

In 2015, Ameren UE, and their subcontractor, Asplundh, damaged the historic Smith Speed graveyard in Hematite by driving their heavy equipment through it,

crushing and breaking most of the stones. Ameren testified in court that they didn't know the cemetery was there. However, In 1977, a separate lawsuit was

brought against Ameren for damage that they did to the cemetery when installing their power lines. Documents, surveys, deeds, and evidence from that

case prove without a doubt that they most certainly knew of its existence. The following aerial photo, taken by Peter Newton, clearly shows the broken

stones, and the machines tire tracks left in the cemetery.

 

Aerial view of Smith-Speed Cemetery in Jefferson County

 

More of the story can be read in this article from the May 14, 2020 issue of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Or here for a .pdf version.

 



 

History of Jefferson County Missouri  By Lisa K. Gendron

JCHHS Member Photos

Photos from the 2018 Grand Opening at our previous museum location

 

Added:

April 2024 - Audio/Visual links

February 2024 - New Museum Grand Opening Photos in Victoria, MO

February 2024 - Bicentennial Photos and Events

May 2023 - First County Court Records - Herculaneum 1821

April 2022 - Masonic Fraternity, Festus-Crystal City

February 2022 - Hematite Christian Church Pastors and Evangelists

January 2022 - Ozark Highlander Store

November 2021 - Donnell Mercantile Ledger 1869

March 2021 - Gabriel Boyce Family & Cemetery (with photos)

January 2021 - Jefferson County Teacher 1926-27

January 2021 - 1850 Slave Owners

January 2021 - 1860 Slave Owners

October 2020 - Charlotte's Pearls Newspaper Transcriptions

April 2019  - History of the Hematite Nuclear Facility

August 2018 - History of Jefferson County Missouri Emergency Services

April 2018 - Archaeology Sites added (more added Sept. 2018)

December 2017 - 1963 Fox C-6 Teachers Association Members added to Schools

December 2016  - Former Circuit Court Judges 1819-1941 added to Court Records

September 2016  - 1859 Murder Case - Smith/Williams added to Court Records

September 2016 - 1819 Territory of MO Slavery Issue added to History Articles

April 2016 - I Remember When memories of long time members Betty & Blaine Olson added with photos!

June 2015 - Alphabetized Last Name Index to all burials in our database added to Cemetery Transcriptions & "I Remember When" section added for local memoirs

May 2015 - Missouri State Penitentiary records, tried in Jefferson County, MO added to the Court Records.

April 2015 - Biographies of prominent business men from 1820-1921 added

January 2015  - Caveland Skating Rink history article added & State Hospital (Fulton) 1850-1910 added to Court Records

February 2014 - Jefferson County Missouri Marriages from 1839-1850 have been added to the site.

August 2013  - Added Presbyterian Cemetery at Gamel and the 1900 County Ward Book was added to History Articles.

February 2013 - Baker (aka Hillcrest) School article and photos have been added to the "Schools" page.

November 2012  - Jefferson Co. Marriages through 1838 have been added to the site.

June 2011 - The Heritage News Our society newsletters, containing interesting articles about Jefferson County, MO have been added to the site. Find the index in the menu on the left under "History Articles."

 

March 2011 - Passports have been added to the site! These records are from the early 1900's and include photographs of the applicants! Kay Clerc Fakhar has transcribed an index for this outstanding collection. Find them in the

menu on the left under "Passports."

March 2011 - 1826 Petition to move the county seat from Herculaneum to Hillsboro, complete with signatures! Find it under the "Courts" section.

 

Sept 2010 - John Linhorst has created a wonderful tool by taking the 1876 & 1898 historical atlases of Jefferson County and creating a series of overlays for use within the Google Earth software. It gives the user a good look at

how things have changed (and how some things have not changed!) in Jefferson County. Check them out under "Land Records, Maps & Place Names" on the menu at left.

 

July 2010 - The Old Settlers List 1864 - 1950 has been added to the site. Transcribed by Betty Olson, find it under "History Articles." Also Carole Goggin has supplied us with a Jefferson County MO Place Names list. Find it under "Land Records."

Feb 2010 - More cities have been added to the Historical Postcards and photographs on our site. More towns will be added soon!

Dec 2009 - Funeral Home Records have now been added to our site! These records are from the Mahn, Mothershead, Fink, and Dietrich Funeral Homes, and now include the older Coxwell and Stovesand records! 

 

See the Jefferson County Leader newspaper article featuring several of our members in their quest to find and replace the gravestone for former county collector John Williams!



 

The following members can be contacted for information concerning Jefferson Co. Missouri history.

 

Bernard Laiben blaiben@outlook.com (Museum & Society Business)

Lisa K. Gendron lgendron@swbell.net (Website & General)
Kay Clerc Fakhar KayClerc@yahoo.com  (Newspapers & Genealogy lookups)

 


 

 







Contact webmaster
Lisa K. Gendron