Civil War in Cole County, Missouri

  The large mural shown above, as well as two others in the Civil War Room,

were painted by Jonathan Humfleet and depict scenes from Harper's Weekly magazine in 1861.   

These murals were commissioned and donated by Debbie Brown, a long time friend of Jim McHenry.

The portrait of Jim McHenry, below, was also painted by artist Mr. Humfleet and is on loan to the museum by Mark Schreiber.

McHenry's Civil War room is a tribute to James F. "Jim" McHenry, who passed away on January 23, 2003. Jim had a love and passion for history not only of the Civil War, but of Cole County in particular. His dream was for Cole County to have a museum to showcase Civil War artifacts, historical documents and private collections. He hoped the museum would not be just about the Civil War battles, but about the people, the places, and the times in which they were fought.

The Civil war separated wives from their husbands and set brother against brother. Missouri's importance has been greatly overlooked by many when it comes to its role in the Civil War when at the start of the war most of the fighting actually happened here. In 1861, of the 157 engagements and battles listed in the Army Register, 66 were in Missouri (over 42%). Missouri saw more action than Virginia and West Virginia combined in 1861.