Hallowed ground

BOONVILLE — Situated on a cliff above a bend in the Missouri River, it’s one of the highest pieces of land in Boonville.

The strategic location is reflected in the history of the land: It was the homestead of one of the town’s first settlers and the site of a fort from the War of 1812, a Civil War battle and the first Missouri State Fair in 1853.

The 15-acre site is vacant except for a stone memorial on a steep man-made hill that honors John A. Hayne and Ferdinand Kimball.

The two Union Home guard soldiers died there on Sept. 13, 1861, during the Second Battle of Boonville. From behind the hill, with about 140 other soldiers, Hayne and Kimball helped defeat 800 Missouri State Guard Southern sympathizers.

About 1,500 visitors came to see a re-enactment of the Second Battle of Boonville on the land in late September, and the Friends of Historic Boonville used the occasion to launch its “Hallowed Ground” campaign to save the battlefield from development.

A contract gives the group until Jan. 2 to raise $250,000 to buy the commercially zoned property from Mitch Leonard, owner of the Re/Max office in Boonville.

“In a time when many Civil War battlefields are being lost to developers, this is a rare opportunity to buy Civil War land,” said Cheri Lester, executive director of Friends of Historic Boonville. “It is in the city limits and will be accessible to visitors.”

Leonard bought the land several years ago. When he put it on the market, he tried to sell it to the city, which was unwilling to buy it. “I am trying to deal with a historic group,” Leonard said. “I enjoy history, and I would like it to end up in one of their hands.”

Friends of Historic Boonville hopes to turn the land into a learning center where visitors could discover the past through living history.

“Boonville has 400 properties on the historic register,” said Sarah Gallagher, economic development director for Boonville and a member of Friends of Historic Boonville. “The land is another good resource that will bring tax money, revenue and tourists.”

Watching the re-enactment, Gallagher said, made her feel like a part of history. She hopes to have other re-enactments of the Second Battle, the first state fair or the homestead of Hannah Cole, one of Boonville’s original settlers.

“Boonville is in existence because of the things that happened on that land,” said Eric McNeal, a historic preservationist with Friends of Historic Boonville, which will look to the community and grants for financial support. Volunteers have been researching and preparing paperwork for state and federal grants.

Friends of Historic Boonville could ask the city for financial help. First Ward Councilwoman Julie Thacher said the city has helped the group with money before for the renovation of properties. About $225,000 of an $850,000 donation to the city from the Isle of Capri casino was given to Friends of Historic Boonville to restore Thespian Hall, Lester said, and the city recently contributed about $56,000 from the fund to repair the Hain house and the old Cooper County Jail. The Hain house, built in 1836, was owned by one family for 140 years; the jail was built in 1848.

Gallagher, who was born on the land when it was the site of St. Joseph’s Hospital, said it will take a community-wide effort to preserve the battlefield. “It’s not something I can sell you,” she said. “We have to create a community consciousness and have people believe.”