The Christian County Historical Society is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of Christian County, Missouri. It operates the Christian County Museum on donations only.

The Museum is located at 100 E Elm St, Ozark, MO 65721 on the historic Ozark Square and is currently open Wednesday – Saturday from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

News

Christian County Museum & Historical Society

Sun January 19th

Christian County Museum & Historical Society
CHRISTIAN COUNTY BY-GONES–ANOTHER ROBBERY!December 11, 1931 a lone thief robbed the Highlandville bank of around $300. (That seems a paltry amount for the risk taken, but in today’s money it is worth over $6,000.) The bandit forced Mr. and Mrs. Welch, working at the bank, inside the vault, but an inside lock allowed them to emerge in time to see the getaway car. Authorities arrested Walter Hartley in Mountain Grove, and witnesses identified him. When Hartley was tried, finding an unbiased jury proved problematic because of the publicity. He was tried under a state habitual criminal act and sentenced to twenty years, having previously served time in the Missouri Penitentiary for robbing a Cabool, Missouri bank. (From the Christian County Republican Dec 17, 1931; measuringworth.com; Springfield Leader & Press Dec 18, 1931; Houston Herald Feb 11, 1932) … See MoreSee Less
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Christian County Museum & Historical Society

Sun January 12th

Christian County Museum & Historical Society
CHRISTIAN COUNTY BY-GONES–MORE BANKS HIT!!The Christian County sheriff later arrested Woody Ellison in western Kansas and Alva Goddard in Houston, Missouri for the September 30 Chadwick bank. A jury convicted Ellison and Rufus Matthews for the crime, sentencing each of them to five years in the penitentiary. But what of Goddard? While not implicated in the Chadwick theft, he and Walter Hartley were charged for sticking up the Sparta bank on November 6, 1931. A profitable venture, the holdup men got away with around $1500 by forcing cashier John Glenn and customers into the vault. Glenn, however, kept the inside vault lock from sliding into place and opened the door in time to see the thieves leave in a car that was later seen going through Chadwick. (to be cont’d)(From the Christian County Republican Dec 31, 1931; Feb 22, 1932; Oct 31, 1931) … See MoreSee Less
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Christian County Museum & Historical Society

Sun January 5th

Christian County Museum & Historical Society
CHRISTIAN COUNTY BY-GONES—CHADWICK BANK ROBBED!!!The stock market crash of October 1929 that heralded the beginning of the Great Depression affected citizens and businesses alike. The 1930s saw a spate of bank robberies in Christian County, and banks in Chadwick were hard hit. The afternoon of September 28, 1930, two unmasked bandits held up Mr. and Mrs. F. E. Wall, the bank cashier and his wife, obtaining $400 to $500. They then fled into the timber east of the bank on foot. Mr. Wall sped into the street and raised an alarm, but people thought he was calling about a fire and ignored the escaping robbers. Locals then tracked the robbers out of town to a ravine into which they had jumped from a cliff ten to fifteen feet high. All further trace was lost, but witnesses recalled that prior to the holdup they had been seen walking toward Chadwick and eating in a restaurant there. (Watch next week’s post for the follow-up!)(From the Christian County Republican Oct 1, 1930) … See MoreSee Less
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Christian County Museum & Historical Society

Sun December 29th

Christian County Museum & Historical Society
CHRISTIAN COUNTY BY-GONESWool is often not considered an agricultural product of Christian County, but in 1900 it had enough economic impact that this mill solicited wool business. After wool is sheared it is washed to removed impurities and dirt, then run through a carding machine. Carders ran the clean, raw wool through a series of rollers that untangled and straightened the fibers, in a process similar to combing tangled hair. Carding prepared wool for processing into large flat sheets (rolls) or long ropes that were then spun into finer ropes for weaving. (From the Christian County Republican May 17, 1900) … See MoreSee Less

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Christian County Museum & Historical Society

Sun December 22nd

Christian County Museum & Historical Society
CHRISTIAN COUNTY BY-GONES(From the Ozark Herald Jan 1, 1897) … See MoreSee Less

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Contact Us

Address: 100 E Elm St Ozark, MO 65721 on the south side of the Ozark Square

Hours: Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Admission is free.

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 442 Ozark, MO

Email: christiancohistorical@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristianCoHistorical/

Donations

The Christian County Museum runs entirely on the generosity of donors and volunteers. Below are ways you can help:

Donate Online: Make a donation with a credit card on Square.

Donate by Mail: Donations by check can be mailed to: P.O. Box 442 Ozark, MO, 65721 (Checks should be made payable to the Christian County Museum and Historical Society).

Donate a Historical Item: Please contact us directly to discuss material donations.

Volunteer: The museum and its events are run entirely by volunteers. If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact us - we would love to work with you!

Membership

Support local history and the Christian County Museum -- join the Christian County Historical Society today! All levels of membership receive the Christian County Historian, our quarterly publication with fascinating articles on county history and announcements of upcoming events.

Membership levels


(To pay by check, please contact us.)

Christian County Museum and Historical Society, Inc. is a not for profit 501(c)(3) organization