“History doesn’t disappear”: Oliver House Museum hosts tours during holiday season

JACKSON, Mo. (KBSI) – “History doesn’t disappear.” 

And that statement could not be any truer of the Oliver House Museum in Jackson, the former home of Senator Robert Oliver and his wife Marie, who created the Missouri state flag. 

Jackson Heritage Association Secretary and history teacher Barbie Stroder said one of the goals of the museum is to show people, especially the younger generation, that “big things can happen in your own town, too.” 

And for the holidays, the house is decorated with several Christmas trees, poinsettias, and other holiday decor, and Stroder said they try to illustrate as best they can what Christmas was like during the 1800s when the Olivers lived there. 

“We like to think of what it would have been like right after the Civil War, those kinds of things, and it’s nice to share those traditions because now we do Christmas so much different, so its’ nice to share those traditions of the 1800s,” she said.

Missy Dyer currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, but she grew up in Jackson. She visited the museum with her husband and daughter Sunday afternoon, and she stressed the importance of learning about local history and the things that have shaped the community into what it is today.

“We need to know the history, and we need to learn about where life has come from and how we’ve evolved,” she said.