Replica frontier village features original structures built generations ago
WHEATLAND, MO. – Nestled on the town square of the Hickory County, Mo., hamlet of Wheatland stands a unique look at history in the Ozarks.
In 1992, volunteers formed the Pioneer Village Board and began working with a group of students from a local work-study program to create what is now known as the Wheatland Missouri Settler’s Village. Located on the north half of the Wheatland square, the Settler’s Village is a replica of what a community may have looked like in the 1800s in the Ozarks, using donated structures from the period found in Hickory, Camden, Polk and Benton counties. The Hickory County Economic Development Council also aided in the project, which was undertaken to draw tourists to the community. The village board rents the land where the cabins are located from the city for $1 a year.
“They were a group of ‘retired’ men who were talking about wanting to get this together,” Tena Dudley, secretary of the Wheatland Missouri Settler’s Village Board, said. “People had contacted them about old homesteads on their properties, so numbering all of the logs, they dismantled the cabins, and brought it back there. Some of the logs had to be hewed to rebuild them and remove those that weren’t any good. They then took the logs and built it all back.”
The village’s structures flank several flower beds filled with native flowers.
“The whole plan was to make it look like a pioneer village,” Tena said. “The structures were all put back as original as possible.”
If visitors listen closely, they may hear the jingles from a cowboy’s spurs as he walks along the street, the clopping of a horse’s hooves, children’s laughter as they play, or the ringing of the bell of a nearby one-room schoolhouse.
“Everything has a story here, and I would like for everyone to hear that story,” Tena said.
A plaque adorns each structure, giving the era of original construction, any known history, and the names or names of those who donated them.
All cabins and barns at the Settlers Village are original, except for the Butterfield Overland Mail Relay Station. The relay station was built from an old photograph of a relay station located along the route of the Butterfield Overland Mail, which ran a stagecoach line and mail route from Tipton, Mo., through Wheatland and on to San Francisco, Calif., from 1859 to 1861.
“It’s not in the original spot,” Tena said. “We know it ran through Wheatland, but we aren’t exactly sure where, but this is pretty close.”
Visitors may stroll through the village at their own pace and imagine what Wheatland may have been like in its early days.
“We have people who come through every year,” Tena said. “Last year, I came to clean up one of the cabins, and I had a group of people talking about the old days when they were around here and how their parents grew up around here. They were telling old stories, and they were taking pictures.”
The village is supported solely through donations and fundraisers, including the largest event of the year, the Wheatland Harvest Festival, each fall and is a hub of activity on the Wheatland town square with food vendors, artists, crafters and live entertainment. The first harvest festival was held in October 1994 and was known as the Wheatland Prairie Harvest Festival. This year’s event will be the 30th annual event.
Unfortunately, three of the original structures, including a blacksmith shop, had to be dismantled because they were no longer structurally sound. Nine structures remain.
The board is currently raising funds to restore the old cabins, saving as much of the original wood as possible. It is working with an Amish builder to evaluate each structure’s needs.
“We have to look at each one individually and work from the ground up,” Tena said. “I was looking at this like everyone else, thinking this was a lost cause, but when we went through each cabin, he checked them and said everything is structurally sound, but each cabin needs work. He said all the cabins are stable, but they just need work.”
For the logs that need to be replaced, the board has 100-plus-year-old logs on two farms awaiting a sawmill.
“We have 86 logs, donated between Jordon Graham and Austin Rains both of Wheatland, needed to rebuild the church cabin, cabin donated by Mr. and Mrs. Hensley out of Bolivar, that are located on two separate properties. Just need the funds to haul to the sawmill and to settler’s village for rebuild,” Tena said.
The board is also actively seeking grants to aid with the restoration project.
“I have so many hopes and dreams,” Tena said. “If we can’t build it back up, it all may have to come down if we can’t get volunteers and resources. We want to keep things going because history is just fading so fast. If we can get the money to fix the cabins, it will mean so much and be a dream come true.
“My goal is to get all the doors open again,” Tena said
