Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Roslyn Heights
Photographed by Mark Parker, July 5, 2025
1. Roslyn Heights Marker
Placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
Erected by United States Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list.
Location. 38° 58.186′ N, 92° 44.543′ W. Marker is in Boonville, Missouri, in Cooper County. It is at the intersection of Main Street (U.S. 40) and East Walnut Street, on the right when traveling south on Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 821 Main Street, Boonville MO 65233, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Missouri River Corridor. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: In Memory of Hannah Cole (approx. 0.2 miles away); Kemper Military School & College 1844-2002 (approx. 0.2 miles away); Capture of Union Troops (approx. Ό mile away); Thespian Hall (approx. Ό mile away); The Civil War in Boonville (approx. 0.3 miles away); 25th Anniversary (approx. 0.4 miles away); Boonville to Pilot Grove (approx. half a mile away); From Boone's Lick to Boonslick (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Boonville.
Regarding Roslyn Heights. The original 1989 Nomination Form listed the house as the Wilbur T. and Rhoda Stephens Johnson House. Roslyn Heights was listed in the subheading but the DAR.
Excerpts from the Nomination Form:
The Wilbur T. and Rhoda Stephens Johnson House was constructed in
1895 at the south end of Main Street in Boonville, Missouri. Built as a
private residence the three story building contains a full basement, a
porte-cochere to the south of the house and a full length front entrance
Photographed by Mark Parker, July 5, 2025
2. Roslyn Heights Marker to the right of the front entrance on the porch
on the east facade. The house contains 18 rooms (including those in the basement), 52 windows, and eight fireplaces . Built in the Queen Anne style, this Victorian mansion contains elements of the Richardsonian Romanesque in the use of massive foundation blocks of Indiana limestone, the blocky decorative treatment of the red brick , and the gently rounded arches of the front porch...
Secure in their importance as a county seat and riverport, the citizens of Boonville resisted the railroad mania which infected most of Missouri before the Civil War. In 1868, Boonville belatedly acquired a branch line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and, in 1893, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad upgraded its branch, constructed through Boonville in 1873, to a main line. Although the reluctance of the citizens to court the railroads had deferred the town's prosperity in the perceptions for some, W.F. Johnson and his sons, Wilbur T. and W. Morris, were sufficiently confident in the persistence of the town to embark on a manufacturing venture which was uncommon outside of St. Louis. In 1886, W.F. Johnson and Sons, a shoe manufacturing company
Photographed by Mark Parker, July 5, 2025
3. Full view of Roslyn Heights
Also see . . .
1. Wilbur T. and Rhoda Stephens Johnson House Nomination Form (pdf). Formed prepared by Maryellen H. McVickers, Daughters of the American Revolution and Steven Mitchell, Missouri Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Historic Preservation Program, 1989 (Submitted on July 11, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina.)
2. Roslyn Heights. A feature story in Missouri Life published November 20, 2012<blockquote>With one third of its national motto, God, Home, and Country, dedicated to the home, there is little surprise
that the Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) uses an elegant 1890s
Boonville mansion as their state headquarters. Members of the society trace their lineage to those who
supported the Revolutionary War. Men served as officers and foot soldiers, and many women donated
supplies like cloth, hay, and guns. Names of veterans who are buried in Missouri are on display in the home. We call it the last of the Main Street mansions, says State Curator Pat Holmes...
The
Photographed by Mark Parker, July 5, 2025
4. Roslyn Heights sign in the front yard of the property
1897 to 1901. The couple entertained the high society of Boonville frequently in their home until they moved
to Kansas City in 1923. Two sisters then owned the home until 1961. The house remained a private residence until 1983 when former DAR State Regent Mrs. Joseph W. Towle purchased the stunning three-story house for the organization. (Submitted on July 11, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 29, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 11, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 175 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 11, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
