Their Waning Years
Without government pensions like those available to their former adversaries in the Union Army, aging, indigent Confederate veterans with disabilities relied on family and friends for assistance. By the late 1880s, it was apparent that the burden was too great for individual acts of charity. A massive fund-raising campaign was waged and like other states farther south, the Confederate Home of Missouri was conceived as a place where, "worn-out soldiers may spend their declining years."
Initially all funding for the home came from private contributions solicited throughout the state, from ex-Union and ex-Confederate veterans alike. The home was incorporated on Aug. 17, 1889, and a year later more than 300 acres of land belonging to Grove Young were purchased as the site for the institution. Early administrators aimed at self-sufficiency. Residents performed some maintenance on buildings and helped produce food in the orchards, gardens and farm. However, mounting operational costs forced the state of Missouri to assume control of the home on June 1, 1897.
[Photo captions, clockwise from top left, read]
Barnyard at the Confederate Home
Residents of the home
The Confederate Home circa 1910
Photographs courtesy: Western Historical Manuscript Collection, Columbia and State Historical Society of Missouri,
this page online
Erected by Missouri State Parks.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is June 1, 1897.
Location. 39° 5.873′ N, 93° 43.411′ W. Marker is near Higginsville, Missouri, in Lafayette County. Marker can be reached from Inner Loop Road, on the left when traveling north. Marker is near the pavilion on the Confederate Memorial State Historic Site grounds, with loop road entrance near MO Routes 213 and 20. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Higginsville MO 64037, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Confederate Memorial Park (here, next to this marker); Confederate Soldiers' Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); The Confederate Home of Missouri (approx. 0.3 miles away); Cottage Row [and] The Confederate Home Chapel (approx. 0.3 miles away); Confederate Home Chapel Restoration (approx. 0.3 miles away); Confederate Memorial State Historic Site (approx. 0.3 miles away); Confederate States of America - National Flags (approx. 0.3 miles away); Our Confederate Dead (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Higginsville.
Also see . . . Confederate Memorial State Historic Site MO. (Submitted on November 25, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 19, 2020. It was originally submitted on November 25, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 221 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 25, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
