History
The Gothic Revival style home was constructed circa 1857, and purchased by the Pershing family in 1866. Pershing remained in the home after completing high school, taking a teaching position at nearby Prairie Mound School until he left to attend the First District Normal School in Kirksville, Missouri. After graduating he returned to Laclede and taught at the Prairie Mound School again until being accepted to West Point.
The Pershing home was acquired by the state of Missouri in 1952 when it was learned the owner at that time was intending to raze the building. On September 13, 1960, as part of a national centennial celebration of Pershing's birth, the home was officially dedicated in his memory and the soldiers who served under him. The home today features period-specific furniture from the mid and late 1800s as well as a small museum chronicling the life of Pershing. A few steps away sits the restored Prairie Mound school, also featuring interpretive displays. Tours are available. A nearby garden features Wall of Honor with the names of war veterans as well as a life-size statue of Pershing created in the 1950s by sculptor Carl Mose. About three miles west of Laclede is the Locust Creek Covered Bridge State Historic Site, where Pershing used to swim and fish as a boy, and Pershing State Park.
Read more about this topic: Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site
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