The Old Stage Coach Stop House Museum in Waynesville MO is housed in the Old stagecoach building. They feature the history of this building from pre-civil war when Waynesvill was a frontier town through the occupation of the town by northern troops during the civil war even though Missouri was a "Free" state and latter when Fort Leonard Wood was built nearby.
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HISTORY
The Old Stagecoach Stop in the Waynesville Town Square was first constructed and opened by William Walter McDonald on land purchased in 1854. The hotel was originally a double pen log building and served as a stop on the St. Louis to Springfield stage route.
During the Civil War, the building was commandeered for use as a post hospital when Union soldiers were positioned at a fort on the hill above the town square. It is assumed that after the war, McDonald returned to using the business, and the building, for stagecoaches and hotel purposes.
As the railroad moved into Pulaski County, the stagecoach business began to decline, though the building continued to be used as a hotel and boarding house under a succession of owners.
By World War II and the Korean War, soldiers continued to be housed at the building, then known as the old hotel. In the mid-1960s, the building had fallen into such a state of disrepair that operations and even remodeling was far too expensive.
The building sat vacant for the next 20 years, before being condemned in 1982 and earmarked for demolition. In 1983, the building was successfully saved and sold to Gene and Maxine Farnham and James and Connie Martin for $40,000.
CURRENT
PURPOSE
After the sale of the building, the Old Stagecoach Stop Foundation was formed to stabilize and restore the building, which was accomplished by October 1984.
The building now serves as a house museum with rooms dedicated to different eras and purposes, such as a dentist office that operated from 1936 to 1941.
The building is open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday, April through September. Tours and visits have been extended this year, due to the ‘Journey Stories’ exhibit.
For more information, visit www.oldstagecoachstop.org." source (
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"The Old Stagecoach Stop – Waynesville, Missouri
The oldest building in Waynesville was scheduled for distruction until a group of citizens decided to form a foundation and save it for posterity.
The Old Stagecoach Stop is open to visitors April through September on Saturdays, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.
The building is a two story structure. There are ten rooms, nine restored to various periods in the building’s history (1854-now). A tour with a guide in period costume takes about 45 minutes.
The building is listed on the National Historic Register.
The Old Stagecoach Stop in Waynesville is located on Interstate 44 in the southcentral region of Missouri. The site is also on the original road of Route 66.
Take either Exit 156 from the west or Exit 159 from the east. You will be on Bypass 44 and Historic Route 66. As you enter downtown Waynesville, you will pass the historic courthouse square (Waynesville is the County Seat of Pulaski County). On the east side of the square, in the middle of the block on Linn Street, sits the white two-story Old Stagecoach Stop." source (
visit link)