Battle of Athens ~ The Benning House - Athens, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 40° 35.159 W 091° 41.759
15T E 610354 N 4493615
This house, called by locals the cannonball house, is also a museum that can be viewed by appointment.
Waymark Code: WM7GXG
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 10/25/2009
Views: 8
Marker Erected by: Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
County of Marker: Clark County.
Location of Marker: MO-CC, Battle of Athens State Historic Site, (St. Louis St. & Virginia St.), Athens.
Marker Text:
The Benning House
Built about 1843 by Arthur Thome, an immigrant from Kentucky and owner of Athens' first grist mill, this house was acquired by Joseph Benning on the eve of the Civil War. A cannonball fired from the artillery of the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard hit the Benning house, perhaps inadvertently, during the August 5, 1861, Battle of Athens.
J.M. Miller, local merchant and soldier in the Union Home Guard, commented on the marksmanship of the artillerists: "...they had a fine chance at us but owing to the unskillfulness of their gunners or some other cause their cannons failed to kill or cripple a single man."
The point of the cannonball's impact can be seen near the trim on the single door's left side. The cannonball passed directly through the house and exited through the kitchen wall.
The house is being restored under the direction of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Funding for the restoration has been made possible through the passage of the statewide bond issue.