Tales of Historic Sites Trivia Quiz

Answer: General John J. Pershing Boyhood Home

Born near Laclede, Missouri in 1860, John J. Pershing's family moved to town when he was six years old. After finishing high school, he applied to West Point, where he eventually achieved the title of First Captain, the highest possible rank for a cadet. He was assigned to Troop L of the 6th U.S. Cavalry and was sent to the New Mexico territory. During his long career, Pershing participated in the Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, Philippine-American War, Russo-Japanese War, Mexican Revolution, and WWI. To date, he is still the only person to earn the title and rank of General of the Armies during his lifetime.

The family owned the home in town, where Pershing lived from the age of six to adulthood. Today it contains a museum that recounts events in his life and is decorated with period-correct furniture. Near the house is also the Prairie Mound School; Pershing taught there for a year before attending West Point. Another historic site, Pershing State Park, is located west of Laclede.

Answer: Scott Joplin House

Scott Joplin was born in Arkansas c. 1867, but moved to Sedalia, Missouri, in 1884; he worked there are a piano teacher. By 1899 he published "Maple Leaf Rag", which many recognize as the first ragtime hit. Altogether Joplin would publish 44 ragtime pieces, which led to his nickname, the "King of Ragtime".

In 1900 Joplin moved to St. Louis and lived there for six years. It was during the years of 1900-1903 that he lived in what is known today as Scott Joplin House, a rented property at 2658 Delmar Blvd. Here he wrote "The Entertainer" (1902), which was used as the theme music for "The Sting" in 1973.

Answer: Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site

Thomas Hart Benton was born in 1889 in Neosho, Missouri, a small town approximately 167 miles from Kansas City. After studying at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and the Académie Julian in Paris, he moved to New York City. While he was living there the U.S. became involved in WWI; he consequently served in the U.S. Navy, drawing ships and shipyards in Norfolk, Virginia, in order that the ships might be identified later if lost and to create records of ships for other Allied countries. It was after his return to Missouri in 1935 that he began to paint the regionalist murals for which he is known.

After Thomas Hart Benton accepted a position at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1939, he purchased the Thomas Hart Benton Home at 3616 Belleview. The historic site was established in 1977, two years after his death and the subsequent death of his wife. Within this lovely home, which also housed the artist's studio, time seems to have stood still. It is still decorated in very much same way that it was at the time of Benton's death and the studio, where he died, has remain unchanged.

Answer: Harry S Truman Birthplace

Harry S Truman was born in 1884 in Lamar, Missouri. After graduating from high school, he memorized the eye chart (he was legally blind in one eye) and enlisted in the Missouri National Guard. He served in the army during WWI, and was promoted to Captain of Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 35th Division. After returning home he became involved in politics, winning an election in 1922 for County Court Judge of Jackson County. After serving as U.S. Senator, he was selected by FDR to run in 1944 as his Vice President. Truman became the 33rd U.S. President after FDR's death in 1945, and served from 1945-1953.

Harry S Truman's Birthplace is a small frame, 1-1/2 story home. It is decorated with area and period correct furnishings. Tours of the home are worth the time, as the guides are friendly, obviously love the home, and are very knowledgeable concerning events in Truman's life. Interestingly, he was in attendance when the home was made a historic site in 1959.

Answer: Nathan Boone Homestead

Born in Kentucky in 1780, Nathan Boone was the youngest son of the famous Daniel and Rebecca Boone. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War (1832); he eventually enlisted in the U.S. Army and worked his way to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st United States Regiment of Dragoons in 1853. It was at that time he left the army and moved to his homestead in Ash Grove, Missouri.

Important to the early history of Missouri, Nathan built a stone house in Defiance (St. Charles County) and lived there with his parents until he moved his family to Ash Grove in 1837. It is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Near the historic town of Arrow Rock, Missouri, one can visit Boone's Lick State Historic Site, where there is a salt spring that provided Nathan and his brother, Daniel Morgan, salt for trade. Together they built the Boone's Lick Road, which became an important roadway for trade. Nathan Boone's Homestead is described as a double pen log cabin with an open dogtrot in the center. It was constructed with ash logs and walnut was used for the trim and finishing.

Answer: Lewis and Clark State Park

The Corps of Discovery Expedition, also called the Lewis and Clark Expedition, took place from May 1804-September 1806 and was ordered by President Thomas Jefferson, who had just completed the Louisiana Purchase. Carrying out the first survey of the western part of the United States, the group left from Camp Dubois in what is called Wood River, Illinois, today, and returned to St. Louis.

It was written that the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through Buchanan County in July of 1804. In fact, on July 4, they fired a cannon from a keelboat to celebrate Independence Day. They passed by an oxbow lake that was filled with birds and other wildlife, naming it Gosling Lake after all the geese they saw. Today the lake is within the Lewis and Clark State Park and is called Lewis and Clark Lake.

Answer: Mark Twain Birthplace

Born in 1835 in Florida, Missouri, Samuel Langhorne Clemens is, of course, the writer known as Mark Twain. The family move to Hannibal, Missouri, eventually inspired his famous works, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), which some call "The Great American Novel".

The cabin in which Twain was born is now housed within a museum in Florida, Missouri. His family lived in the rented house for four years after his birth before moving to Hannibal. Also shown at the museum are some of Twain's first editions and items that were brought in from his later home in Hartford, Connecticut.

Answer: Don Robinson State Park

Born in St. Louis in 1927, Don Robinson borrowed money from a friend to begin his spot remover business. He hired high school students to mix up the ingredients that made "Off" and to deliver it to businesses in Missouri and nearby states. Not only did he manufacture the product, but he also marketed it on late night television - when the rates were less expensive - and put his name and number on the product label so that people could call him direct to order.

Robinson reportedly fell in love with property in the Cedar Hill area in the 1960s and began buying up land until he amassed 843 acres, the same number of acres as Central Park in New York City. The property was willed to the state upon his death in 2012, and Don Robinson State Park opened in 2017. It features the stone house where he began living in 1978, as well as hiking trails and a picnic area.

Answer: Jefferson Landing State Historic Site

In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson was President of the United States when one of the biggest land deals in history was made. He oversaw the purchase of the area previously called New France (approximately 530,000,000 acres) from Napoleon for $15 million. Napoleon needed the money to finance his campaigns. What did the United States get in return? The country nearly doubled in size, and eventually parts of fifteen different states were formed from the land!

The capital of Missouri was moved from St. Louis to Jefferson City in 1821. At the time the new capital was called Lohman's Landing. However, the city was renamed to honor the still-living Thomas Jefferson. James Crump built the Lohman Building seen in the picture in 1839. It originally served many purposes as a market, tavern, and hotel, among others, and was called "the landing" because it was such a popular meeting place. Today Jefferson Landing State Historic Site is comprised of many historic areas, including the Lohman Building, Christopher Maus House, and the Union Hotel.

Answer: Gov. Daniel Dunklin's Grave State Historic Site

Daniel Dunklin, born in 1790, had a long career of public service in the state of Missouri. He and his mother moved to the area around Potosi in 1811, and he served with the Missouri militia during the War of 1812. After returning home he became a lawyer and was appoint Sheriff of Washington County in 1815. He served for a year in the Missouri House of Representatives before becoming the third Lieutenant Governor of the state. In 1832 he was elected Governor of Missouri and held that position until 1836.

One of Dunklin's first actions was to create a commission on education that was to make a plan regarding public educational facilities throughout the state. Approved by the state legislature in 1835, the plan made education in Missouri stand out, even in comparison to schools in the east. Dunklin is also credited with paving the way for the establishment of the University of Missouri that was founded in Columbia in 1839. The Gov. Daniel Dunklin's Grave State Historic Site features the graves of both Dunklin and his wife that were reburied on a small part of the property that they and their children owned in Herculaneum.

The other choices are people who were all appointed by the U.S. President to govern the area before Missouri became a state.