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Our history
How it began
Saving the frontier, one building at a time
What began as a few families rescuing endangered log structures has grown into a full village — a place where the everyday life of Missouri's pioneers is preserved, demonstrated, and passed on.
Milestones
The village through the years
1970s
The first cabins
Local families relocate endangered pioneer structures to Kaysinger Bluff.
1980s
A home on the bluff
The village takes root beside the new Harry S. Truman Dam & Visitor Center.
1990s
The village grows
Schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, and general store join the grounds.
2000s
Heritage Days is born
The annual festival becomes a regional tradition.
Today
A living classroom
Year-round demonstrations, school tours, and ongoing restoration.
What we preserve
The buildings
Log cabins
Hand-hewn homes that sheltered the earliest settlers.
One-room school
Where a whole community's children learned together.
Blacksmith shop
The forge that kept the frontier's tools running.
General store
The heart of trade, news, and gathering.
Chapel
A simple country church at the center of pioneer life.
Barn & tools
The implements that worked the land and fed families.
See it for yourself
The whole village is open weekends, May through October.