State Historic Preservation Office

09/25/2026

Hannah was in Canton yesterday to support their historic preservation commission. She found an eye-catching art deco theater!

09/24/2026

What's wrong with this picture? Anyone?

Photo from the Division of Tourism Photograph Collection, Missouri State Archives.
https://mdh.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/divtour/id/4355/rec/70

09/24/2026

It's a petroglyph! Petroglyphs are figures carved into rocks. They are often some of the few pieces of evidence we have of pre-contact civilizations.

The petroglyph shown here is at Washington State Park. https://mostateparks.com/page/washington-state-park/petroglyphs

For What Is It Wednesday and Native American Day, what do you call this carving? Answer tomorrow!

09/23/2026

After a long wait we finally caught wind of Hugo's trail again! An anonymous citizen sent in some photos with the message "your purple friend told me to send these to you." Great...he’s taunting us now by sending us the hints... Anyway, Hugo seems to have put on his archaeology hat now. He’s hidden a piece of paper with letters and numbers beneath a hand sifter. Could the letters and numbers under the sifter’s grid be connected to the code he sent us?

09/23/2026

For What Is It Wednesday and Native American Day, what do you call this carving? Answer tomorrow!

09/22/2026

The Route 66 Association of Missouri conducted a two-phase architectural survey of historic resources along the Mother Road in 1992 and 2002. The survey captured the history and architectural features of the remaining properties. We'll be highlighting a few of them over the next few months to finish out the centennial of Route 66.

The Skylark Motel outside St. Clair is a rare example of the International style along Route 66. It was constructed in 1940 with an addition in the 1970s. The building is now used as a VFW post.

09/22/2026

On the way back from the Missouri Preservation conference last week, staff took a quick detour to the small community of Hugo, where they ran into a familiar purple figure. Could this be the birthplace of Hugo, the SHPO Hippo?!

Here's what we know about the community of Hugo. Located in southern Camden Co., it's now unincorporated but was platted in the 1890s and called Chauncey or Chauncy, after an area post office of the same name. During its heyday, the village had two stores, a post office, a blacksmith, a grist mill, a school, a church, and several residences. In 1914 or 1915, the town's name was changed to Hugo, but we've been unable to unearth the reason for the name change and there's nothing in the records to suggest that an obscure purple hippo was born there. So, what do YOU think?

*Photos show a purple hippo cavorting around an obviously historic one-part commercial block with poured concrete cladding and a shaped parapet. Staff noted an oddity with the high placement of windows on the east and west (side) elevations, with much speculation as to the building's original purpose. Buildings of this type were popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as business owners in small towns and emerging commercial districts wanted affordable, fireproof, and modern structures. They frequently built one-part commercial blocks (one-story retail or office spaces) utilizing locally mixed, poured-in-place concrete for the facade, rather than traditional brick or stone.

09/21/2026

What's the most interesting historic place in Missouri? Go!

Photo of the Ge**er Farmstead, Hickory County.

09/21/2026

We're skipping some letters in the alphabet to jump to Laclede Co. for this Sunday's historic church post. The church we're highlighting is one we saw in Lebanon last week during the Missouri Preservation conference. Located on Washington St., the church features the distinctive "giraffe stone" masonry that we love so much.

Although the cornerstone shows the name of the church as Bible Temple Baptist Church, it was originally Trinity Lutheran Church, a Missouri Synod Lutheran mission church established in the 1930s. This date tallies with the popularity of Ozark Rock masonry, use of which began in the early 1900s but which reached its peak during the Great Depression due in large part to it being a cheaper alternative to brick.

Giraffe stone houses are a type of Ozark rock masonry that use flat sandstone or limestone pieces as veneer. The flat stones are arranged in long, striking patterns separated by wide, prominent mortar strips. The patterns, earthy colors, and wide mortar strips resemble the look of a giraffe hide, thus the name.

09/18/2026

Some of our favorite highlights from this year's Missouri Preservation conference.