This tour was another event hosted by our Power Partners Retirement Club. We had about 30 people participate on a beautiful Fall day. The home is located on the east side of State Line Road in Kansas City, MO.
Alexander Majors was an early Kansas City entrepreneur. He owned a freight business that supplied newly growing towns in the west. His company operated between Kansas City and Santa Fe and other areas in the Midwest. Majors and two other partners started the Pony Express which operated out of St Joseph, MO. That was a short lived business that was made obsolete by the telegraph system that went into service to provide communications across the country.
The home was built in 1856 and was a mansion in comparison to the other home of that era. Majors was one of the first millionaires in Kansas City. His money was tied up in wagons and livestock and when the business began to wane with increased ability to ship by rail, he ended up nearly penniless.
Most of the members of our group are in this photo.
The gift shop.
The tour guides were dressed in period clothing and were very knowledgeable.
Every room has a fireplace. They weren't just for decoration. They provided the only heat that the house had. Homes had no insulation in the walls and the doors and windows were really drafty in those days so most people huddled somewhere near the fireplace to stay warm.
A wooden hub off an old wagon that was found on the grounds of the home. Majors had thousands of oxen as a part of his operation and many were penned and cared for on the farm surrounding the house.
Great antique pieces.
According to the tour guide, trunks like this were made with round tops so it was hard to stack other trunks on top of them.
Sigrid and I love touring old homes like this and letting our minds take us back to the time that the house was lived in. We imagine what it might be like to bath only when occasionally and deal with the dirt blown into the house through all the cracks. No ovens or dishwashers or refrigerators or washing machines or any of the other modern conveniences that we take for granted. It's fun.
Thank you sharing your excellent photographs of the house and of our new gift shop, you certainly captured the very essence of what we have to offer at the Alexander Majors House & Museum. We enjoyed your visit and hope you will join us at our holiday events or at our piano dedication by D. Bruce Prince-Joseph.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Dorene Disbrow
The Wornall/Majors House & Museums Association
We had lunch as a group after the tour and everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the tour. The photos were taken for our Power Partners website. Not all retires are able to attend our monthly events so we post photos for their benefit. Those that attended the event also like see the photos and share them with family and friends. I usually post the photos on our blog as well since they are one of our "Adventures". It never ceases to amaze us that tens of thousands of people from all over the world also enjoy the posts.
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