GCHS Archives and Records Center Expansion

Saving Our Past – Building Our Future

The Gasconade County Historical Society has announced plans to construct an annex to its Archives & Records Center, located at the corner of 4th and Schiller Streets in Hermann. At the same time, the Society is launching a capital campaign, Saving Our Past – Building Our Future, to raise the projected necessary construction funds of $1.5 million.

The Archives & Records Center has been serving the public since 2001 as a research center on topics of Gasconade County history and for family history research on Gasconade County families. Center staff and volunteers assist researchers from throughout Gasconade County, the state, the nation, and even other countries.

The Center houses, conserves, and makes accessible the public records – marriage, real estate, probate, circuit court, immigration, one-room schools, etc. -- of Gasconade County, dating back to 1821 and in isolated cases before 1821.

Documents, photos, and other paper memorabilia from private sources, that is, families, organizations, churches and more, are also housed at the Center and are made accessible.

Accumulation of items of historical interest from families and other entities covering the now 200+ years since the establishment of Gasconade County in 1821 is resulting in a building that is “bulging at the seams”.

As baby boomers recognize their mortality and feel strongly about preservation of their family’s history, the collection of items at the Archives & Records Center grows weekly, sometimes daily.

A preliminary plan for a building annex, seen above with the 1909 building on the right and the small circa 1885 building on the left, has been approved by the Hermann Landmarks Commission. That approval is required because the Center is located in Hermann’s Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Gasconade County Historical Society has embarked on a capital campaign to raise the necessary funds. It is pursuing a variety of sources for donations and is soliciting the support of all Gasconade Countians, as well as any and all who have ties to Gasconade County.

The Gasconade County Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) organization so all contributions to it are tax-deductible.

For more information, contact Saving Our Past – Building Our Future committee members: Betty Estes, 573-368-6705; Lois Kruse, 573-486-2633 or loiskruse47@gmail.com; Bob Pinkerton, 217-416-9405 or bcdrp@aol.com; and Kay Schwinke, 573-690-7779 or kayarlen@gmail.com; or GCHS President Phyllis Gross, 573-437-3631.