Scott City works to establish a history museum

A 1926 Fornfelt High School letterman's jacket is displayed at the Scott City Historical Museum. (photo by Savanna Maue)

Members of the Scott City Historical Commission remember it well and the impact it left on the community.

"Nothing's been done for a really long time, and I think the heart of the community just had a big punch to it when the museum burned down," commission chairman Susan Laughlin Perez said. "It was a tragic thing. ... I lived in Illmo, and I've been coming back my whole life ... [Since I've moved back,] what we have tried to do is rebuild the trust from the community because people gave them things and then they were lost."

For the past nine months the commission began remodeling a building owned by The Bank of Missouri since 2013 and transforming it into the Scott City Historical Museum.

The resurrected historical commission consists of 12 members appointed by the city council. Those still interested in the history of Scott City are welcome to be a part of the Scott City Historical Society, which offers free membership to the museum and its resources but without the power to vote the commission has during official meetings. The commission holds its meetings at 3 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month at the new site, at 1514 Main St. in Scott City.

Last month, it scheduled a session for people to donate items of historic value to the museum to be used in its display cases. It collected about 300 items, secretary Gail Cummins Crader said.

Members labeled the historic items with identification numbers and photographed everything donated or loaned to the museum.

The next donation sessions are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 28 and from 1 to 4 p.m. March 1. Some items can be copied and returned to the owner, or they can donated or loaned to the museum for a limited period of time.

The museum space comprises of smaller rooms, each with a theme. The lobby is filled with a variety of artifacts, from an old high-school letterman's jacket to a collection of oddly shaped glass bottles.

Through the hallway, there's a military room, a room filled with items that would have been found in a woman's changing room during a different era, an office, research room, a larger meeting room, a railroad room and a fireside chat room.

The rest is here:
Scott City works to establish a history museum