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Found this online today. Not sure what to think about this. The Missouri Civil War Museum has been in the works for years now & is scheduled to open in 2011. It would be nice to see Jefferson Barracks used as a centerpiece but the cost may be prohibitive . . . .
I'm interested in hearing what the members of the A/C think of this.
St. Louis County mulls Grant museum in Jefferson Barracks
By Matthew Hathaway
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/27/2010
A Ulysses S. Grant presidential museum and library would be the centerpiece of a complex of new historical attractions at a revamped Jefferson Barracks, officials say.
A master plan disclosed this week calls for $68 million in improvements to the 1,000-acre complex that includes a St. Louis County park, national cemetery, veterans hospital and active military post.
The $300,000 plan, which was commissioned by the St. Louis County Economic Council and funded primarily by a federal grant, envisions the 184-year-old military complex as a national attraction for history-minded tourists and, locally, as an economic engine for South County.
Funding for the project would likely come from a variety of public and private sources, said Jackie Wellington, executive vice president of the economic council. The plan calls for completion in 2026, the 200th anniversary of the barracks' opening.
The cemetery, hospital and military reserve posts on the site would continue to operate. And efforts to open a Missouri Civil War Museum and another museum dedicated to the role of American "citizen soldier" would proceed.
Those facilities, along with existing military museums in St. Louis County's Jefferson Barracks Park, would complement a $6.8 million interpretive center and the Grant compound that would be built along the old military parade grounds.
At present, 19 presidents have libraries bearing their names,
The Grant library and museum would be dedicated to the Civil War hero whose scandal-plagued presidency would be remembered by many historians as one of the worst in American history. Construction costs would be about $13 million for the 15,000-square-foot facility.
"It wouldn't be a huge facility, but it would be an anchor," said project manager Scott Emmelkamp, of the Dayton, Ohio-based design firm Woolpert, which St. Louis County hired to write the plan.
Although Grant was born in Ohio, south St. Louis County seems a fitting place for his museum and library.
In 1843, shortly after he graduated from West Point, 2nd Lt. Grant began his military career at Jefferson Barracks. The following year, he met his future wife, Julia Dent, whose family lived about five miles from the post.
After their marriage in 1848, the couple lived at the Dent family home, White Haven, and briefly in a log cabin that Grant built and — unhappy with its construction — dubbed Hardscrabble. That building is now on the grounds of Grant's Farm, the Busch family estate. The Grants later moved back to White Haven, which is now operated by the National Park Service as the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, 7400 Grant Road.
In the near term, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said the county plans to boost Jefferson Barracks' profile by installing new signs. "This is one of the first things we've got to do — to let people know what a great destination Jefferson Barracks is," he said.
I'm interested in hearing what the members of the A/C think of this.
St. Louis County mulls Grant museum in Jefferson Barracks
By Matthew Hathaway
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/27/2010
A Ulysses S. Grant presidential museum and library would be the centerpiece of a complex of new historical attractions at a revamped Jefferson Barracks, officials say.
A master plan disclosed this week calls for $68 million in improvements to the 1,000-acre complex that includes a St. Louis County park, national cemetery, veterans hospital and active military post.
The $300,000 plan, which was commissioned by the St. Louis County Economic Council and funded primarily by a federal grant, envisions the 184-year-old military complex as a national attraction for history-minded tourists and, locally, as an economic engine for South County.
Funding for the project would likely come from a variety of public and private sources, said Jackie Wellington, executive vice president of the economic council. The plan calls for completion in 2026, the 200th anniversary of the barracks' opening.
The cemetery, hospital and military reserve posts on the site would continue to operate. And efforts to open a Missouri Civil War Museum and another museum dedicated to the role of American "citizen soldier" would proceed.
Those facilities, along with existing military museums in St. Louis County's Jefferson Barracks Park, would complement a $6.8 million interpretive center and the Grant compound that would be built along the old military parade grounds.
At present, 19 presidents have libraries bearing their names,
The Grant library and museum would be dedicated to the Civil War hero whose scandal-plagued presidency would be remembered by many historians as one of the worst in American history. Construction costs would be about $13 million for the 15,000-square-foot facility.
"It wouldn't be a huge facility, but it would be an anchor," said project manager Scott Emmelkamp, of the Dayton, Ohio-based design firm Woolpert, which St. Louis County hired to write the plan.
Although Grant was born in Ohio, south St. Louis County seems a fitting place for his museum and library.
In 1843, shortly after he graduated from West Point, 2nd Lt. Grant began his military career at Jefferson Barracks. The following year, he met his future wife, Julia Dent, whose family lived about five miles from the post.
After their marriage in 1848, the couple lived at the Dent family home, White Haven, and briefly in a log cabin that Grant built and — unhappy with its construction — dubbed Hardscrabble. That building is now on the grounds of Grant's Farm, the Busch family estate. The Grants later moved back to White Haven, which is now operated by the National Park Service as the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, 7400 Grant Road.
In the near term, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said the county plans to boost Jefferson Barracks' profile by installing new signs. "This is one of the first things we've got to do — to let people know what a great destination Jefferson Barracks is," he said.
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