You can travel back to the 1800s in Kansas City area

You can take a stroll back into the 19th century without a magical phone booth or other time machine.

Kansas City (Liberty, actually) is home to Shoal Creek Living History Museum. The park is based on the 1800s. Most of the buildings are actually from that time period. 17 of the 21 buildings are authentic time period buildings, including the cabins and houses.

The museum, which is actually an open-air park, is open year-round to the public.

You are welcomed to the 80-acre walking park by the remains of a covered wagon near the entrance. The living history museum opened in 1975.

The first building you encounter is an old farm house, with a chicken coop behind it.

The buildings are normally closed to visitors, except for special events. During the spring and summer, special events are held the first Saturday of each month. Re-enactors participate to give the museum a real feel of life in the 1800s. I am looking forward to visiting again during one of those events.

The park is host to an old-fashioned visit from St. Nicholas Dec. 7th. Re-enactors will bring the museum grounds to life for a visit with Santa Claus. The event will be held 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

In 2014, the re-enactment events are scheduled June 7th, July 5th, August 2nd and Sept. 6th.

For more special event information, please visit the museum’s website at www.shoalcreeklivinghistorymuseum.com.

Back to our tour.

We were fascinated with a log cabin. The grounds near it were plowed over; it gave the place an authentic feel. You could imagine a farmer out plowing the field with a lead horse or two.

The building that was the most impressive to me was an old mill. The Grist Mill’s water wheel is dry now, but I could imagine it located along a creek, the water being pumped into the makeshift trough. The trough started about a hundred feet upstream from the wheel and finished at a small building about another 100 feet downstream.

It’s amazing that a building from maybe 150 years ago is still standing.

Nearby was an old mercantile building.

Across the way was an old school building. The bell works!

The church had a nice landscaped garden nearby. The graveyard gave us pause initially.

The graveyard gave us pause initially. We wondered if the grave markers were actually real. They were. They were moved from older cemeteries by court order. The remains were actually moved to established cemeteries.

In the cemetery was an old wagon used to haul caskets.

We walked farther into the park and came upon the Blacksmith barn. I am excited to come back and watch a blacksmith work on things. I imagine an anvil will be used as he hammers a horseshoe or some other piece of equipment into shape with a heavy hammer.

Making up the rest of the park were a few more houses.

One house looked like it may have belonged to the town’s banker. It was nice looking and appeared to be the biggest house in town. A nice wooden fence closed it off from the rest of the town.

That’s the neat thing about coming to places like Shoal Creek – you can use your imagination to create the town, townsfolk and their stories.

It actually was the Thornton Mansion. It was built in 1829. Colonel James Thornton had it built with the “help” of slaves.

We checked out the backyard. A bench sat amidst flower beds. An open area separated the property from the tree line. The leaves of the trees had started their fall color change.

We did stop by the local marshal’s office. The jailhouse seemed small. But, that was probably realistic for that time period.

There are walking trails to take you to other parts of Hodge Park, where the museum is located. Apparently, you may see a bison (buffalo) during a stroll.

While visiting during one of the weekends with re-enactors would be fun, I did enjoy having the place to ourselves. It allowed us opportunities for upclose viewing and taking our time during the walk, without having to put up with other people waiting on us, or vice versa.