AMERICAN HERITAGE MUSEUM WILL DISPLAY ANTIQUE FARM EQUIPMENT

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The agricultural museum that started 14 years ago in Altenburg may have finally found a permanent home.

Now called the American Heritage Museum, the former Mill Town Museum is now south of Nash Road, off Interstate 55 across from Municipal Airport. The red-and-white-striped building formerly housed businessman Charles Harris' antique and classic car collection.

The museum, which makes up the largest farm equipment collection in the state, is scheduled to open April 1. More than 500 items on display range from housewares to gargantuan threshing machines.

The "road" leading to the present site has been circuitous, winding from its starting point in Altenburg in 1977. Founder Ray Schmidt hosted thousands of visitors there for several years, until local businessmen Gene Rhodes, Joe Mirgeaux, Ernie Beussink and Jim Drury purchased interests in the collection in April 1986.

They considered transferring it to sites near Biehle and behind the former Howard Johnson Motel here. Rhodes bought out the other partners and then moved the museum to the old IXL handle factory in Jackson in August 1989.

That site proved to be hard to find for visitors, so the lease was not renewed, said Rhodes. The display equipment then was moved for storage to the former Tanksley Trucking repair shop south of Nash Road. Rhodes did not display the collection last year.

American Heritage Museum will

display antique farm equipment

He said he hopes the newest site will attract more visitors since the structure is adjacent to the interstate.

"We have higher visibility here along I-55 for tourists and visitors, and it is more convenient," Rhodes said. "The place in Jackson was hard to find and the real estate was on the market to be sold."

Rhodes owns the new site, comprised of three acres of land and the building.

The eclectic collection covers a wide spectrum of equipment. One of the largest pieces is a Freeze threshing machine built in Cape Girardeau in the early 1900s. A steam engine from the same era compares in size.

More than 30 tractors dating back to 1903 and a variety of horse-drawn equipment are on display. Many machines for producing brooms, shingles, crushed rock, sorghum and other products also are on display, and the Capaha Antique Car Club has an array of antique and classic automobiles there.

Along with the new name and home, the museum has some new attractions. Rhodes plans to set up a house display furnished with period pieces to show how farm houses were set up. On special occasions the museum will stage antique tractor pulls; cider, broom, soap and sorghum making; and a working sawmill.

Mirgeaux and Bill Beussink are preparing the museum for its opening.

The museum is scheduled to be open Mondays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. April 1 through Oct. 31. Admission is $3.50 for adults, $1.50 for ages 11-14, and free for ages 10 and under.