Area town adds history to its hill

Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to show how long the Mayfield Cultural Center/Bollinger County Museum of Natural History served as an administration building, and who bought it before it became a nursing home.

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Marble Hill is about two weeks away from opening a cultural center so enveloped in history, a newer building can't compare.

Sharing an address, the Mayfield Cultural Center and Bollinger County Museum of Natural History are undergoing updates to provide the town with new history.

Once known as the El Nathan Nursing Home, the restored Mayfield Cultural Center opened its doors to the public for the first time this weekend in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Mississippi River Valley Scenic Drive.

While restoration is not finished, director of operations Brian Derton wanted to take the opportunity to show visitors the possibilities available at the new center.

A few Civil War firearms are displayed Sunday in the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History in Marble Hill, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Though Derton has only been working with the Will Mayfield Heritage Foundation for about a year, he knows everything there is to know about the building.

The building began as an administration building at Will Mayfield College until 1942. It then was bought by Lottie Bollinger and eventually was converted into a nursing home, according to the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History's website.

The biggest obstacle for the cultural center has been the building's restoration. Derton is grateful to previous owner Bollinger for keeping a lot of the original wallpaper, windows, ceiling tiles, columns and even the banister leading to the second floor. But Derton said a lot of history also is hidden under about 12 layers of wallpaper.

In what's now called the "ballroom" of the center, Derton said the walls were signed with the names of students and faculty who used the classroom in the early 1900s, and the foundation managed to find the 94-year-old daughter of one of the signers. Her mother signed the wall when she attended school at Will Mayfield College.

Derton said the facility will be used by local exhibitors and artists to show their work.

Patricia Welker, administrator of the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History, discusses the Civil War exhibits Sunday in Marble Hill, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

The ballroom can be used for weddings or family gatherings, complete with a catering kitchen on the second floor.

In the back of the center is a chapel that is being converted to hold up to 150 people and can be used for performances, weddings and other events.

In the next two weeks or so, Derton and his team hope to allow exhibitors to begin filling the center's space. He said he's excited to help restore a piece the "history on the hill" in Marble Hill.

Next door, on the first level of the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History behind the museum's science lab, an old printing press and a slice of a 156-year-old tree trunk, the museum's Civil War exhibits are undergoing a face-lift as well.

There are two rooms in the museum dedicated to the Civil War, and along the west wall, a large mural explaining "The War Between the States" rests over cases filled with Civil War relics.

Lily Ringwald, left, and Megan Patt of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, check out a replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull Sunday at the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History in Marble Hill, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"A lot of this belongs to our curator, Guy Daryl. He's collected Civil War items from the major battlefields all over the world," museum administrator Patricia Welker said. "So you've got a pretty wide variety. These things are a lot of stuff that a Civil War soldier would carry."

She motioned to a case beside it. "And these were used for cannons; this one is going to be for weapons."

She points to the case across the hall. "And the one in the back room is dug-up stuff," she said. "They won't tell us where, but some of it is from close to Cape [Girardeau] or Patterson."

The museum is showcasing its newest addition to the Civil War section -- eight weapons displayed in upright cases. The items vary from rifles to pistols to sabres.

These latest items are on loan from Donald Tiehes, Welker said. Soon, she said, the entire exhibit will undergo some changes.

"We're going to get new cases and new signage for all this stuff," she explained, motioning to the cases around her. "So the Civil War and the 'people history' sections are getting a makeover."

Welker said the changes are being done to keep people interested. While some may see their favorite historical pieces leave, just-as-interesting ones will take their place, she said.

The museum is commonly known for its giant dinosaurs that inhabit the second floor, but Welker said it's not the only attraction.

"The dinosaurs are probably the most popular with the kids," she said, "but a lot of the adults look at the Native American and Civil War [exhibits] and the local history.

"We're hoping next door will contribute to the local history as well," she added, referring to the Mayfield Cultural Center.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

pertinent address:

207 Mayfield Drive, Marble Hill, Missouri