HISTORY BUFFS GET LOOK INTO THE PAST AT OLIVER HOUSE

This is an Edison Victrola on display in the sitting room of the Oliver House.

Bernard Schaper points out one of his favorite historical pieces in the Oliver House, a clock in the master bedroom.

This chair belonged to Sen. Oliver and is on display in the office of the Oliver House.

A painting of Sen. Oliver hangs above the staircase next to these two Victorian dressed mannequins.

A painting of Marie Oliver also hangs at the top of the stairs.

Marie Oliver's sewing kit that she used to sew Missouri's first state flag is on display upstairs in the Oliver House in Jackson.

The restoration of the Oliver House in Jackson gives history buffs and anyone interested the opportunity to step back into the past and experience a little of what life must have been like in Jackson in the late 1800s.

The house, located at 224 East Adams Street in Jackson, is open for tours on the first Sunday of the month from May through December from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Bernard J. Schaper, Jackson Heritage Association member, was a part of the restoration of the house.

"It was almost miraculous how the pieces came together for the restoration of this house," Schaper said.

The history of the house is in some ways still a mystery. There was a structure at this location in 1848 but it is not known exactly when the house was built, Schaper said.

The Ferguson family purchased the home in 1854 and made some changes to it. They made it into a two-story structure by 1855.

The history of the Oliver House began in 1881. Robert Burett Oliver and Marie Watkins Oliver began moving into their new home that year.

Oliver was elected as prosecuting attorney in 1878, the same year he moved his law practice to Jackson.

In 1882, Oliver was elected state senator. He also served on the Board of Curators for the University of Missouri at Columbia.

Oliver was also instrumental in the creation of the Little River Drainage District in Southeast Missouri.

Mrs. Oliver was a Betsy Ross of sorts for Missouri. She designed, with a friend, the first and only official state flag.

The flag was accepted by Gov. Elliot Major in 1913. The sewing kit that she used to sew the flag is now a part of the home's historical collection. Although, she created the flag while she was living in Cape Girardeau.

The Olivers moved to Cape Girardeau in 1896. They left behind the house in Jackson and it began to deteriorate until the Jackson Heritage Society took possession of it in 1976.

In 1985 the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The Federal-style brick house is furnished with Victorian pieces. Some of the furnishings are original pieces that the Oliver family used while they lived in the house.

The parlor, which is to the left of the front room, is where the Olivers entertained their guests.

According to Schaper, the parlor became a political hub for meetings.

Some famous guests came to Jackson and were entertained by the Olivers in the parlor. William Jennings Bryan, nominated for president of the United States three times, came for a visit.

Gov. David R. Francis of Missouri who later became secretary of the interior and ambassador to Russia also stopped by the Oliver House.

The parlor also holds the second oldest piece in the house. A forte piano that dates to 1815 is one of the highlights of the tour.

The stairs face the front entrance of the house and there is a ledge near the top of them that has two mannequins in full Victorian dress on display on it.

Looking over the staircase are two paintings, one of Sen. Oliver and the other of Marie Oliver.

The sitting room is where the family lived, according to Schaper. There are a number of relics that are placed in the sitting room. An Edison Victrola sits in the corner and entertained the family with music.

Off of the sitting room is another room in which historians are not sure of its origin. It is furnished to be an office for Sen. Oliver with old law books in the bookcases and a swivel chair that was Sen. Oliver's.

The dining room is also off of the sitting room. It is furnished in Victorian style.

The kitchen is off of the dining room and it is the oldest part of the house, according to Schaper. Below the kitchen is a limestone cellar.

There is a fireplace where the Fergusons cooked their meals, according to Schaper. The Olivers wouldn't have used the fireplace.

The oldest relic is on display in the kitchen. A muzzle-loading rifle is proudly on display over the dry sink in the kitchen.

The gun was used in the War of 1812 by James Russell. The history of the gun is recorded on a piece of paper that is stored in the stock of the gun.

"Everything in the house pre-dates 1900," Schaper said.

The upstairs houses the master bedroom and the children's bedroom, and a guest bedroom. It also is where the sewing kit that Mrs. Oliver used to sew the first state flag is on display.

In the bedrooms, there are trunks and free standing wardrobe closets to hold all of their clothes. Closets were not very popular in older homes because the tax assessment was based on the number of rooms and the closets were counted as rooms, according to Schaper.

There are many different antiques that furnish and decorate the house. The upstairs has many different types of bedroom furniture, clothing, and books that really add to the tour of the Oliver House.

Beyond the bedrooms and above the kitchen is what Schaper refers to as the catch all room. There are many interesting old photos of Jackson around the turn of the century.

Refreshments are served to the guests that tour the home in this room.

For more information about the Oliver House in Jackson contact Gloria at 243-5084 or Barbara at 243-2560 or Mariam at 243-3171.