'A Byrd's Eye View'

A room at The Byrd House is seen before a dinner theater event Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, in Jackson.

Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian

Take a step back in time at the Byrd House circa 1820

Nate Brown of Jackson works at lighting a fire before a dinner theater event at The Byrd House in Jackson.

Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian

In 1799, patriarch Amos Byrd and his three sons, Stephen, John and Abraham, along with their families, ventured west of the Mississippi River in search of new land to own. They arrived in the area of Post Cape Girardeau, soon to become known as the Missouri Territory. The brothers would become key players in founding the town of Jackson, as well as in establishing Missouri as a state and working as a county commissioner, judge and legislators who helped write and ratify the Missouri Constitution.

It was not a story without struggle: it was one of hewing a life out of the rugged wilderness. One of building roads through dense forests. One of pressing on in the face of adversity.

Tara Shell of Marble Hill, Missouri, (left) and Meredith Stranges of Columbus, Ohio, prepare food for a dinner theater event at The Byrd House in Jackson.

Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian

That’s just the story Rebecca and James Beil set out to tell at their original dinner theater entitled “Tale of Three Brothers: A ‘Byrd’s Eye View’ of the Rise of the Republic,” which they put on in their home, the historical home of Stephen Byrd, built in 1820. In past years, the Beils have also put on the shows “Christmas in 1820” and “An 1814 Evening Dessert Table.”

This year’s event includes a storytelling of the Byrd brothers’ journey to Jackson — which was originally known as Byrdtown and later as Jackson’s Byrd Township — and their early years in the Missouri Territory. It also features a dinner true to the era, as well as a play that continues the story of the Byrd brothers and their wives as they work to make Missouri a state. Guests move throughout the Beils’ home for each portion of the evening, to keep the audience members’ attention and also to show the passage of time throughout the story. And the event is an intimate experience: each event has up to 16 people in the audience, allowing each person to have a place around a communal table for dinner, a meal Rebecca planned the menu for in August that chef Meredith Stranges prepares for guests.

Joel Brown, 11, of Jackson lights a candle outside of the Byrd House 1820 before the dinner theater event.

Jacob Wiegand ~ Southeast Missourian

Rebecca says she wrote the play in approximately three “intense” weeks during July, using research about the Byrds she has gathered throughout the years.

The Beils spent seven years restoring the Byrd house, which was in disrepair when they first bought it. They did much of the work themselves, which included James re-tuck pointing all of the walls. While they restored the home, they lived in what they use as the tavern in the play. Throughout the past 20 years since they’ve owned the home, they have opened it to numerous guests and family members.

“We’ve always enjoyed bringing people together,” Rebecca says.

At the end of each play, Rebecca tells the audience, “As God’s hand sustained and gave courage to these pioneers during all the challenges and hardships they endured, we give glory to God for giving us the determination and perseverance to restore and protect this place and through it to share a bit of history.”

“It has been a blessing and our privilege,” James adds.

At the first seating of the season, there were people present from throughout Cape Girardeau County, as well as people from Hermann, Missouri; Joplin, Missouri; and Willow Springs, Missouri. Many guests are traveling long distances to attend the event, Rebecca says, and at one of the seatings, a group of the Byrds’ descendants will be in attendance.

“I enjoyed their weaving the lives of the Byrds along with what was happening around the world … it just made it more like you were there,” says Patty Wiersema, who traveled with her husband, Chuck, from Willow Springs. “And then I have a personal interest, since my grandmother was a Byrd. I’m interested in digging in to if there’s some connection.”

“It seemed really authentic; I really liked that,” Chuck adds.

The four actors and actress who are a part of the play live in Cape Girardeau and are excited to bring a historical drama to life, especially since it is about local history.

“I love the intimate setting,” says Danielle Hargis, who plays the part of Elizabeth, Abraham Byrd’s wife. “It makes it personal … I feel like it really brings the history to life and reminds you of humanity. And realizing how important Jackson was in all of this I think is really great. And of course, the house is amazing. I feel like every time I come here, I escape and go back in time.”

And it’s true: after the play is over, the guests leave through the front door laughing and talking with each other, hugging their hosts. Although they entered as strangers, thanks to the Beils’ hospitality, they depart as friends, going back out into the 21st-Century world to live their lives in their respective places. It’s a connection the Byrds could not have foreseen when they originally built the home in 1820, but one that, as Rebecca writes into the play and herself believes, must surely have been directed by providence.

Rebecca and James take no credit for themselves, giving all the glory to God.

“We never dreamed part of our journey would be restoring this house and opening it to people,” Rebecca says. “It’s our platform, and it’s what we’ve been given to share. So you use what you’re given, you know?”

Want to go?

The Byrd House is located at 261 Cornerstone Lane in Jackson. There are seatings for the dinner theater at 5 and 7 p.m. December 5, 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14. Tickets are $75. To purchase tickets or for more information, call (573) 243-3764. Visit the website at thebyrdhouse1820.com.