WELCOME TO THE CENTRALIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Check out the museum & gardens
May through October – Sunday & Wednesdays – Tour Hours: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Tours are conducted by volunteer docents (tour guides). Special tours may be scheduled by appointment.
Admission is free, visitor donations are welcomed and used to operate the Museum and preserve the collection of historic artifacts.
Admission
Admission is free, visitor donations are welcomed and used to operate the Museum and preserve the collection of historic artifacts.
Tour Hours
May through October
Sunday & Wednesdays
Tour Hours: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Or by appointment.
Tours are conducted by volunteer docents (tour guides).
Office Hours
The office of the Society, manned by Museum secretary, Dorothy Davidson, is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 am-2pm. Marjorie Motley is currently serving as Director of Museum.
How do I get to the museum & gardens?
From Moberly/Sturgeon direction:
- As you are headed East on Highway 22, turn right on N. Jefferson St. (by McDonald’s)
- Drive 0.6 miles (you’ll cross over two sets of railroad tracks and pass Chester Boren Middle School)
- Turn right on E. Sneed St.
- The museum & parking will be on the right.
From Mexico/Thompson direction:
- As you are headed West on Highway 22, turn left on N. Jefferson St. (by McDonald’s)
- Drive 0.6 miles (you’ll cross over two sets of railroad tracks and pass Chester Boren Middle School)
- Turn right on E. Sneed St.
- The museum & parking will be on the right.
From Columbia/Hallsville direction:
- As you are headed North on Highway 124, turn right on W. Singleton (the turn is just before the overpass)
- Drive 0.5 miles headed East on Singleton St.
- Turn right on Allen St. (the turn is right by the town square)
- Drive 1 block headed South on Allen St.
- Turn left on Sneed St.
- Drive 0.6 miles on Sneed St.
- The museum & parking will be on the left.
Google Map Directions!
Our Team
Here are the people running the show at the Centralia Historical Society Museum and Gardens
Our Board
Here are the people in charge of making decisions for the museum
Other Board Members
Centralia Historical Society Museum & Gardens: History
For those that are curious about the founding of the museum, Chance Gardens, and the Rose Garden.
Albert Bishop Chance and his wife Frances Gano Chance bought the home in 1923 and lived here until his death in 1949.
The home was then converted into the Chance Company guest house, used in that manner from 1954-1973. In 1974 Chance Foundation provided the house to the Centralia Historical Society, Inc. The Architect was George F. Barber, Design #27. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Chance Gardens, a horticultural attraction was built in 1936 by Mr. Albert Bishop Chance as an expression of his gratitude to the community for it’s support of the Chance Company through the years. In 1927 the Chances took a world tour. He was so inspired by the gardens he saw that upon his return he built one of his own.
The Garden was designed by Mrs. Maude Dawson Taylor, landscape architect of Kansas City, MO. The oriental influence may be sensed in the artful harmony of wood, water, rocks, trees, shrubs and flowers as well as in the design of entrances and garden pergola. Key features include a massive stone arch and wishing well.
Across a low pine-topped berm, a brook cascades down a miniature mountainside, joining a smaller spring fed stream and then meandering through a rock strewn valley. Over 300 tons of Missouri stone were used in the initial construction.
A rock grotto is among the gardens best known attractions, reminiscent of caves constructed in early Chinese landscapes, is lined with unusual specimens from Missouri caves. Chance Gardens is now listed on National Historical Registry as Boone County’s oldest garden open to the public. Maintenance of the Gardens is provided by the generosity of the Chance Foundation.
A 1995 addition, the Rose Garden, sits adjacent to the Centralia Museum, its design complimenting the architecture of the 1904 Home. From May to November the Rose Garden is ablaze with over 400 blooms.
Centralia Historical Society Membership
WELCOME TO FAQ
Here Are The Most Frequently Asked Questions.
Hopefully this FAQ section will help answer most of your questions. If you still are needing information, please contact us!
