PRESERVING JACKSON'S PAST FOR THE FUTURE

Furnishings from the late 1800's, like this carved trundle bed, fill the rooms of the Oliver House. Many are family heirlooms donated or on permanent loan from Jackson area families.

The Jackson Heritage Association has maintained the city's best kept secret for nearly 20 years now.

That secret, historic Oliver House at 224 E. Adams in Jackson, has been what members describe as the association's "one and only project" since it assumed ownership of the structure in 1977.

"Some people in Jackson don't know we have an attraction like this," says Dorothy Palisch, president of the Jackson Heritage Association. "A lot of people will come in for tours and say, 'This is the best kept secret in Jackson.'"

Oliver House dates back to the mid-1800s and has been home to a number of prominent Jackson citizens including former state senator Robert Burett Oliver, for whom the house was named.

Oliver House came into the hands of the Jackson Heritage Association in 1977. Since then, the organization has focused its efforts almost entirely on restoring the structure and furnishing it with items typical of the time Oliver and his family lived at 224 E. Adams.

Members draw a great deal of personal satisfaction from the work and feel their efforts are vital to the preservation of Jackson's history for future generations.

"I feel this is so important," Palisch explained. "If we don't preserve these things in our generation, then future generations will never know what some of these things are like."

It was this strong interest in historic preservation that prompted Palisch -- and most of the association's other members -- to join the heritage association when it formed in the mid-1960s. The acquisition of the Oliver House allowed members to become involved in historic preservation on a scale not typically available to small-town historical societies.

Oliver House dates back to 1855 when George Ferguson bought the plot of land where the home sits and constructed a 1 1/2 story brick structure on the site. Shortly after, Ferguson completed the second story and bricked in a dining room area, connecting the sitting room with the detached kitchen area.

Ferguson is said to have installed the first telephone in Jackson at 224 E. Adams.

In March 1881, Oliver and his wife, the former Marie Watkins, purchased the home from Ferguson's widow for the sum of $2,500.

Oliver had begun a law practice in Jackson in 1878 and became Cape Girardeau County's prosecuting attorney that same year. In 1882, shortly after buying Ferguson's Federal-style home, Oliver was elected to the Missouri Senate. The politician grew more prominent over the years, welcoming such statesmen as William Jennings Bryan and Missouri governor and later U.S. secretary of the interior David R. Francis into his Jackson home.

Mrs. Oliver would gain renown of her own in the early 1900s by designing Missouri's state flag.

Oliver and his family lived at 224 E. Adams until 1896, when they moved to a home at 740 North St. in Cape Girardeau.

Throughout the 1900s, the Oliver House was home to many different occupants and was even an apartment building for a time.

The Jackson Community Betterment Association took possession of the Oliver House in the mid-1960s, turning it over to the Jackson Heritage Association in 1977.

The restoration and preservation of the Oliver House fit perfectly with the heritage association's aim of preserving Jackson history.

"The Oliver House is our one and only project," explains past president Vicki Abernathy. "Our primary goal is to preserve history and our primary project so far has been to maintain the Oliver House and furnish it with appropriate furnishings."

Restoration on the historic home began shortly after ownership was transferred from the betterment association. Local organizations including the American Legion, Breakfast Optimists, Jaycees and the National Guard joined local contractors and artisans in donating their labor for the work, with some adopting whole rooms to restore.

The work was completed in 1982 after which the heritage association set to work to decorate and furnish the Oliver House with items typical of the late 1800s, when the Oliver family occupied the structure.

Each room of the two-story structure is filled with immaculately maintained examples of the furniture, woodwork, draperies and other appointments that would be found in an upper middle class home in the 19th century.

Many of the items are family heirlooms on permanent loan from Jackson area people. Some of the furnishings were purchased by the heritage association while many others were donated. Individuals frequently offer to donate antique furniture and other items for display in the Oliver House. However, the association only displays items from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Donations outside this time period are often declined.

Members describe their heritage association work as a labor of love.

"Everybody has a cause -- some save whales and some save seals. I am a member of the National Historic Preservation Society and this is my cause," said past president Vicki Abernathy.

Currently a member of the organization's board of directors, the Jackson native has long had an affinity for history and historic items.

"I must have been an old something in a past life," she said, chuckling. "I've collected old things since I was 5 years old. I cry at flea markets when I see old photos of families for sale."

Abernathy became involved in the heritage association when she returned to Jackson after a 20-year stint in Texas.

Vice president Cotton Meyer remembers playing in the home as a child, when the Oliver House was the private residence of the Crites family.

He contributed his first volunteer effort during the late 1970s as a member of the local chapter of the American Legion. The Legion had offered its services to help restore a portion of the home. Meyer became a full-fledged member of the Jackson Heritage Association about 10 years ago and has been particularly active in the last three.

The organization meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Oliver House. Meetings typically involve decisions on building maintenance, finances and whether to accept items being offered for donation.

The Jackson Heritage Association is a non-profit organization with much of its funding coming from an annual dinner and dance and admission prices charged to the more than 1,000 people who visit the Oliver House each year.

Primary funding comes from the annual dinner-dance, known as the "Cruise Party." Association members sell tickets to the event, with door prizes donated by local businesses given away throughout the night. The high point of the evening is the drawing for a $3,000 travel package.

The association also publishes and sells a limited edition calendar featuring historic Jackson photographs pulled from the organization's extensive photographic collection, maintained by longtime board member Bernard Schaper.

In addition to regular tours offered on Saturday afternoons from May through December, the Oliver House also hosts a number of special weekend events including displays of antique wedding gowns, Christmas decorations and other items of interest to draw visitors.

A Victorian driving tour is also sponsored by the heritage association along with events held in conjunction with the Mississippi River Valley Scenic tours held each spring and fall.