Tri-County Historical Museum Society — King City, MO
The only large thing at the pump
these days is the price. But once, northwest Missouri oil jobber Rufus
Limpp built a gas station shaped like an electric gasoline pump. The
station, originally in Maryville, is long closed but the structure
is now an exhibit at the Tri-County Historical Museum Society in King
The museum, along Highway 169
just south of Missouri’s
first commercial wind energy farm, celebrates the history of Gentry,
Andrew and DeKalb counties. In addition to the “Big Pump,” the
10-acre historical park features an 1800s log cabin, a railroad depot
and caboose, two buildings full of artifacts and agricultural implements
that date from King City’s days as “bluegrass
capital of the world.”
The museum’s Limpp Building
contains displays of donated items, which recall aspects of local life.
Exhibits include Limpp’s
collection of automobile and gas station memorabilia, a display of military
uniforms, a beauty shop, a rural church’s furnishings and the
merchandise and fixtures from a country store. Items from King City’s
Lucile Theater include a stage curtain, hand-painted
with advertisements touting local businesses of the early 1900s.
museum’s Hammond Building is full of vehicles, farm equipment
and various machines. Highlights include a horse-drawn hearse, the
Linotype machine from a local newspaper office and a steam-powered
The museum’s buildings are
open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from Memorial Day through Labor
Day. The 25th annual Living History Day is set for Sept. 15, 2007.
The festival features reenactors, historical encampments and a whole-hog
barbecue. For more information call (660) 535-4391.