Houx-Hoefer-Rehkop House

Built in 1882, this house was constructed on land previously owned by Higginsville founders, Harvey J. and Carrie F. Higgins. George W. Houx and his wife Fannie moved to Higginsville only thirteen years after the town's founding. They purchased the land from the Higgins family and built the historic home. One of their seven children, Frank L. Houx, moved to Wyoming and teamed with "Buffalo Bill" Cody in developing Cody, WY. Frank became mayor of the town, and then governor of Wyoming. Meanwhile, Daniel Hoefer, son of Charles Hoefer (Higginsville's first German settler), purchased the land from the Haux family and then served as the home's owner from 1904 until 1938. During that time, he was elected mayor of Higginsville. Finally, Leonard D. and Marie H. Rehkop purchased the house in 1940 and possessed the home through the late twentieth century. 

The Italianate style Houx-Hoefer-Rehkop House is located on land once owned by the Higginsville county's namesake: Harvey J. and Carrie F. Higgins, who founded the town in 1869. The home was constructed around 1882 by George W. and Fannie P. Houx, who purchased the land from the Higgins family and lived here until 1904. Their son, Frank Houx, went on to become governor of Wyoming. Daniel Hoefer, who served as Mayor of Higginsville, purchased the land from the Houx family, and he later sold it to Leonard D. and Marie H. Rehkop. 

Nathan A. and Eliza Jane Speer first owned the now-historic land when they purchased the property from the U. S. Government on December 5, 1843. The Speer family sold the lot to the Higgins family, who founded the town; they owned the property until 1882; Though founded after the Civil War, Higginsville included many residents with pro-Southern and Confederate ties, including George Houx who served in the Confederate army. The area had previously been a center of slavery, and enslaved people made up twenty-five percent of the county's population in 1860. After the war, the city developed the Missouri Confederate Soldiers' Home, a veteran's home that hosted former Confederate soldiers for sixty years. When the last of the Confederate veterans died, Higginsville converted the grounds into a 135-acre Confederate Memorial Cemetery which is known today as the Confederate Memorial State Historic Site. Historians have found the continued lack of attention on the history of slavery at that site to be problematic, and many residents asked the site to no longer fly the Confederate battle flag in recent decades. In 2003, the governor ordered the site to stop flying the battle flag, but attempts remain by some groups to have it flown again (only the U.S. and Missouri flags are now displayed).  

Former Confederate soldier George W. Houx moved to Higginsville only thirteen years after the town's founding, Houx, born on August 13, 1826, married Fannie Price in 1850, and the couple went on to have seven children. After the war, in 1880, he moved to Higginsville and helped organize the Higginsville Lodge No. 364. Additionally, his son, Frank L. Houx, and his son-in-law, Homer H. Luce, were partners in the ownership of the Higginsville Advance in 1880. A brick mason by trade, George Houx purchased the land from the Higgins family and subsequently built the original, now-historic, five-room house around 1882. Years later, Frank Houx moved to Wyoming (after briefly living in Montana) and partnered with William "Buffalo Bill" Cody to develop Cody, Wyoming. In 1901, Frank became mayor of Cody, which led him on a political journey that included becoming the state's Sec. of State and then its Governor.

Daniel Hoefer, son of Charles Hoefer (Higginsville's first German settler), served as the home's owner from 1904 until 1938. Eventually, numerous Germans came to Lafayette County, including Higginsville. Unlike others in town, the German population usually supported the Union during the Civil War, and thier children Hoefer followed his father as president of the Bank of Higginsville and held many other significant positions, including Mayor of Higginsville. His daughter, Lewine, had a controlling interest in the Bank of Higginsville after her father's death, and she owned the home from 1938 to 1940. Leonard D. and Marie H. Rehkop purchased the house from Lewine Hoefer Russell in 1940 and possessed the home through the late twentieth century. 

The historic home passed hands only a few times through the late twentieth century, and, today, the house still exists as a private dwelling. But, the home and property stand as a monument to the town's history. The Higgins family, who founded the city a few years after the Civil War, purchased the land in 1869 and then sold it to the former Confederate soldier, George Houx (and his family), in 1882. Higginsville developed into a Confederate-friendly town, including a city that cared for Confederate veterans; that legacy lives on today. Meanwhile, George's son, Frank, went to Wyoming, where he teamed with Buffalo Bill Cody in developing Cody, WY; he served as the town's mayor and eventually Wyoming's Governor.

"Frank Lee Houx." Find A Grave. findagrave.com. Accessed February 2, 2022. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15115669/frank-lee-houx.

"George Washington 'Uncle' Houx." Find A Grave. findagrave.com. Accessed February 2, 2022. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68825244/george-washington-houx.

Kansas City Star Editorial Board. "‘Southern cause’? Missouri’s Confederate memorial skips over the evils of slavery." Kansas City Star (Kansas City). October 9, 2020. https://amp.kansascity.com/article246331005.html.

"Lafayette County History." Lafayette County Government Website. Accessed Feb 2, 2022. https://www.lafayettecountymo.com/history.

Rehkop, Leonard D. "Nomination Form: Houx-Hoefer-Rehkop House." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 1978. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Houx-Hoefer-Rehkop%20House.pdf.