Wentworth Military Academy Museum

This museum shares the history of Wentworth Military Academy which was the oldest military academy west of the Mississippi River. The academy was established in 1880 and despite a fire that destroyed some of the campus in 1975, continued to operate until 2017. The academy was one of six military junior colleges that operated in the United States during the 20th century and today, that history is preserved through exhibits that utilize photographs, uniforms, and other artifacts that have been donated or purchased at auction.

The academy was established by Stephen G. Wentworth in 1880 in Lexington, Missouri as a school for boys. Two years late, the school became a military academy and grew in part to members of the Sellers family, with five Sellers serving as the president of the academy at various times throughout its history. Ike Skelton, one of the most well-known political officials in the western part of Missouri, graduated from the academy in 1951 and was a congressman for over 30 years. The academy also has two recipients of the Medal of Honor, George B. Turner and William E. Adams.

The museum exhibits follow a circular path with artifacts from the school's history along with stained glass windows that are dedicated to five fallen soldiers. The windows are originally from the chapel in Wentworth and each of the families picked the colors and what is on the windows. Above the windows are each of the Presidents of Wentworth portraits. To the right of the windows are the two Medal of Honor recipients and what they did to earn the military's highest commendation.

On each side of the museum, there are pictures of the graduating classes, uniforms, bands, statues, pictures of sporting events, and even rings of the classes throughout the years dating back to the early 1900s. On the back half of the Museum is an exact replica of a dormitory that was at Wentworth, it has the exact same dimensions and clothing as a room would have in the original building. The back half also has the original newspapers of when the Academy caught fire in 1975, which destroyed much of the campus.

The museum courtyard features a "doughboy" statue from World War I with the names of the former students who perished in that war. The museum also maintains the original bell from the school's chapel with the Academy slogan of "En Dieu Est Tout" written above it, meaning "In God Is All."

Hittner, George. Who are we?, Background, Method, Summary.. Accessed May 3rd, 2023. https://www.wmamuseum.org/about.