Abner Dean Home

This historic two-story home was built in 1867. Born January 27, 1828, Abner Dean became a Baptist preacher in 1850 and was active in churches throughout Cass County. While a Baptist preacher, he became involved with the Blue River Baptist Association, which opened up his opportunities in many of the churches in the county. After the Civil War, Dean had been arrested for refusing to take the Test Oath which was required to demonstrate loyalty to the United States. Even though Dean had been a major in the Union Army, he refused to repeat the oath's line about having never assisted anyone in the Confederate Army.

While Dean was in prison, George Caleb Bingham was inspired by Dean and visited him on a few occasions. During his visits with him in July 1866, Bingham painted two portraits of him, which can still be seen today. After Abner Dean was released from jail, this small house on Wall St. was constructed. Dean passed away on November 18, 1912. Abner Dean’s situation is an example of the complex situations present during the Civil War. Even though someone’s loyalty should have been very clear, such as Abner’s clear allegiance to the Union army, they could still be seen as the enemy. This connects to the history of the area, where during the Civil War, Ewing issued the Order No. 11. It was intended to stop the surprise attacks of the bushwhackers.

Rush, Dolores J. “Abner H. Dean(e).” The-History-Nut-Of-Missouri, November 28, 2012. Accessed April 29, 2017. http://the-history-nut-of-missouri.blogspot.com/2012/11/Abner-H-Deane.html.

Tom C. “Abner Holton Deane.” July 13, 2003. Accessed Aprill 29, 2017. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7681720.