Grand River Historical Society Museum

This museum dates back to meetings of the Grand River Historical Society in 1954 and is located in a building donated by Murray Windle and Pat Webber that was once part of the Chillicothe Business College. In addition to educational exhibits and preservation efforts, the organization hosts an annual "Sliced Bread Day" each July 7th, celebrating the community's connection to one of America's greatest inventions which was first put to use in downtown Chillicothe by bread slicer inventor Otto Rohwedder. The history of the town's connection to this invention was rediscovered by the editor of the Chillicothe Constitution Times while conducting research for a local history book which was published in 2001, and since that time, the community has embraced the moniker "Home of Sliced Bread." The museum is home to many collections of Missouri history and also holds the largest collection of paintings by artist Fred Irvin, an animator for Walt Disney who also produced illustrations for many of the nation's leading publications, including the Saturday Evening Post.

The museum has recently become home to new additions, including the AME Bethel Black History Museum. The museum's first exhibit hall is dedicated to the Grand River area's beginnings and features a newly designed Native American exhibit, "A Point In Time," funded by a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council that includes stone tools collected in the Grand River region. The exhibit also features a mural of the Missouria Indians, painted by Kelly Poling, area muralist and artist. Next to the Native American exhibit are artifacts brought to the Grand River region by early settlers, including a wagon bow, a loom, spinning wheels, and a gun collection. Also included in the first exhibit hall is a jail cell from the original Chillicothe jail, a Railroad exhibit with working train whistles, a bank teller station from the bank teller school, a Linotype machine, and an early telephone switchboard and telephone booth. The second exhibit hall was opened in May of 1977 and was remodeled in 1978-1979. It was constructed through a matching fund drive with the Hedrick Foundation. The west side of the hall contains a "Mom and Pop" grocery store, Doctor and Dentist offices, newly refurbished Chillicothe High School, and Chillicothe Business College exhibits.

The museum also includes exhibits of children's toys and a china and glassware collection. The east side of the hall contains the Museum's collection of uniforms - from the Civil War to Afghanistan. All of these uniforms were worn by Livingston County servicemen and women, and all branches of the military are included. The Chillicothe entertainment section features the Ben Bolt Theater, the movie projector from the Route 65 Drive-In Theater, a vintage homemade car, and a complete soda fountain from Millers - a popular downtown meeting spot, and much more. In 1998, an annex building was constructed east of the main building. It was made possible through funds donated by the Hedrick Foundation, the Roger A. Browning Foundation, and the American Legion Vern A. Glick Post 25 and Ladies Auxiliary. This building houses our antique vehicles, including the Moore Monument wagon, the Churchill Truck Lines, Inc. Ford truck, the Irvinbilt truck, and an antique fire truck that the children will enjoy.

Hogan, Suzanne. A People's History of Kansas City, A Missouri town almost forgot it invented the greatest thing since anything: sliced bread. July 6th, 2022. Accessed June 27th, 2024. https://www.kcur.org/history/2022-07-06/chillicothe-missouri-sliced-bread.

Grand River Historical Society Museum website, https://www.chillicothemuseum.com/ accessed 6/27/2024