History was one of the first attraction draws in Branson, years before the show-stoppers arrived. With the advent of the entertainment industry in Branson, the emphasis on history has not wanned but increased as an important and pleasurable vacation resource for visitors. Use the directory and map belowfor exact locations.

1 Air and Military Museum - 2305 E. Kearney Street / Springfield / Missouri / Call 417- 864-7997 for information
This museum in Springfield displays all sizes of military equipment, from a Cobra helicopter and T-33 jet to army field tanks and other hardware. The museum layout is designed with exciting hands-on activities for all ages, a great place for multi-generational families to explore. / Open year-round

2 American Presidential Museum - 3107 W. Highway 76 / Branson / Call 417-334-8683 for information. Offering a personal look into the political lives of the presidents of our country, this museum has an actual retired Air Force One plane and houses a life-size reconstruction of the Oval Office. A Hall of First Ladies contains replicas of Inaugural gowns. There are displays of important documents relating to historic events in our country and involving the President from the birth of our nation to the present. An Attic Full of History exhibit brings back memorable historic events and provides a great opportunity for visitors to share their experiences of the past with younger members of their families.

3 The Aurora Historical Society Museum - 121 E. Olive Street / Aurora / Missouri / Call 417-678-4150 for information. Located within the 1906 Missouri-Pacific Depot, this delightful historical museum is filled with the collection of memorabilia owned by the Aurora Historical Society. / Open year-round / Free

4 Bonniebrook Home & Museum - 485 Rose O'Neill Road / Walnut Shade / Call 417-561-1509 for information. Located about ten miles from Branson, this lovely estate is a restoration of the homestead of Rose O'Neill, early 20th century illustrator, writer and creator of the Kewpie doll. The large Victorian reconstruction houses artifacts that are similar to items in the home when it burned down in 1947. The museum also has original drawings and prints of Miss O’Neill’s artwork and a large collection of Kewpie Dolls. The complex also houses gift shop, research library, visitor center and has some lovely gardens. / Open from April through November / On the National Register of Historic Places

5 Branson Scenic Railway - 206 E. Main Street / Branson / Call 417-334-6110 for information. Offering 40 mile round trips through the local countryside, the Branson Scenic Railway offers multiple departures daily from the historic Branson Depot from March through mid-December. Ride the rails on the Ozark Zephyr in restored rail cars from the 1940s and 50s. Narrations on local history as well as the mid-century ambience of the unique trains cars are offered on all excursions.

6 College of the Ozarks - Point Lookout / Missouri / Call 417-334-6411 for information
A unique institution of learning, the College of the Ozarks has a student body of 1400, who work for their education instead of paying. The campus has a museum and other attractions of interest, located just south across Lake Taneycomo from Branson. / Open year-round

7 Douglas County History Museum - 401 E. Washington / Ava / Missouri / Call 417-683-5799 for information. For those interested in Ozark history they should check out the Douglas County History Museum in nearby Ava. Housed in a beautifully restored home from the 1880s, the museum has 12 rooms of exhibits on Ozark history as well as a large research room. / Open 10 am to 2 pm on Saturdays year-round

8 General Sweeny's Museum of Civil War History - 5228 S. State Highway ZZ / Republic / Missouri / Call 417-732-7224 for information. Although trying to remain neutral, the Civil War came to Missouri with local support for both sides of the conflict. This museum specifically relates the history of the conflict as it pertained to Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and the Indian Territories. There are artifacts, weaponry, uniforms, photos and flags as well as medical instruments from the period. A unique stop on the Smithsonian Institute’s Civil War tour. / Open Wednesday through Sunday - March through October

9 George Washington Carver National Monument - 5646 Carver Road / Diamond / Missouri / Call 417-325-4151 for information. An interesting day-trip destination, this national site in Diamond is the boyhood home of American botanist, educator and agricultural chemist, George Washington Carver. Born into slavery around 1864, George’s mother was believed to have died near the end of the Civil War. The infant George was raised by his mother’s former master, Moses Carver and his wife who reared both the baby and his brother as their own children. The site contains 210 of the original 240 acres of the Moses Carver farm. The monument includes the 1881 Moses Carver house, the Carver cemetery, a museum with an interactive exhibits area and nature trail. / Operated by the National Park Service

10 Harry S. Truman Birthplace State Historical Site - 1009 Truman / Lamar / Missouri / Call 417-682-2279 for information. Another day-trip location for families is the Missouri birthplace of President Harry S. Truman in Lamar. The small house was purchased as a first home by his newlywed parents in 1882. The Truman family moved from the home in 1885 when Harry was 11 months old. The home is finished typical of the mid 1880s, the site also contains out buildings including the smokehouse and privy. / The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. / Operated by Missouri State Parks

11 Historic Downtown Hollister - Hollister / Call 417-334-3050 for information
Built to appear like an Old English Village in 1910, Hollister is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic ambience is accentuated by charming antique shops, flea markets and an art gallery. A Hollister centerpiece on Downing Street is the old historic railroad depot which now houses the Chamber of Commerce. / Open year-round

12 Hollywood Wax Museum-Branson - 3030 West Highway 76 / Branson / Call 417-337-8277 for information. Housing over 170 life-sized celebrity figures, this museum lets visitors check out their favorites at relatively close range. Guests may see some of these stars on local Branson stages, but there are also movie and TV stars one usually sees only on home entertainment centers or in hometown theaters. Most of the life-like figures are set in familiar settings equated with their fame. Throughout the museum TVs are showing videos of the stars at their craft. Other features include a state of the art "Hooray For Hollywood Theater", a Walk of Fame, a trivia display and concessions at Lucy's Sweetshop. / Open year-round

13 Hulston Civil War Library - 6424 W. Farm Road 182 / Republic / Missouri / Call 417-732-2662 for information. Located at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, the Hulston Library contains one of the largest collections of soft-bound volumes on the Civil War owned by the National Parks Service. Open to genealogical research, the library has regimental histories as well as the Civil War Soldier's Systems. / Open year-round / Free and open to the public / Operated by the National Park Service

14 Laura Ingalls Wilder Home & Museum - 3068 Highway A / Mansfield / Missouri / Call 417-924-3626 for information. After growing up on the Kansas and Dakota prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder migrated south to Missouri with her husband and little daughter Rose. The Wilders made their home in nearby Mansfield and it was here that Laura wrote her autobiographical “Little House” series of books for children. A treasure-trove of information, the books are now a legendary documentation of American pioneer life as was immortalized in the popular Little House on the Prairie television series. The home and museum are a “ must see” for the legions of Laura’s fans as well as those who have an interest in 19th-century pioneer life. / Seasonal opening from March through mid December / Call for hours

15 Missouri Sports Hall of Fame - 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive / Springfield / Call 417-889-3100 for information. This sports museum showcases the sports icons and teams that hail from Missouri. Legendary inductees and Missouri natives featured in this museum include George Brett, Dwight Davis, Stan Musial, Leon Spinks, Casey Stengel, Payne Stewart and Rusty Wallace, just to name a few. The gamut of displays runs from local fishing catches to famous Olympians as well as players for Missouri sports teams such as the St. Louis Rams and St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs. Interactive displays, autographed memorabilia, photos and so much more can be found at this unique Hall of Fame! / Open year-round

Museum of the Unexplained - 22183 Main Street / Reeds Spring / Closed in 2005!

16 Nathan Boone Homestead State Historic Site - 7850 N. Route V / Ash Grove / Call 417-751-3266 for information. The site is composed of a 1837 log house owned by Colonel Nathan Boone. A military officer, and youngest son of Daniel Boone, Nathan helped develop the area from a prairie wilderness to a place of settlement by surveying and building roads. / Open year-round / Located a few miles northwest of Springfield

17 Ralph Foster Museum at the College of the Ozarks - Point Lookout / Call 417-334-6411 x 3407 for information. Begun as a museum and repository of regional history, the former Good Museum was renamed after benefactor Ralph Foster donated an large collection of Western and Native American artifacts to be preserved for posterity. The main focus of the museum is to collect and preserve natural, historic and unique items relating to the Ozarks. / Open Monday through Saturday from may to December

18 Ripley's Believe It or Not!® - 3326 W. Highway 76 / Branson / Call 417-337-5300 for information. A “wreck” of a building, this Ripley’s facade pays tribute to the strongest earthquakes notated in American history which occurred around New Madrid, Missouri (not in California) during the winter of 1811 and 1812. The topic is a great one for Ripley’s, a museum filled with the strange and unique. The quake was surely felt in this region, even though Ripley’s’ wasn’t here then. Check out this local history and other wonders within the cracked Ripley’s facade located on the strip.

19 The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum - 3950 Green Mountain Drive / Branson / Call 800-769-7643 for information. Certainly Happy Trails are to be found at this museum filled with memorabilia from the coolest singing cowboy and cowgirl of the forties and fifties - Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Look for Trigger out front!

20 Titanic: The Legend Continues - 3235 W Highway 76 / Branson / Call 800-381-7670 for information / Open Summer 2005. She sails down W. Highway 76 with an iceberg on her starboard side, a scale model of the White Star Liner, Titanic rises 50 feet above ground with her smokestacks soaring upwards to over seven stories. This museum is an all encompassing experience. As one enters, visitors are assigned real passenger identities and at the end of their ‘journey” find out the true fate of their passenger. The museum houses real artifacts from the doomed ship, old photos, recreations of 20 different rooms on board and even items from James Cameron’s 1997 Oscar winning motion picture. Hands-on activities will keep even the youngest visitor amused as all make way to set sail into the “ icy waters of the North Atlantic”.

21 Veterans Memorial Museum - 1250 W. 76 Country Boulevard / Branson / Call 417-336-2300 for information. Honoring the veterans of the United States military who served throughout the 20th century, the museum has over 18,000 square feet of exhibit space and is home to the world's largest war memorial bronze sculpture which features 50 life-sized figures storming a beach, a soldier for each state in the Union. Special programs honoring veterans are held throughout the year honoring anniversary dates of battles, treaties and historic world events. / Open year-round

22 Wilson's Creek National Battlefield - 6424 W. Farm Road 182 / Republic / Missouri / Call 417-732-2662 for information.The one of the earliest battles of the Civil War occurred on August 10, 1861 in Missouri, just 35 miles northwest of Branson. Known as the Battle of Wilson's Creek, over 2,300 Union and Confederate soldiers died during five long hours of fierce fighting. A pivotal battle in the Civil War history of Missouri, the battlefield site has a visitor center with a 13-minute film, a museum and a 5-mile, self-guided auto tour of the battlefield. There are short walking trails to various sites, including Bloody Hill and the John Ray House. / Open year-round / Operated by the National Park Service

23 World's Largest Toy Museum - 3609 W. Highway 76 / Branson / Call 417- 332-1499 for information. A museum for all ages, adults can reminiscence about the toys they played with in the “good old days”, children will delight in the selection of trains, cars, dolls and assorted toys on display. Antique tin wind-ups and miniatures to stuffed bears and Star Wars, the collection will recreate special Christmas morning memories for just about everyone!

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