The Birthplace of George Washington Carver

Blogger: Amber Schamel

Tucked away in the Ozark forests of Missouri, is a farm. With a trickling creek, mossy forest, and acres upon acres of farm fields, this patch of land was the birthplace of one of the most influential men of his time: George Washington Carver.

The Carver Farmhouse

 George Washington Carver was born to a slave woman on the Carver homestead around the year of 1861. The homestead was owned by a white man named Moses Carver. The slave cabin George was born in was originally built for Moses and his wife as a temporary home. When their farmhouse was finished, they passed the tiny cabin on to their slaves. The original building is long gone, however the park has reconstructed an imprint of the cabin to demonstrate how small it was.

Imprint of the Slave Cabin

During the tumult of the Civil War, bushwackers raided the area and took the infant George and his mother. Mr. Carver sent a bounty hunter after them, but while the man was able to recover George, his mother was never found. The infant had a terrible case of whooping cough, so Mr. and Mrs. Carver took George into their home and nursed him back to health. After slavery was abolished, the Carvers raised both George and his brother James as their own children. They even encouraged George to pursue intellectual pursuits, which was not allowed in Diamond Grove, Missouri. 

Here in Diamond Grove is where George developed his love of botany. At a very young age, he became known as the "plant doctor". 

The forest and stream George loved.

"Day after day I spent in the woods alone in order to collect my floral beautis and put them in my little garden I had hidden in the brush." - George Washington Carver in a letter. 

George studied the uses of plants and discovered many that could be used to help the sick. 

"Sick plants were...left for treatment, and I often went to houses, and prescribed for them, much as a physician prescribes for his patients." -George Washington Carver in a magazine article.

It was also here that George had an experience with God and found the calling that would guide his life through torrents of difficulty to become one of the most influential botanists in American history. 

Sculpture of George as a boy.

"I was just a mere boy when I was converted, hardly ten years old. There isn't much of a story to it. God just came into my heart one afternoon while I was alone in the loft of our big barn while I was shelling corn...one of our neighbors, about my age, came by one Saturday morning and in talking and playing he told me about going to Sunday school. I was eager to know what a Sunday school was. He said they sang hymns and prayed. I asked him what prayer was...I do not remember what he said...as soon as he left, I climbed up into the loft, knelt down by the barrel of corn and prayed as best I could. I do not remember what I said. I only recall that I felt so good I prayed several times before I quit...This was my simple conversion, and I have tried to keep the faith." -George Washington Carver in a letter. 

Also at a young age, George felt he found what God wanted him to do: obtain as much learning as he could, and use it to help his people. He left Diamond Grove, Missouri at 13 years old so he could attend school, and that was only the beginning of his fascinating journey. George went on to become a leading researcher, lecturer, and inventor. He was the one who developed many uses of the peanut and one of the main reasons that Georgia is known for its peanut industry.

But this little homestead, in the middle of rural Missouri is where it all began. If you're ever passing through Diamond Grove, Missouri, this is a wonderful stop. The beauty will astound you, and the history inspire you.

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Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Schamel writes riveting stories that bring HIStory to life. She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".  She lives in Colorado and spends half her time volunteering in the Ozarks. Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at www.AmberSchamel.com/ and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!

Civil War in Missouri, the Oliver Anderson house, battlefield hospital

 A Footnote from History by Stephanie Grace Whitson

"Maggie didn’t know how long it had been since John had screamed at her to go back to safety in the rear. He’d been astride Blue and he’d kept going, tearing across the battlefield ... She’d watched with a horrible kind of fascination as Blue galloped away, willing both horse and rider to somehow fill only the spaces between the bullets. And then, when Colt dropped out of sight, she’d looked down at the boy she was tending and was jerked back to another terrible reality ... The boy was staring up at her with panic in his eyes, and with everything that was in her, Maggie mustered kindness and an expression that she desperately willed to feign hope ... “Look at me, Private. You aren’t alone. The Good Lord is here and so is Maggie Malone. Neither of us is leaving you.” (Excerpted from Daughter of the Regiment)

In 1853, Kentuckian Oliver Anderson had this beautiful house built overlooking the Missouri River near Lexington, Missouri,in the heart of a rich agricultural center where planters raised hemp, tobacco, and fine cattle. With its 15-foot ceilings and 15-foot-wide central hallway, the house is an example of the kinds of mansions prosperous, slave-holding Southerners were building in Missouri in the 1840s and 1850s. None of the outbuildings survive, but there would have been a carriage house, a horse barn, a summer kitchen, and slave quarters.  

In the fall of 1859, financial woes forced Anderson to auction off all his real estate, his personal property, and his slaves. His sons purchased the house, enabling their parents to live there until the eve of the Civil War.

When the Civil War broke out, Unionists in Missouri quickly gained the upper hand. With the Missouri River strategically vital for the movement of troops and supplies, Federal troops occupied Lexington in July of 1861 and confiscated the Anderson House for use as a hospital. Local tradition says that Anderson refused to take the Union-imposed oath of loyalty. He subsequently left Lexington (Anderson died in Kentucky in 1873). 

In August of 1861, when the Battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield set the stage for a rebel offensive into the heart of the Missouri River valley, the Anderson house was at the heart of the action. 

The battle map at left shows the house in green and various military positions in red. The Battle of Lexington was waged over three days in September. Battle damage to the house is still visible today, both on the exterior brick walls and on interior walls. 

The house changed hands three times on September 18, 1861, the first day of the Battle of Lexington.  That day, three Southern soldiers died at the base of the grand staircase in the main hall.

Visitors who venture away from the house to walk the battlefield encounter this small burial plot designated for five unknown Union soldiers whose remains were found during excavations in 1932 near the site of the building that was used as Union headquarters during the siege of Lexington. The men were likely part of Colonel Thomas A. Marshall's cavalry. 

The southern victory at the Battle of Lexington made Major General Sterling Price a hero throughout the South. The Union responded en masse and eventually forced Price to retreat back to the southwestern corner of the state, returning Lexington and the Missouri River Valley to Union control.

In 1958, the Anderson house and portions of the battlefield were donated to the Missouri state park system. See interior photos and learn more here: http://mostateparks.com/park/battle-lexington-state-historic-site

Have you visited any state historic sites in recent weeks? Did you enjoy your time there? Learn anything new? Share!

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The Oliver Anderson house and the Battle of Lexington played an important role in inspiring Daughter of the Regiment, Stephanie Grace Whitson's March, 2015 release. Stephanie has been a full time novelist since 1994. Her studio is located in the lower level of her 1890s home--"the hired man's house"--in Lincoln, Nebraska. She enjoys learning about the real women who inspire her historical fiction, studying antique quilt history, riding her Honda Magna motorcycle named Kitty, and spending time with her extended family, grandchildren, and grand-dogs. 

Learn more at 
www.stephaniewhitson.com or www.Facebook.com/stephaniegracewhitson.

Pre-order Daughter of the Regiment here:
http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Regiment-Stephanie-Grace-Whitson/dp/1455529036