Local History

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How to Back Up a Digital Local-History Archive So One Drive Failure Cannot Destroy It

A historical archive needs independent, verified copies—not several folders on one disk. Use a 3-2-1 pattern, keep one copy offsite, add offline or immutable protection, generate checksums and periodically prove that restoration works.

Sugar Creek Before Conservation: Coal Timbers, Goats and Forest Regrowth

The forest at Sugar Creek Conservation Area reflects earlier clearing for coal-mine timbers, goat grazing and later regrowth rather than an untouched woodland history.

How to Research Adair County Family History and Genealogy in Kirksville

Adair County genealogy research can combine library databases, Historical Society records, cemetery data, newspapers and statewide archives to move beyond unsourced family trees.

The Thousand Hills Petroglyph Site: A Kirksville-Area Visitor’s Guide

Thousand Hills State Park protects Native American petroglyphs in a public shelter near the swimming beach, with interpretive signs, an accessible route and year-round day-use access.

How to Take Kirksville’s Free Self-Guided Historic Site Tour

Kirksville’s free TravelStorys tour highlights 100 local points of interest, with GPS-triggered narration at 36 locations and no required route order.

How to Compare Historic Kirksville Maps With Today’s Streets

Historic Kirksville maps can be aligned with today’s street grid by using stable intersections, landmarks, block geometry, Sanborn sheets, directories and USGS historical maps.

How Kirksville Got Telephone Service

Kirksville’s first documented telephone was a private two-point line in 1881; a real interconnected local exchange followed around 1890.

How to Research a Kirksville Family Using Census, Directory and Newspaper Records

Kirksville family history is strongest when census schedules, city directories, newspapers, obituaries and local archives are stacked together instead of treated as interchangeable.

Whatever Happened to Kirksville’s Princess Theatre?

Kirksville’s Princess Theatre survived the end of movie exhibition, retail conversions and a 1987 demolition threat to become Princess Emporium.

Normal Avenue and Osteopathy Street: Kirksville’s Completely Normal Street Names

Kirksville contains both Normal Avenue and Osteopathy Street, meaning ordinary directions can sound like either a personality assessment or a medical referral.

Detweiler Park: The Former Kirksville High School Site Today

Detweiler Park occupies the former Kirksville High School site at 411 E. McPherson St. and currently features concrete walkways and a recycled-material gazebo.

Andrew Taylor Still in Kirksville: The Local Story Behind Osteopathy

A.T. Still settled in Kirksville in the 1870s, built his medical practice there and founded the American School of Osteopathy in 1892.

How to Research a Kirksville Address When Street Names or Numbers Changed

Historic Kirksville addresses can be reconciled by comparing directories, Sanborn maps, neighbors, legal descriptions and City records instead of guessing from modern street numbers.

The Irwin Dunbar Architecture of Kirksville: A Self-Guided Local History Tour

Kirksville’s official Irwin Dunbar Architecture Tour links eight buildings associated with one of the city’s most prolific architects.

The Journal Printing Building: Newspapers, Printing and Early Telephone Service in Kirksville

The 1905 Journal Printing Building at 119 S. Elson housed newspaper printing, apartments and a long-running second-floor telephone exchange.

How to Use Kirksville City Directories for Local History

Historic Kirksville city directories can connect residents, addresses, occupations, businesses and streets across time, but each edition has its own structure and omissions.

How to Find Kirksville Obituaries and Cemetery Records

Kirksville death research works best by combining cemetery records, Missouri death certificates, obituaries, newspapers and local archives rather than relying on one source.

Researching Kirksville History Through Truman’s Special Collections and University Archives

Truman’s Special Collections and University Archives preserve local manuscripts, photographs, university records, directories, ephemera and other primary sources for Kirksville research.

The 1899 Kirksville Tornado Through Newspapers, Maps and Photographs

The April 27, 1899 tornado crossed the eastern part of Kirksville from southwest to northeast, and surviving maps, newspaper accounts and stereographs allow parts of its path to be reconstructed.

Adair County Historical Society Museum: A Visitor and Research Guide

The Adair County Historical Society Museum combines local-history exhibits with a public research room holding genealogy, census, probate, newspaper and other archival records.