About our Society
The Osage County Historical Society office is located in Linn, Missouri, at 402 East Main Street in the Zewicki House.
The Zewicki House an eleven room Victorian Building, houses the office, museum, and library.
The society is supported by dues and donations from members of the Society.
Membership dues are very reasonably priced and members receive many benefits including discounted rates for research at the Genealogy Center, special invitation to Society activities, monthly newsletters, and other special publications.
Function
The Osage County Historical Society was founded to bring together people interested in the history of Osage County; its function is to discover and collect materials which help define or illustrate that history. The Society provides for preservation of such materials and makes them accessible to the public as far as feasible.
A monthly newsletter mailed to all parts of the United States serves to link the membership. A library/office in the Zewicki House contains research materials available for members' use: family, church, county and city histories; marriage and cemetery records; immigration records; ship passenger lists; a microfilm reader with over 100 rolls of various county records.
The Society holds quarterly dinner meetings with programs in various locations throughout the county. Speakers address topics of interest to historians, genealogists, and those who wish to learn more about the past.
The six townships in Osage County have representatives on the thirteen-member board which meets monthly.
The board directs the business of the Society and oversees the two historic homes, the Zewicki House and the Townley House, museums filled with furnishings and artifacts from days gone by.
Achievement
In the mid 1980’s some concerned and visionary citizens of Osage County realized that we were slowly losing our history and heritage – those things that tell us who we are. Old structures bulldozed down, old letters and newspapers burned, old photographs thrown out with the trash. There was a consensus that the history of Osage county must be preserved. The county has a rich interesting and vibrant past that should be make available for future generations.
In 1981 a group of committed people worked very hard to form the Osage County Historical Society. The society is housed in a late Victorian house built in 1895 and donated to the society by the heirs of Dr. E. T. Zewicki.
Since that time the all volunteer staff has:
- collected, cataloged and preserved hundreds of thousand of materials which reflect and define the history of Osage county.
- built the largest collection of genealogical material in the county.
- furnished the Zewicki house in authentic late 19th century style.
- received by deed in 1991, the 1856 Townley House in Chamois, which is maintained and managed by the OCHS.
- mounts many special interest exhibits, such as the Weeks Photography Studio and the Milliner’s Shop.
- provides outreach programs for students so that they will better understand their past.
- publishes a monthly newsletter that has won acclaim as the “Best in Missouri”.
- developed a paying membership of over 400 persons.
It is fair to judge an organization by its accomplishment. The OCHS has an exemplary history of achievement. The Proposed Osage County Cultural Heritage Center will allow the society to continue and expand that tradition into the future.
Support
The purpose of the Osage County Historical Society is to preserve the history relating to Osage County and provide educational resources for young and old. This would not be possible without the support of people who donate items to continually build our collections. The Zewicki House Museum, established in 1986, is always looking to expand its archive of historical artifacts. antiques, photographs, clothing, tools, personal items, etc. Donated or loaned articles relating to people or places in Osage County are considered for inclusion into the museum.
The Townley House Museum, established in 1991 and maintained by OCHS, continues to add to its collection through donations from Chamois area residents.
The Osage County Genealogy Center welcomes information pertaining to people who once lived in or near Osage County. Birth and death records, marriage licenses, family histories, family trees, church directories, and even old telephone directories can be very useful to the Genealogy Center.
OCHS welcomes persons as volunteers. We encourage you to become more involved in your county's heritage by helping to preserve its history through volunteering your time.
In addition to artifactual and personal resources, the Society needs financial resources to stay open. We have no funding from federal, state, or county sources; but rely solely on the support of society members and those who make donations. Monetary gifts are always welcome in the form of outright donations through cash, securities, or real estate. You can leave an important legacy to future generations by remembering the OCHS as a beneficiary in your will, life insurance policy, or annuity. Most of these options will result in tax savings, as well.
If you are interested in any of the above options, or prefer another option, the Osage County Historical Society will be willing to cooperate with you in any way we can. Contact us via email year-round or phone (573) 897-2932.