Bushwhacker Jail - Nevada, Missouri

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The Bushwhacker Jail serve as a regional study center with exhibits and archives on genealogy.

For 100 years, spanning the Civil War and the post-war outlaw era, this picturesque stone building was the Vernon County jail. The "cell room of medieval malevolence" remains just as the last prisoners it in December of 1960. The front rooms were home to the jailer (usually the deputy sheriff) and his family. The Bushwhacker Jail Museum is entered on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Bushwhacker Jail is one of the most substantial and architecturally outstanding in Nevada. Romanesque Revival in architectural style, this building was constructed beginning in 1907 and completed (the court house) in 1908. Work on the post began in the spring of 1909, and continued through the summer and fall. By the end of the year the workmen had the outer shell completed and had moved indoors. By May, 1910, the building looked essentially finished.

The appearance of the round-arched windows, the stately entryways, the balustraded skylighted roof, the terra cotta eagle above the door with the very high ceilings made this facility stunning to look at. Now the building has been refurbished and lost a great deal of the original charm.

Hours of Operation….

Open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays. May - October
Groups may call the museum to schedule special tours.

Location: 231 N. Main

Phone: (417) 667-5841