Edgar Backus Schermerhorn House

What is Edgar Backus Schermerhorn House?

The architects Anderson & Strong designed the house in the Queen Anne style. From the outside, look for a porch that runs across the whole front, a hipped roof crossed by gables, and bays and gables that push out from the walls.

The inside is described as just as rich: leaded glass windows and English woodwork brought over from abroad, made from six kinds of wood. Those rooms are not described as open to visitors, so the porch, roofline and bays are what most travelers will get to see.

History of Edgar Backus Schermerhorn House

Edgar Backus Schermerhorn owned many of the lead and zinc mines around Galena, and he lived in this house until he died in 1923. His sister, Minnie K. Lennon, then inherited it. She had lived on a farm before and saw no reason to stop farming: she kept chickens in the library and a cow out in the yard. Lennon stayed in the house until she died in 1939. It entered the National Register on August 21, 1989.

Visiting Edgar Backus Schermerhorn House: tips

The house is a quick stop just off Route 66 in Galena; see it from the sidewalk and do not go onto the grounds. Food and the Galena Motel are both about 0.4 mile away. Nearby Route 66 stops include the Kan-O-Tex Service Station about 1 mile away, the Joplin History and Mineral Museum about 4 miles away across the Missouri line, and Williams' Store about 4.4 miles away.