Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Wednesday, November 30, 2005

NEW FRANKLIN, MO – U.S. Senator Kit Bond today announced that he secured $500,000 in federal funds for the preservation of the Thomas Hickman House.

“We should not let historical sites decay or fall victim to development. The Hickman House has a lot to teach us about Missouri history, about early agriculture, and about architecture. We should bring the history of the Hickman House alive to this and future generations of Missourians,” said Bond.

With these funds the University of Missouri will be able to preserve the Historic Hickman House. Constructed in 1819, the house is one of the oldest and most architecturally remarkable brick homes still standing west of the Mississippi River. This building reflects early 19th Century agricultural living in Missouri.

Bond secured the $500,000 for the preservation project in the fiscal year 2006 Transportation-Treasury-HUD Appropriations bill, which passed Congress last week.

Built almost 200 years ago, in 1819, the Thomas Hickman House is a Missouri treasure, Bond said. The area around the Hickman House is historically significant for the role it played in westward expansion. Families, many of them immigrants, passed through area on their way to the Santa Fe Trail, launched from the town of Franklin in 1822. Prior to that, Lewis and Clark came to the mouth of the Bonne Femme River in 1804. Also, Daniel Boone used the Boone’s Lick area to manufacture salt in 1807.

Bond stressed that by renovating the House and creating public access, more people will not only learn about early Missouri history, but will also be able to take advantage of the home’s location at the University of Missouri’s Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center.