Thomas H . Hickman House

HISTORIC HOUSE MUSEUM RESTORATION AND RECONSTRUCTION

Located in southern Howard County, just west of New Franklin, Missouri, the Thomas H. Hickman House (circa 1819) is one of the oldest masonry residential structure extant in Central Missouri. In the 1950’s, the University of Missouri – Columbia acquired the Hickman House, along with 600 acres of farmland. The University received a grant for the preservation of the historic home to serve as an Applied Field Research Center for the MU Horticultural & Agroforestry Research Center, and the College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, the house is considered to be a rare surviving example of Southern “Georgian” cottage design, a distinctive architectural style dating back to the early development of the Boonslick region. STRATA was responsible for the design of a historically correct restoration, including complete architectural services for the preservation of this unique historic property. Strata designed and oversaw the reconstruction of the home’s missing Summer Kitchen. The rebirth of the Hickman House serves as a Visitor’s Center for permanent educational exhibits depicting local archaeological, geological, and local history dating from the early nineteenth century. The Hickman House has been featured in many publications since completion in 2008, and was recently highlighted in Period Homes Magazine as a featured project in the November 2010 issue.