What started as Cape Girardeau’s first fire station in 1908 has been transformed over the years into a police station, courthouse and jail, and now serves as the Cape River Heritage Museum.
The museum gives visitors of all ages a glimpse into the past of what life was like on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Trisha Kell, who is on the museum’s board of directors, said the building was transformed into a museum in the 1980s.
Kell said the history of the museum makes it unique.
She said when they first opened, they had volunteers who worked the museum and during this same time there were horses that drew the water wagons as they progressed to gasoline.
Kell said the exhibits come from all over the place including locals who live in Cape. The items consist of both local artifacts and old items brought from anywhere.
“We never turn down any item brought into the museum,” Kell said. “We acquisition it, put it in paperwork and store it with the rest of the archives that could potentially turn into an exhibit.”
Some exhibits showcased in the museum include a 1950s hook and ladder truck with vintage firefighting equipment.
She said they used to drive it in the annual Parade of Lights but had to retire it when the brakes no longer functioned. They do not plan on fixing it due to the price of the repair.
“The kids love being able to interact with [the hook and ladder truck] and I’ve even had older gentlemen get up in it and have their wives take a picture of them,” she said.
There is an exhibit featuring Marie Watkins oliver, a former Cape Girardeau resident who designed the Missouri state flag, on the the bottom floor of the museum. It has information on how the Missouri flag came about in 1913, pictures of the flag, some of the clothes she wore and more.
Kell said it consists of items on loan from the Oliver family or ones that have been donated.
Charlotte Slinkard, is the museum’s curator and responsible for putting the exhibits together.
“The whole board helps, but she is the brains and brawn of the museum,” Kell said.
She said at the end of their season, mid-December, they come together and talk about what exhibits they want to showcase the following season.Their exhibits will change according to what they feel is best to be showcased at the time; some will stay and some will go.
Kell said the museum did an exhibit of of “Gone Girl” memorabilia when the movie premiered. It included pictures of Cape residents who served as extras from scenes filmed in Cape Girardeau.
She said Slinkard and her husband have been doing extensive research on the name, “Girardeau,” and it’s been turned into an exhibit.
Kell’s mother, Marjorie Thompson, was the president director of the museum for over 24 years.
“She spent a lot of her spare time here by herself and swore it was haunted because of the weird noises she would hear,” Kell said.
Kell said she wants ghost hunters to come and check out the museum and see if her mother was right.
“My mother loved it so much, so I tried to pick it up where she left off,” she said.
The museum is open from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday from mid-March to mid-December.
