Walnut Springs Farm & Museum

Originally this 420 acre farm was a part of the 850 acre Hosmer Dairy Farm established in the late 1880’s by Edmund J. and Eliza J. Hosmer. This farm pioneered the dairy industry in Southwest Missouri. By 1916, the Hosmer Dairy Farm was the largest butter dairy farm in the state.

Two of the large turn-of-the-century barns are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and house antique farm machinery, buggies, wagons, sleighs and other antiques. The Dairy Barn is a fine example of post and beam construction utilizing mortise and tenon joinery. The first silo built in Webster County in 1908 stands in front of the dairy barn. The Hosmer’s also brought to this part of the state the first cream separator, the first manure spreader and the first gasoline engine.

This farm is located on Old Wire Road and was once a major passage for Indians, settlers, and later a stagecoach line. This road was also the northern route of the Trail of Tears and was also used extensively by both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War.

See the website for information on tours or to book events