Interpretive Programs

Prairie Mound School Museum | Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home Tours
Group Tours | Planning a group visit | For teacher/group leaders | Off-site programs

Office/Visitor Contact Point

The site office and orientation center is located at 1100 Pershing Drive in Laclede, next to the Pershing Boyhood Home. Paintings, photos, exhibits, items of interest and a free 30-minute presentation of the life of Gen. Pershing and World War I are available. Tours originate from here. Souvenirs are also available for purchase, including the book "Until the Last Trumpet Sounds" by Gene Smith, a biography about Gen. Pershing.

General John J. Pershing Boyhood Home Tours
Tours are available Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. (April 15 through Oct. 15) and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Oct.16 through April 14).

Walking tours originate at the visitor contact point and depart for the boyhood home, which is located nearby. Visitors will be taken inside the two-story house that has been furnished to reflect its appearance when Pershing was growing up here from 1866 to 1882. The house has had extensive restoration work completed in 2001. The home is not air-conditioned and visitors may experience a 19th century interior environment when they visit.

Rates
Adults 13 and older - $2.50 each
Children 6 to 12 - $1.50 each
Under 6 - Free

Office/Visitor Contact Point
The site office and orientation center is located at 1100 Pershing Drive in Laclede, next to the Pershing Boyhood Home. Paintings, photos, exhibits, items of interest and a free 30-minute presentation of the life of Gen. Pershing and World War I are available. Tours originate from here. Souvenirs are also available for purchase, including the book “Until the Last Trumpet Sounds” by Gene Smith, a biography about Gen. Pershing.

Prairie Mound School Museum
The museum is open to the public for self-guided tours at no charge. Museum hours are Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. year-round. John Pershing taught in this one-room school before departing Missouri for West Point in 1882. The school was originally located about 15 miles from Laclede but was relocated to protect it and has been renovated into a museum. Themes in the museum reflect the doorways that Gen. Pershing passed through in his lifetime. From the doorway of the Prairie Mound School as a young adult, to the doorway of Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C., where he passed away on July 15, 1948 at age 87.

Group Tours
Group tours of Gen. Pershing’s Boyhood Home State Historic Site are available at a discounted rate for groups of 15 or more that are scheduled at least two weeks in advance.

Group Rates
Adults 13 and older - $1.50 each
Children 6 to 12 - $.75 ea.
Under 6 - Free

Site staff can tailor the tour to specific age groups and areas of interest; please let us know if your group is an elementary, high school or college class, club, organization or family outing.
Call the historic site at 660-963-2525 to schedule a group tour.

When Planning a Group Visit
Plan on spending 30-45 minutes on the tour of the boyhood home itself. In addition, there is an optional 30-minute orientation film that focuses on Pershing and World War I. The exhibits in the Prairie Mounds School Museum also focus on Pershing’s life. Since the museum is a self-guided tour, an individual or group may take as little or as much time as they wish there.

For Teacher/Group Leaders
Coordinate your visit with classroom activities, or build a study unit around the museum/site experience. Discuss the visit before hand, and let your students know the purpose of the visit and what they may expect to see. Chaperones are required for student groups, and we suggest one adult chaperone per every 10 students.

Please arrive on time for your tour and remind members of your group that food, beverages and smoking are not allowed in the museum exhibit areas. We also ask that no items in the Pershing Boyhood Home be touched by visitors, as several of the artifacts are irreplaceable.

Public restrooms are handicap accessible and are located in the Prairie Mound School Museum.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources looks forward to your visit to the Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home State Historic Site.

Off-Site Programs
If you are unable to visit the site, please consider scheduling an off-site visit or program by site staff. Due to travel constraints, off-site visits are limited to a 30-mile radius of Laclede. Please call the site office at 660-963-2525 to arrange for an off-site program.

Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood Home SHS Home Page | State Parks/Historic Sites Home Page