The picture above shows a statue of young George, down at the creek that he loved as a child. He always enjoyed nature and plants, and he grew up watching them grow on this very patch of land in southern Missouri. When we began our visit, we only knew George Washington Carver as that guy who invented all the uses for peanuts. But today we were reminded that he was also born a slave. He lived his first years in a cabin in the woods here. That cabin is gone, but the foot-print of its size and location is on the one-mile walking trail at the national monument.
Orphaned by the time he was a toddler, he was raised by his owners--Susan and Moses Carver. George was a sickly child, and they allowed him to live in their modest home, doing household chores. The Carver family cemetery is also at the monument, and we could see that his owner and foster father, Moses, lived to be 98 years old.
Even though the Carvers were land and slave owners, they certainly weren't the rich plantation czars we usually think of. Their humble little home is also available to walk through at the national monument. It was a beautiful day to explore the natural setting that inspired a man ahead of his time. One of our favorite George Washington Carver quotes from the visitor center was, "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting system, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."
Just a few miles from our campground is the Precious Moments Chapel Center. Even though we've visited here before, it was too close to just drive by.
Inside is a store with all things precious, as well as a lobby that looks like Christmas all year round.
Those little figurines are bigger than life at the Precious Moments Center.
A stop here would not be complete without a tour of the Precious Moments Chapel. It looks rather plain from the outside, especially if you don't get close enough to see the hand-carved wooden doors from the Philippines.
Inside is a totally different view. The main hall of the chapel is 32-feet tall, with wall-to-wall precious moment paintings from their inventor--Samuel Butcher. He uses themes in each row of pictures. The top row is angels, the second row is Bible heroes, and the third row is Old Testament stories. All of them are painted with facial features made famous from precious moments figurines. The large painting at the end of the hall is "Hallelujah Square"--Sam Butcher's interpretation of a precious heaven.
In the outer courts of the chapel, the outside sunshine helps to light up the rows of detailed stain glass windows that are also modeled from Bible stories.
As we exited the chapel, one of the trails led us to a viewpoint. From here we could see the creek below, with a little house in the middle of an island of sorts.
We recognized it as "Grandpa's Island." Inside the chapel, Sam Butcher did four paintings of the island--one for each season.
As we left the precious moments grounds, we had to take one more picture near the walking path. Cubby Bear's RV is a must-photo-opportunity for full-time RVers like us.
We were taking full advantage of the beautiful weather, so we stretched our day to include one more stop. Denisa likes lighthouses on the coast, and she seems to be enamored by county court houses here in the Midwest. This is the pride of Jasper County, sitting proudly in the middle of the Carthage town square. Made of local limestone, this castle-like court house would rival those we have seen in Texas.
We took a self-guided tour of the inside, where the original elevator is still in use. We noticed that the people working in the building seemed to prefer taking the stairs to using the elevator.
The first floor of the courthouse also houses a small museum, showcasing some of the rich history of Jasper County since this courthouse was completed in 1895.
This history includes the Civil War Battle of Carthage and much more. It looks like we're just going to have to come back for a longer visit to see more of the best of Carthage, Missouri.
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