Garnder House

Prominent in the early history of Palmyra is the sharmingly designed building at 417 South Main, traditionally designated by local residents as the Stagecoach Inn. Now known as the Garnder House, the location was the center of a once bustling complex dedicated to early travel. A traveler along the stagecouch route between St. Louis and Des Moines, Iowa could find food and lodging here at the Stagecouch Inn.

The Gardner House is one of the oldest structures in Palmyra and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, both because of its interesting history and unique architectural features. It has served not only as a stagecoach inn, but a dram ship, private school, residence, and today'a museum. The land on which the Gardner House stands belonged to Obadiah Dickerson, who helped lay out Palmyra in 1819. On April 28th, 1828, he transferred the property to William Duncan, who on May 3rd, 1828, sold it to Samuel Morton. Mortan built a house and obtained a license for a dram shop ( a place where spirits where sold by the shot or dram). Used as a stagecoach stop during the mid 1800's, Morton sold the house to John Devereaux in 1847, who maintained it as a hotel until after the Civil War. About 1870, the house was operated as a beginners' school by Miss Sally Pryor and Miss Julia McGuire. This was probably one of the first nonparochial schools in Palmyra. The house was sold to Mrs. Sarah Lauck and husband in 1889 and it stayed in that family until 1959. It was then used as a warehouse and fell into disrepair. In 1970, the Heritage Seekers was formed and have been restoring and maintaining the stoic old building which is now used as a museum of historic artifacts from the Palmyra area. Click on the contact us link from the home page to get more information about Heritage Seekers and the Gardner House Museum hours of operation.

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