Without government pensions like those available to their former adversaries in the Union Army, aging, indigent Confederate veterans with disabilities relied on family and friends for assistance. By the late 1880s, it was apparent that the burden was too great for individual acts of charity. A massive fund-raising campaign was waged and like other states farther south, the Confederate Home of Missouri was conceived as a place where, "worn-out soldiers may spend their declining years."
Initially all funding for the home came from private contributions solicited throughout the state, from ex-Union and ex-Confederate veterans alike. The home was incorporated on Aug. 17, 1889, and a year later more than 300 acres of land belonging to Grove Young were purchased as the site for the institution. Early administrators aimed at self-sufficiency. Residents performed some maintenance on buildings and helped produce food in the orchards, gardens and farm. However, mounting operational costs forced the state of Missouri to assume control of the home on June 1, 1897.
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