In 2020, the Callaway County Historical Society did a county-wide photo scavenger hunt. I don’t know how many people participated, but our family thought it would be a great way to get out of the house and learn more about the county and its history.
I won’t share images from every stop but I wanted to share just a few.
St. Marks Episcopal Church
St. Mark's has a long history in Portland. It was founded in 1890 as part of a 175-acre school campus. It is built not too far off the Katy Trail where the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad once ran. I grew up in Callaway County and never knew this beautiful church was there.
Oakley Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church
There is so much I could say about this church. When we visited, you could tell the church was loved but hadn’t been used in quite some time. The original building was a church home for many former slaves in the area after the civil war. Unfortunately, in 2021 it was vandalized and could really use some repairs. I would encourage you to learn more about this church and its history by visiting preservemo.org/oakleychapelame.
Missouri River
Our family has visited the Missouri River a number of times and it’s always interesting to learn more about how it’s changed over the years. This particular trip we decided to take the hike up to the walking bridge and walk across. While we were walking I snapped a few shots of the capital, the fall foliage, and the sunset. It’s one of the few landscape shots that I’ve ever sold.
Cote Sans Dessein
If you know Callaway County at all. You know there is a lot of agriculture. I’ve always wanted to use my drone to capture combines in the field. However, this particular evening we saw this one sitting there and for some reason it made me want to stop and take a photo of it. It was near the old county seat of Cote Sans Dessein, which is no longer a city or town, but rather a overgrown small hill down a gravel road. I’ve always wondered what it looked like back when it was something more.