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CCUA
PO Box 1742
Columbia MO 65205
Memo: Kirklin Home Preservation
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A group of local organizations is seeking donations to purchase and preserve 107 Switzler Street, where Henry Kirklin once lived and farmed. Henry Kirklin was an internationally acclaimed horticulturalist. He is thought to have been the first African American to teach classes at the University of Missouri, albeit from the steps of the agriculture building because African Americans were not allowed inside academic buildings at the time.
Born into slavery in Boone County in 1858, Kirklin eventually acquired considerable property around 107 Switzler, which is where he established the gardens for his produce and plant sales. He became a remarkably successful businessman and owned most, if not all, the block adjacent to his house. His home remains on the site. Kirklin’s accomplishments in the realm of horticulture and gardening earned him local and international renown, leading to a gold medal at the Jamestown Exposition in 1907 and a meeting with Booker T. Washington in 1913 during the National Negro Business League convention in Philadelphia.
The house has been a rental property for some time and has deteriorated. Our immediate concern is that the property is a desirable location for further development for rental units. Because it includes an undeveloped side yard, a new owner might see more profit potential in acquiring the property, tearing down the house and building multiple rental units.
In some ways, because the house does not contain many historic artifacts and needs several improvements, the land’s value takes on more significance as a historic asset. Kirklin’s gardens and beds were located all around his home and would be ideal for reestablishing for public purposes (community gardening, education, etc.). We also see this as an opportunity for change that could ignite a renaissance of improvements throughout the neighborhood. Because Mr. Kirklin was not only a successful horticulturalist and businessman but also a catalyst for learning and improvement within his community, we hope that the ultimate use of his former home and land will involve community engagement and community betterment.
Few of the buildings honored on Columbia’s African American Heritage Trail still exist. It would be tragic to lose this one as well. Our purpose in contacting you is to ask the city to immediately pursue acquiring 107 Switzler. There is urgency to our request because the real estate market remains so active and land for residential development in central Columbia is scarce.
Our partner organizations will work together to preserve and restore this site to eventually provide public access. While several ideas have been discussed for long-term uses for the site, our group recognizes that it’s current use as affordable housing may well be the best use for now (with improvements, proper maintenance, and ongoing management). Changes for public uses could occur later.
We need your help to provide donations to help offset the costs of acquisition and preservation.
We thank you for your immediate attention to this matter and will gladly meet to discuss it further and to provide more information about Mr. Kirklin, who was inducted into the Boone County Historical Society Hall of Fame in 2022, and about his historically important piece of property.
Gratefully,
Barbra Horrell – Co-chair, Sharp End Heritage Committee and native Boone Countian with extensive knowledge of Columbia’s African American history
Vicki Russell – Co-chair, Sharp End Heritage Committee
Stephen Bybee – Presiding Chair, Columbia Historic Preservation Commission
Rev. Dr. Clyde Ruffin – Senior Pastor, Second Missionary Baptist Church
Billy Polansky – Executive Director, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture
Chris Campbell – Executive Director, Boone County History and Culture Center
Robbie Price – AIA, LEED AP BC+D SOA Architecture
Elena Vega - CoMo Preservation