275 Webster Street
Augusta, Missouri
636-482-4558 or 636-228-4303

Augusta's Historical Museum is located in the split-level brick house built in 1861 by August and Catherine Sehrt, immigrants from Hannover, Germany. August, an experienced carpenter, made furniture and caskets in the downstairs stonewalled workroom and grew grapes and fruit trees on the 8 acres around the house. Catherine cared for their large family of 2 boys and 8 girls. Augusta acquired the 6-room house and grounds in 1975 from the descendants of the Sehrt family and turned the property into a town park and a museum. The Sehrt home is one of Augusta's 8 houses on the National Historic Register.

Friends of Historic Augusta, who administer the Museum have undertaken significant restoration and has opened the Museum to the public. On the first floor is the meeting room, which features a Civil War collage, Augusta family papers, archival documents, and the display: "Augusta in Photos." An 1860 bedroom introduces visitors to a rope bed, large walnut wardrobe, immigrant trunk, an 1870 "Rocker doll," along with the Museum's permanent residents "Ms. Louise and Ms. Hedwig" in their wedding dresses. A kitchen and a workroom occupy the lower floor. The kitchen (photo left) with a cooking range, pie saver, and cabinet reflects the practicality of 1800s furnishings. Old ice skates, lanterns, sewing basket, jugs, etc. add to the atmosphere. The workroom or "casket room" features a well-preserved and extensive collection of woodworking tools of the 1870s, along with artifacts of 1900s blacksmithing, railroading, and athletics in Augusta.

Visiting the Augusta Historical Museum
Visiting Hours: Sundays 1 pm - 4 pm May through October or by appointment
Open to tours by appointment
There is no charge to visit the Augusta Historical Museum, although donations are appreciated