March 1, 1897…Soldiers' Homes Become State Property
Laws approved March 1, 1897 made the Federal Soldiers' Home of Missouri at St. James and the Confederate Home of Missouri at Higginsville state institutions. The Federal Soldiers' Home was founded in 1896 by the Women's Relief Corp of the State of Missouri as the "Women's Relief Corps Soldiers' Home Association." The 1897 act provided that the home be turned over to the state for a "nominal consideration."
The Federal Soldiers' Home admits any indigent soldier, sailor, or army nurse who has been honorably discharged from the United States Army, who has given at least ninety days of war-time service with the Army of the United States, and who is over 50 years old. Veterans must be 60 percent disabled and a resident of Missouri for two years. Wives and widows of the veterans, within certain age limits, are also eligible. The Federal government allows one-half of the cost of maintenance up to $20 per month for eligible veterans while the State bears the remainder of the expense. In 1940, there were veterans of the Civil War, Indian wars, Spanish American War, and World War I residing in the home as well as their wives, widows, and mothers.
The Confederate Home of Missouri at Higginsville in Lafayette County was established as a private institution about 1891 with funds raised by subscription. On March 1, 1897, it was transferred to the state.
The Confederate Home admits soldiers who served in any unit of the Confederate Army, the Missouri State Guard in 1861 and 1862, and their wives, widows, and orphaned children. In 1925 the General Assembly authorized the board of trustees to provide for a permanent endowment fund and to use the income in establishing and maintaining a memorial park. There were only four veterans and twenty women living in the home in 1941. On a basis of a decline in the membership of the home, an act of the state legislature in 1939 converted the Confederate Home into a home for convalescent children with disabilities.
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