G is for George Washington Carver Monument

• Mayonnaise
• Worcestershire Sauce
• cooking oil
• Laundry soap
• Quinine
• Hand lotion
• Shampoo
• Dye
• Wood filler
• Linoleum
• Insulation
• Rubber

This odd assortment of items are just a few of the products made from peanuts developed by George Washington Carver –who was born in Missouri! 
Although we don’t know the exact date (around 1864), we do know he was born to a slave named Mary on the Carver Farm in Diamond, MO in the southwest corner of the state. [This would be a good time to point out that I’m marking the attraction’s location with a red star on my post graphic]  

The Civil War was still raging and Missouri was a slave state that stayed with the Union.  Most people don’t know that Missouri had the third highest number of skirmishes during the war (behind Virginia and Tennessee).  A lot of these fights involved semi-organized bands of guerillas, often called “Raiders.”  It was just such a band that captured Mary and baby George when he was just a week old.    His mother was never heard from again but George was found and returned to the Carvers, but he had contracted whooping cough which left him frail.  When slavery was abolished, the Carvers raised George and Susan Carver taught him to read and write.  He left Missouri in 1874 to begin his pursuit of an education, but he still kept in touch with the Carvers.

In 1943, (the year of his death), the birthplace was declared a National Monument.  At the time, there were only two other national monuments that marked birthplaces, one belonging to George Washington and the other to Abraham Lincoln. The site, now maintained by the National Parks Service is great for homeschoolers!  First of all, IT’S FREE!! (don’t you love that word?). Secondly, it’s practically like a unit study in a field trip: You’ve got your history—some Civil War, some  of the African Americans’ struggle for equality.  You’ve got your science – the onsite Discovery Center has interactive exhibits and laboratories to learn more about Carver’s work in botany.  You’ve got art – Carver used to draw and paint flowering plants and landscapes. You need to log some P.E. hours? There’s a mile long trail through woods and past streams (this is where you’ll see the boy statue in my graphic).
I found a great overview of the George Washington Carver National Monument done by an Arkansas man for his Out of the Norm online video show….

If you’re ever taking a vacation to Branson, this would make a great day-trip.

I’m linking up with …