OSAGE COUNTY — Osage County Agritourism’s 2026 bus tour, titled “Exploring Freeburg: Flowers, Farms & Iconic Sites,” was held on May 12.

The first stop brought visitors to Holy Family Catholic Church, often referred to as the “Cathedral of the Ozarks” for its towering Romanesque architecture and twin steeples that rise above the small Osage County community.

Tour participants were welcomed by Ben Welschmeyer, who shared the history of both the church and the town that grew around it. Standing beneath the church’s vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows, Welschmeyer explained that the railroad played a critical role in Freeburg’s founding.

“As you arrived here this morning, most of you probably came from the Linn area,” Welschmeyer told the group. “If it wouldn’t be for the railroad, Freeburg probably would not exist.”

Welschmeyer traced the community’s beginnings back to 1869, when a citizen donated land to the Archdiocese of St. Louis in hopes that a town and parish would someday grow there. At the time, the area consisted of only a few scattered homes. A small wooden chapel was eventually built in 1897, years before Freeburg officially developed into a town.

The wooden chapel remained unused until 1904. During construction of the railroad in 1901, railroad supervisors reportedly asked to rent the building for use as a warehouse. According to church history, the request was denied because the chapel had been built for worship rather than storage.

In 1903, Rev. Gerhard Fick was dispatched to determine whether a parish could be established in Freeburg. His report was favorable because of the area’s established Catholic population.

As the Catholic population grew, so did the parish. By 1904, Fick had expanded the original chapel, built a school, and established a permanent parish community. Welschmeyer noted that the school opened with 90 students, the same enrollment it has today, and was staffed by Ursuline nuns.

The current brick church began construction in 1920. According to Welschmeyer, much of the labor and material came directly from local families and businesses. Stone for the foundation was quarried locally, and lumber for the structure was cut at nearby sawmills. The total cost was around $54,000, though Welschmeyer said the project likely would have cost closer to $75,000 without volunteer labor.

“The house in which God dwells among the children of men should be the most substantial and beautiful in the community,” Welschmeyer said, describing Fr. Fick’s vision.

When completed in 1921, the church seated more than 500 people and quickly became one of the most recognizable landmarks in Osage County. Welschmeyer pointed out details throughout the sanctuary, including stained glass windows installed in 1952, hand-painted interior features, statues donated by parish families, and portions of the original communion rail that were preserved during later renovations.

He also shared stories that reflected the sacrifices made by earlier generations. At one point, boys who wanted to serve at the altar were required to wear canvas shoes, which some families could not afford. Welschmeyer said local boys trapped rabbits and sold them through the railroad depot in order to earn the money to buy the required shoes.

Following the presentation, visitors were invited to walk through the church and admire the ornate altars, marble fixtures, stained glass windows, and detailed woodwork that continue to define the historic parish more than a century after its founding. His wife, Ruth, also provided homemade cookies for the tour group, including oversized snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisin cookies, molasses crinkles, and chocolate chip cookies.

The second stop took visitors to Hilkemeyer’s General Store, a longtime Freeburg business that blends hardware store, sporting goods shop, a Honda dealership, and local museum under one roof. Utility vehicles and motorcycles sat just a few feet away from wood-stock rifles, cast-iron stoves, and other reminders of earlier rural life.

The business traces its roots back more than a century. During a brief presentation to the group, Butch Hilkemeyer explained that his grandfather had worked as a schoolteacher in Osage Bend before moving to Freeburg after the railroad arrived in town around 1900. The family opened the store in 1901. The business has also operated as a Honda dealer since 1963.

Inside, visitors wandered through aisles lined with cast-iron cookware, fishing gear, grills, generators, and outdoor equipment, while mounted deer heads, antique lanterns, traps, and rifles covered nearly every wall of the sprawling store.

One of the most popular attractions was a museum area tucked behind the office. The collection included antique firearms, vintage motorcycles, taxidermy displays, old tools, and shelves of toys and memorabilia collected over the years. According to the owner, some of the toys on display were originally store merchandise that simply never sold.

The tour’s next stop brought visitors to Turkey Hill Ranch Bible Camp, a sprawling camp of over 700 acres along the Gasconade River near Vienna that has hosted campers since 1972.

Camp leaders guided visitors through the property, explaining the camp’s mission, facilities, and year-round operations. According to information provided during the tour, Turkey Hill Ranch serves more than 1,000 campers each summer and operates entirely with volunteer staff who help maintain the grounds and programs.

The camp offers a wide range of activities for children and teens, including swimming, horseback riding, archery, crafts, canoeing, tubing, basketball, fishing, hiking, and obstacle courses. Visitors learned that the camp maintains approximately 53 horses for riding and for its ranch hand program, where campers are assigned horses to groom, care for, and ride throughout the week.

One of Turkey Hill’s most distinctive programs is its wilderness camp, which takes groups of campers on multi-day float trips along Missouri rivers. Staff members explained the extensive safety precautions involved, including weather monitoring apps, radio communication between guides and lifeguards, swim tests for campers, and strict supervision protocols.

Tour participants also saw the camp’s pool, gymnasium, dining hall, camper lodges, pickleball court, soccer field, lake activities area, archery range, and ranchhand facilities. Camp leaders said the property continues to grow and improve, with ongoing construction and upgrades taking place throughout the grounds.

Several families live on-site year-round and help operate the camp. During the tour, staff members described the organization as a ministry-supported, nonprofit operation that relies heavily on volunteers, donations, and church support to keep camper fees affordable. Week-long camps currently cost about $280 per camper for overnight camp, or $165 per week for day camp.

The camp hosts junior, teen, ranchhand camps, day, and family camps, wilderness programs, retreats, and offseason weekend events. Registration for some programs fills within days of opening each January.

As part of the visit, some tour participants boarded a wagon pulled by a tractor for a guided ride through lower portions of the property, including the horse stables, lake area, and river access points used during float trips. Others explored the main camp facilities and spoke with staff members about camp operations and history.

The ranch will offer a free Community 4th of July Celebration on July 2 at 7 p.m.

Argyle Catering Company provided a delicious lunch of pulled pork, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, and rolls was served in the dining room at Turkey Hill Ranch.

After lunch, the group moved on to visit neighboring century farms. To keep the tours manageable, half of the group remained at the Plassmeyer property while the other half visited the nearby farm owned by Mike Jeffries and Dr. Rowan, both of Jefferson City, before the groups switched locations.

One of the most memorable stops on the tour was the Jeffries/Rowan Farm, a restored stone farmhouse property filled with local history, wildlife habitat, and more than a few ghost stories. Visitors were greeted by rustic outbuildings, antler displays hanging from the porch rafters, and a large stone home that immediately drew attention from the tour group. Jeffries noted the antlers and skulls displayed around the property had been found during walks on the land rather than taken through hunting.

According to Jeffries, the property had been heavily overgrown and overgrazed when they purchased it, but extensive restoration work and conservation efforts have transformed the land over the years.

He explained that many of the wildflowers blooming across the property were planted through the efforts of his son, who studied and worked with native wildflowers while attending college. He also described major renovations made to the farmhouse, including replacing windows, adding a bedroom and bathrooms, restoring the porch and roof, and modernizing utilities after discovering the property lacked both a proper well and septic system when purchased.

Tour participants explored the home and surrounding grounds after listening to stories connected to the property’s past. Jeffries shared several accounts he believed point to paranormal activity inside the house, including unexplained voices, moving objects, doors slamming on their own, and a sighting of a young girl in period clothing.

The group also learned about the farm’s conservation work and wildlife management efforts. A nearby 32-acre field has been placed in the Conservation Reserve Program, and the family maintains food plots for wildlife.

Throughout the stop, visitors wandered through the historic home, examining old architectural details, woodwork, stone walls, antiques, and photographs while discussing the property’s history and unusual stories. Several tour participants commented on the character and atmosphere of the old house.

The second of the two century farm stops took visitors to the Plassmeyer farm, home of former Osage County Public Administrator Paul Stratman and his wife, Anne (Plassmeyer) Stratman.

At the Plassmeyer farm, tour participants had the opportunity to relax in the shade while enjoying strawberry shortcake provided by Argyle Catering Company, along with cold bottled water, before continuing their tour of the property. Visitors also spent time examining a table filled with historical photographs, family information, and documents connected to the farm and the generations who lived and worked there.

Materials on display traced the property’s long family history and highlighted the endurance of Osage County’s century farms, where land and traditions have passed through multiple generations.

The Plassmeyer family’s roots trace back to Benteler near Wadersloh, Germany, where Anton Plassmeyer died in 1834, leaving behind his wife, Elizabeth Heckemeyer Plassmeyer. Elizabeth later married Johan Heinrich Nienkemper, who took the Plassmeyer name because the couple continued living on Anton’s farm, becoming legally known as Heinrich Plassmeyer. Heinrich and Elizabeth immigrated to America in August 1857 with their children, traveling by way of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Osage rivers before eventually settling near Westphalia. While the family first lived on a small farm near Westphalia, the present-day Plassmeyer century farm, near the junction of Deer Creek and the Maries River south of Westphalia, was acquired in 1867 by their son, Joseph Plassmeyer, and his wife, Margaretha Bode Winkelmann Plassmeyer.

Guests visited with the Stratmans, explored the grounds, and discussed the area’s agricultural history while waiting for the shuttle groups to rotate between the two farm stops.

The final stop on the tour brought participants to River Road Blossoms flower farm in Freeburg, where owner Danielle Holterman shared how a difficult season in her family’s life led to an unexpected new career in flower farming. During the visit, she explained that the farm began after the birth of her youngest son, who has Down syndrome and spent months in the NICU, requiring her to leave her previous job to stay home with him.

Now in its fifth growing season, River Road Blossoms specializes in locally grown seasonal flowers and supplies bouquets and arrangements throughout the region. Holterman told visitors that demand for locally grown flowers has continued to increase, with florists in larger markets such as St. Louis and even Chicago seeking Missouri-grown blooms whenever possible. She said the farm works with other growers through the Missouri Flower Exchange to help meet demand.

Tour participants walked through rows of snapdragons, sweet peas, dianthus, stock, lisianthus, and other flowers while learning about the realities of small-scale flower production, including irrigation, soil preparation, pest control, succession planting, and the challenges of weather damage. Holterman also discussed the farm’s recently installed high tunnel, which allows flowers to be protected from heavy rain and extends the growing season earlier into the spring and later into the fall.

She told the group the operation relies heavily on compost and selective organic treatments when needed, particularly against pests such as thrips and blister beetles, which she said can destroy entire rows of plants in a short time if left unchecked.

Before leaving, participants gathered for a group photo overlooking the flower fields and were each invited to select a bouquet to take home. Holterman, who said she had never hosted a tour group before, thanked visitors for coming and received enthusiastic praise from participants, several of whom complimented both the farm and her presentation.