General John J. Pershing Boyhood Home

General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing is one of the most well-known military officers in United States history. His career took him through the western United States, Cuba, the Philippines, Asia, Mexico and eventually, World War I. In 1917, Pershing was sent to France as Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces. Two years later, by a special act of Congress, he was named General of the Armies of the United States.

This famous military man came from humble beginnings. He spent most of his childhood in the small town of Laclede, Missouri, and, before enrolling at West Point, was a certified teacher at a one-room schoolhouse, known as Prairie Mound School, located 9 miles south of his hometown.

The Gothic-style nine-room home to which his family moved when he was six years old still stands in the middle of the town, with the schoolhouse moved next door in 1986. Both can now be visited, with the school housing a museum containing artifacts and exhibits of Pershing's life.

Between the Pershing home and Prairie Mound School is a veterans' memorial, with the names of local soldiers who fell during times of conflict carved in stone. The monuments surround a statue of Pershing.