In New Madrid, Missouri, the Hunter-Dawson House preserves a substantial mid-19th-century family residence closely tied to the social and economic world of Missouri before the Civil War. Built between 1859 and 1860 for William Washington Hunter and his wife, Amanda, it was completed after Hunter died of yellow fever, with Amanda overseeing the work. Local craftsmen and at least some of the Hunter family's enslaved people built the 15-room house. In 1876, Amanda's daughter Ella and her husband William Dawson inherited it, and the house remained in the family until 1958, helping preserve the building and much of its original furnishings.

New Madrid, Missouri · USA