The Muleskinner’s coverage continued along the “Missouri River Runner” in Sedalia. The Downtown Sedalia Historic District is home to many businesses and historical sites. Many buildings in downtown Sedalia are a part of the Department of Interior Register of Historic Places, including the three locations within our coverage.
Right across West Pacific Street from the Amtrak station is the Lamy’s Building. Formerly a Levi Strauss & Co. manufacturing plant, the building has recently been repurposed to include No. 5 Bistro and Bar, Josey Records and Kempf’s Country Market. The building also includes an office space and luxury apartments for rent on the upper floors.
“My family has owned it since 1912 and we’ve been partners in it since 1893,” Reid Swearingen, Managing Partner of Lamy’s, said. Swearingen explains that construction on the building began in 1893. Lamy’s was formerly located on Main Street under the name E. Lamy and Sons and relocated to West Pacific Street after construction concluded in 1896.
The Lamy’s Building also includes Josey Records, a franchise record store and No. 5 Bistro and Bar.
“We are the Number 5 Bistro and Bar because we were the fifth manufacturing facility for Levi Strauss in the entire world,” said Swearingen. Swearingen explains the menu includes Italian-inspired American food, with a rotating seasonal menu.
Located about four and a half blocks south of Lamy’s is Hotel Bothwell, a historic hotel in downtown Sedalia. Hotel Bothwell was first opened in June 1927 by John H. Bothwell and continues to attract visitors to this day.
“We have had a number of people stay here, including Clint Eastwood during his promotional tour for ‘Rawhide,’” said, Miki Peterson. Other notable figures have also stayed at Hotel Bothwell on multiple occasions, including former president Harry S. Truman.
Sedalia is also home to the Missouri State Fairgrounds. As well as being a venue for a variety of events year-round, most notably the Missouri State Fair, the Missouri State Fairgrounds also hosted the Mozark Missouri Music Festival from Sept 22 to 24. The festival included live music, food vendors, a car show, and a Vietnam War Memorial.
This festival was hosted fifty years after the historic Ozark Music Festival, where an estimated 350,000 people attended the festival in Sedalia.
Lanette Giese, a Tulsa native, explained that fifty years ago, she lied to her parents and told them she was going camping. That weekend, she joined a group of friends in driving almost 300 miles to make it to the festival.
“We saw the article about this concert in Sedalia, Missouri in July. Fifteen dollars for three days. And it sounded fun,” Giese said.
Scott Bottcher, also experienced the Ozark Music Festival in 1974. Bottcher was sixteen years old at the time and worked at a grocery store across the street from the fairgrounds.
“At the grocery store, people were coming in and taking stuff off the shelf and rushing the doors,” Bottcher said. “We had to board up the windows and let 20 people in at a time.” Bottcher explains that by the third day of the festival, the grocery store had completely run out of groceries.
“It was chaos,” Bottcher said.
Giese explains that despite the chaotic nature of the weekend, she enjoyed her time at the festival.
“That was my generation. That’s what we did. We went to concerts,” Giese said. Terry Bottcher, another festival goer, highlighted the impact of the Ozark Music Festival.
Terry Bottcher said, “A lot of people have memories of this place. And they’ll never for get Sedalia, Missouri.”
