Photo byR. Dillon via NRHP Nomination Form.

The historic Jesse Ratcliff House is located northeast of Barnett, Missouri (Morgan County). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 12, 1982. The owners of the home at the time it was nominated for the National Register were Jlee and Bob Woolley.

This historic two-story home has a central passage plan generally meaning when you enter the home, the hallway from the entranceway leads to the back of the house.

The house is close to the Moreau River and is northeast of Barnett, Missouri. It has a full basement. The hand-cut native stone forms the foundation. Around 1973, the kitchen was updated and a bathroom was added. In 1979, a screen porch was added. The image below gives you an idea of how large the stones were.

Photo byR. Dillon via NRHP Nomination Form.

The original rooms were plastered except for the hall downstairs which displayed natural stone. All original rooms were plastered except the downstairs hall where the natural stone was left uncovered. Original wall treatments had added insulation, paneling, new plaster, and wainscoting (this is when wood paneling is added to the bottom portion of a wall).

The main hall has a walnut stairway. In 1974, the carriage house and barn were destroyed by fire. There is a modern garage on the property. The house was renovated by Bob and Jlee Woolley.

Aside from the Ratcliff House being one of the oldest homes in the county, it's said to be one of the best-built homes out of native stone in the state.

Jesse Ratcliff

Jesse Ratcliff came to Missouri with his family in 1843 from Ohio. In 1854, he acquired 240 acres and added to it by 1861 for farming. The Ratcliff's original home was a small log frame house.

The stone house was affordable because limestone was plentiful in Missouri during the 1800s. It took three years to build the stone house. Ratcliff wanted his house to be made of stone because many homes were burned during the Civil War.

Limestone was quarried between 1861 and 1864 for the house. A horse and mule-powered log boom was used to hoist the large stones. While the house was being built, Jesse and his son, William, operated a water-powered grist mill on the farm.

Different members of the Ratcliff family owned the house before Robert and Jlee Woolley purchased the home. Aside from adding modern necessities, The Woolleys worked at restoring the home to its mid-1800s appearance.

Also nearby is the Ratcliff Family Cemetery where 19 family members are buried including Jesse who died in 1891 at age 80. He was married to Lydia White Ratcliff and according to the Find-a-Grave record, they had seven children who have since passed.

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