SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Greene County will rededicate the recently and privately restored Lady Liberty statue at the Historic Courthouse on Wednesday, November 18th, 76 years to the day after Boy Scouts in the Ozarks first dedicated it in 1950. The patriotic ceremony pays homage to the Scouts’ original “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty” campaign and serves as Greene County’s closing event for America’s 250th anniversary.
The locally completed restoration was privately funded by monies raised and contributed by the Rachel Donelson Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and by community and employee contributions to the Harold K. Bengsch Fund for Greene County, a 501c3 non-profit established in 2021 at the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. The organization was created in part to fund historic preservation efforts at the Historic Courthouse, a landmark Classical Revival structure built between 1910 and 1915.
Simultaneously, the County will open “The mOther Road” Exhibit in the Historic Courthouse Rotunda. Previously hosted by Drury University, it explores the untold stories, resilience, and cultural influences of African Americans traveling and living along the historic highway.
WHO:
Greene County Commission and Officeholders
Former Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, special guest and speaker
Rachel Donelson Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution
Hillcrest High School JROTC Color Guard, presentation of the flags
Scouts from the Ozark Trails Council
Courthouse Chorale
WHAT: A rededication ceremony for Greene County’s Statue of Liberty replica, recently restored to its original color. The statue is one of roughly 200 replicas placed in communities across the country in 1950 as part of the Boy Scouts of America’s 40th anniversary “Strengthen the Arm of Liberty” campaign. The Commission will recreate the 1950 dedication on the courthouse steps, with a platform staged to match a photograph from the original ceremony. Simultaneous opening of “The Mother Road” Exhibit in the Historic Courthouse Rotunda exploring African American stories, resilience, and influence along Route 66.
WHERE: South steps of the Historic Greene County Courthouse, located at 940 N. Boonville Ave., facing Central Street in Springfield. Public parking will be available near the courthouse and across the street of Central Assembly Church on North Boonville Avenue. A shuttle will drop off at the courthouse. The exhibit will be open after the ceremony inside the Courthouse Rotunda.
WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026, at 10 a.m.