Rivercene Mansion Research Paper

The Rivercene Mansion, a Civil War era country home in New Franklin, Missouri, is known to be haunted by the souls of previous owners. The Kinney family, the original owners of the house in the late 1800’s, had eight members of their family die in the house. Joseph Kinney, the father of the Kinney children, was a steamboat captain along the Missouri River who work hard and saved money to built the house in 1869, he died of natural causes in 1892. Six of the eleven children died before the age of seven. The youngest son, Noble Kinney, suffered the most tragic of the deaths: he fell over the second story balcony and down the main staircase, he died instantly. His death led to his mother’s death a year later. The house was passed down from descendant

Joseph Kinney wanted a big family, a big house, and a successful career as a steamboat captain, he achieved all of these when he built Rivercene. According to Donn Upp, “Joseph Kinney had only ten dollars when he moved to New Franklin in 1850 (Donathon).” Knowing that Kinney only had ten dollars and still persevered through and achieved his goals, shows that he was a hard working man. Without his hard work, Rivercene would not have been built and Donn Upp could not of helped with the creation of the legacy that Rivercene is known for. When he was younger, he dreamt of owning Rivercene in his future. In his twenties, he wrote a book entitled “Ridge Cliff Manor” that explained how he viewed the mansion as a kid, haunted and filled with secrets. Arial Ruffins mentions that after the release of “Ridge Cliff Manor,” Upp bought Rivercene and turned it into the haunted bed and breakfast that the mansion is today (KOMU). Even though Upp wasn’t the one who built Rivercene, his actions still made an impact on its legacy. Without the publication of his book and hard work, Rivercene would not be famous for his hauntings. Which proves that both Kinney and Upp’s persevering actions led to the creation of Rivercene’s