The best town since sliced bread
Chillicothe, MO

by Jim McCarty

Chillicothe wants visitors to come share its slice of history. With that in mind, the town known as the “Home of Sliced Bread,” commissioned local artist Kelly Poling to paint a series of murals on the walls of downtown buildings.

Pictured on the cover is the latest of the baker’s dozen murals, showing Locust Street as it would have looked around the time that sliced bread began at the Chillicothe Baking Co.

At left, Poling stands in front of a mural that portrays Graham’s Mill, one of the first businesses in the Chillicothe area. Other murals celebrate the town’s railroad history, early fire department, kids through the decades, agriculture history, transportation and more.

Visitors can take a self-guided walking tour of the murals with the help of a brochure, or groups can arrange to have the artist himself lead the tour.

The county seat of Livingston County, Chillicothe is central to a number of north-central Missouri attractions including Swan Lake Wildlife Refuge, the Jamesport Amish community, fishing on the Grand and Thompson rivers, Pershing State Park, the Gen. John Pershing boyhood home and Locust Creek Covered Bridge. The city features many places to stay, shop and eat.

For more information, contact the Greater Chillicothe Visitors Region, P.O. Box 407, Chillicothe, MO 64601, or call 1-877-224-4554. Tourism opportunities can also be found on the Internet at www.visitchillicothe.com.