An oil painting depicting the House Springs Massacre recently was donated to the Jefferson County Library.
Local artist Eric Huff donated his painting of the historically significant event to the library’s Genealogy Department at its Northwest Branch, 5680 Hwy. PP, in High Ridge.
“I am very happy about it,” said Mindy Hudson, the genealogy library associate. “The whole purpose of our Genealogy Department is to preserve the history of the county and to share what history we have. The picture is already hanging in the Genealogy Department. It came to the library Oct. 5.”
She said someone representing Huff, who is in ill health, contacted Jefferson County Library officials about the donation.
“They called to let us know they were interested in us having it,” Hudson said. “I said, ‘Absolutely.’ We had a print of it. This is the original. It is much more vivid.”
According to historical accounts, the House Springs Massacre occurred in March 1800, when Adam House, a member of the family after whom House Springs is named, and his young son, Jacob, were gruesomely killed by Native Americans.
“(Huff) grew up in the area and heard stories of the massacre,” Hudson said. “As a boy of 14, it captured his imagination. He became an amateur archaeologist and would go to the site.
“The painting is as authentic as it can be. It shows Adam House and his children trying to get away from the attack. (Huff) wanted it to be here so it would be available for people to learn about the incident.”