The History of CoMo Preservation

The first meeting of CoMo Preservation was held in May 2022 when roughly two dozen people gathered with a plain and simple desire: How can we get people to stop demolishing historic buildings? 

The desire for an advocacy organization focused on saving historic buildings in Columbia had been brewing for years, but the need for it became urgent in 2022. That’s when Mizzou demolished Read Hall, the first dormitory for women on the campus; and Parker Hall, the city’s first hospital. Mizzou’s plans called for the demolition of several other buildings as well.

That May meeting grew out of a call to action that Trevor Harris and Dianna Borsi O’Brien put out in April 2022. Despite the short notice, a small crowd of people showed up at the meeting in the J.W. “Blind” Boone Home. 

At that meeting, participants discussed the local organizations devoted to historic preservation that already exist: the Boone County Historical Society, the City’s Historic Preservation Commission and the State Historical Society of Missouri.

Yet, the group acknowledged, none of these organizations have the power to prevent the demolition of a historic property.

The desire to prevent the demolition of significant historic buildings – is the core of CoMo Preservation. The organization quickly realized that accomplishing this goal would involve increasing the awareness of the importance of historic preservation through education and engagement, advocacy and restoration efforts.

CoMo Preservation has held meetings every month since May 2022. Meetings are held in the Columbia Public Library. Each meeting includes a presentation on historic preservation followed by a short business meeting. Past presenters have included Mizzou Director of space planning and management Gerald Morgan; Bob Yapp, founder of the Belvedere School of Hands-On Preservation in Hannibal; Chris Campbell, executive director of the Boone County History & Culture Center; and Stephen Bybee, chair of the City of Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission. Approximately a year after the first meeting CoMo Preservation, Inc. was formerly established as a nonprofit organization in April 2023.