Confederate veterans, some of whom had difficulty accessing medical treatment and who had been disenfranchised from voting, met throughout the state periodically after the war. At one such meeting in Higginsville in 1889, the idea of creating an old soldiers' home to care for aging Confederate veterans was discussed. In 1891,  in the Higginsville vicinity were purchased to establish the old soldier's home.
Confederate veterans who faced challenges accessing medical care and were disenfranchised from voting met periodically after the war. The idea of creating an old soldiers' home for them was discussed in 1889 at a meeting in Higginsville, and land was purchased in 1891 to build it.