The Official Site of the Villisca Axe Murders

"We shall heal and we shall overcome"

On May 8, 2004, ninety-two years after the Villisca Axe Murders, Sarah Moore had to be smiling down on her home in Villisca. True to her message that positive things can actually evolve from tragedy, over 30 adults and children came together to raise a new barn on the Moore property.

We believe we're making strides in Villisca, healing not only the town but each and every person that steps into this house. We're looking forward to more events like the barnraising and hope you can all find the time to join us.

The inside rafters of the roof of the barn have been signed by thousands of visitors to the Villisca Axe Murder House. Darwin came up with this idea early on and left a board in the house for visitors to inscribe their names and/or messages on. As you stand and gaze upward, you'll find yourself wanting to read each and every inscription. We have no idea what the final count ended up being.

The first task was to tear down the old garage that stood on the property. The peg barn was donated to Darwin provided that he removed it from the property. It took a little work to disassemble the barn in a way that would be conducive to rebuilding it but Darwin managed it like a professional. In the picture above, you can see the beginnings of the frame. The lumber that is stacked around the structure was all original and had been removed the structure for the move.

Unfortunately for those of us helping - the boards were full of old rusty nails. It took quite a bit of teamwork to just get them cleaned up enough to be used again as you can see in the following photographs.

Although the frame was pretty much up after the first work day... Darwin had a lot left after everyone went home. Several other barnraising days followed and the results were finally unveiled in the summer of 2006.

As always, Darwin fed us well. The Turkey Legs were to die for.