The Adamson Cabin was built before the Civil War - most likely in the 1850s - and was moved to this location. Volunteers have restored the dogtrot-style cabin and offer living history there during Apple Butter Makin' Days each year. The museum features numerous displays on Lawrence County history. Among the highlights are an 1865 hearse and the original statue of Lady Justice, which was removed from the top of the Lawrence County Courthouse in 1994 and was used as a model for the statue that now sits atop the courthouse clock tower.

Most of the Society’s genealogical collection is housed at the Walter C. McCanse Library, at Mt. Vernon, Mo., and is available for in-person research. The Society does not have a paid staff to handle research requests. It does, however, publish queries in the newsletter and on this site. The Society’s collection includes census microfilm, printed census records, published material, family manuscript collections, Wills (1845-1917: Microfilm), indexes, the Western Historical Manuscripts Collections pertaining to Lawrence County, Cemetery inscriptions, microfilmed newspapers, and several thousand obituaries from various Lawrence County newspaper on index cards. In 2013, it opened a reading room on the second floor of the Lawrence County Courthouse, where additional information is available. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. It is closed on days the courthouse is closed.

The Society was incorporated on June 15, 1970, under the laws of the State of Missouri as a not-for-profit corporation, with a three-member Board of Directors.

The Society meets the third Sunday of every other month. Meetings are held in January, March, May, July, September and November. The annual business meeting and election of officers is in November.

Membership in the Society is open to any interested person. Yearly dues are $10.00, or $15.00 for member and spouse. Membership includes a subscription to the Bulletin. The Bulletin is published quarterly.

The gift shop is open during museum hours, offering the Historical Society's complete collection of research publications and Lawrence County memorabilia. Included are indexed census records, tombstone inscriptions from every known cemetery in the county, marriage records, funeral home records, and other publications.