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In 1878, George Bingham Rollins -- son of the founder of the University of Missouri, Columbia -- built The Grasslands, a 1,200 acre cattle plantation that today is one of Columbia's finest residential neighborhoods. Rollins' main plantation house is pictured at the right.

The east edge of the Grasslands plantation was the middle of present day Providence Road and went south to the A.L. Gustin golf course. Carrying rock by hand from the MKT railroad across Stewart Road, Grasslands servants built a rock wall around the plantation. Originally, one of each tree native to Missouri grew on Grasslands property.

In 1939, Dr. Claude Bruner bought the main house from the Rollins family, adding columns, porch, white siding, and a sunken garden. He also paneled the library with timber from The Grasslands acreage and imported chandeliers from Austria.

Today, Phi Kappa Psi fraternity owns the main house and much of the surrounding land.

For information about the Grasslands Neighborhood Association, contact John Ott, 212 Bingham Road, 573-815-9495 or 573-449-4141.