Description
Located along the Moreau River, Burgers' Smokehouse is 3 miles south of California, Missouri on a farm off Highway 87. Just follow the signs.
Each year thousand of folks stop by our visitor's center and take a Smokehouse tour.
With the help of artist Terry Chase and his assistant, George Baldwin, the visitors center features dioramas that depict the seasons of the year. Other exhibits display ingredients, pictures, and artifacts that explain the art of meat curing.
As you enter the Visitor's Center over a covered bridge, windows on the left open to a Spring diorama scene while the other windows on the right overlook a Winter scene. Water runs under the bridge and through the dioramas continuously.
After exiting the bridge, you enter a Fall setting depicting a farmyard that features a handmade waterwheel. Slim (our little hillbilly boy) sits in the hayloft to welcome you to the Smokehouse.
You proceed around the next corner and there is Missouri in the Summertime. Wild turkey, deer, squirrel, and an assortment of wildlife as it appears in the Missouri Ozarks, are a part of this large diorama. From the bottom of the pool, up the cliffs to the sky is 2 1/2 stories high, making it one of the largest dioramas in the United States. Painting with a small brush on such a large canvas required a great deal of time, talent, and patience. The Summertime Diorama is, indeed, impressive.
As you proceed down the hall to the Smokehouse reception desk, on your left you will notice a miniature replica depicting the old covered bridge that used to cross the Moreau River, located a few hundred yards south of the Smokehouse.
When you enter our sales room, tell our receptionist you would like to see our video tour. The salesperson will seat you in our theatre and start the video.
After the video tour you will be given samples of some of our products. Perhaps you will want to drop by our sandwich bar for a Smokehouse sandwich.
As you drive down the lane from the Smokehouse, we hope that you will feel that the time you have spent at BURGERS' SMOKEHOUSE was both enjoyable and informational.