Jones Brothers Built the original mule barn in 1912 at 101 N. College Street. It consists of a two-story main block constructed of red brick and sits on a stone foundation. It was built as a mule sales barn and later served as a hardware store.
During WW I there was a demand for Missouri mules and the Jones Brothers Mule Barn was at the center of it all. From 1915 to1916 the brothers shipped 6,500 mules from Johnson County all over the United States and overseas. Mules were used to haul machine gun carts, and the larger mules were used to support artillery and ammunition units in France during the fighting.
The brothers expanded their business after the war and constructed new building which included a long hay storage shed, a blacksmith shop and s smaller pen that housed sick animals. The expansion in the 1920s came at a time when the demand for mules was beginning to decline due to mechanization.
It was listed on the National Historic Register in 2010.