Missouri History Today

Lewis and Clark were on their way to St. Louis to begin exploring. On this day they crossed the Mississippi and set foot on Missouri soil for the first time. They were not far from present day Charleston, MO.

Missouri's new capitol building in Jefferson City caught fire. The fire was not extinguished for two days. It may have been caused by a cigar smoker in the building's library. Read more about this in Tales From Missouri and the Heartland.

Mayor Nathan Cole predicted a period of rapid growth for St. Louis. He said "The smoke will roll heavenward from her furnaces, mills, machine shops and factories and shall cover like a silver sheen her hills and valleys far and near." The ecology movement wasn't in full swing yet. 

This was the night of the "Great Star Shower of 1833." It was said to be so bright that a newspaper could be read on the street. One writer says, "For nearly four hours the sky was literally ablaze." Many thought the end of the world had come.

The first railroad locomotive to operate west of the Mississippi (named the Pacific) made its very first run on this day. It went four miles west from St. Louis to the Manchester Road. 

Route 66 was commissioned to run from Chicago to Los Angeles.

The Queen of Romania was touring Missouri on this day. The Coronado Hotel refurbished the entire 14th floor for Queen Marie and her entourage.

St. Louis was known as "Mound City" for many years. This was due to the Indian mounds in the area. The largest, Big Mound, was destroyed beginning on this day. Along with it, untold amounts of Mississippian Cultural artifacts were destroyed also. 

Cole Younger was being interviewed on this day when he said, "The people of western Missouri are, in some respects, very peculiar. We will take Jackson county where I was born for instance. In that section the people seemed to be born fighters, the instinct being inherited from a long line of ancestors."

Abraham Lincoln was elected President on this day. He won only two counties in Missouri. Some counties gave him no votes at all. Nationwide, he failed to get a majority of the popular vote but he did get enough electoral votes.