Missouri History

After entering the Union in 1821, Missouri went nearly an entire century without a state flag. The Missouri state flag was finally designed by Ray County native Marie Watkins Oliver.

From the “Petticoated Terror of the Plains” Belle Starr to the fearless Bonnie Parker of America’s most notorious criminal couple, Missouri holds ties to more than its share of nefarious women.

Neither rain nor snow nor Comanche war parties could stop Francois Aubry, the Missouri speed demon, from delivering the mail in record time. His exploits were the stuff of legend, and the inspiration for the Pony Express.

Here's how the Missouri Meerschaum company ended up being commissioned to create a custom pipe for one of America's most legendary generals.

In early America, taverns were as ubiquitous as churches; every town had at least one. In Arrow Rock, that tavern was owned by a man named Joseph Huston. A founding father of the town, he arrived in Missouri in 1819, and helped transform the settlement into a thriving village where the Missouri River and the Santa Fe Trail intersected.

From the jacket worn by Mark Twain to Truman's famous "The Buck Stops Here" sign, you can find these historical icons within the borders of the Show-Me State.

Here's how citizens of Chillicothe came together to save a historic church that was built in 1868.

Finally, on December 18, 1818, Congress heard the petition again. This marked the beginning of a long, slow grind toward eventual statehood in 1821. Between 1818 and 1821, the question of Missouri’s status was mired in a contentious debate over slavery.

Ginger Rogers was born as Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence in 1911, and she spent her early years in Independence and Kansas City. Ginger is best remembered for movies made with dancing partner Fred Astaire. She is famously credited for doing everything Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels.

Although the phrase “ghost town” might call to mind the tumbleweed-strewn roads and abandoned wooden storefronts of the Old West, ours tell a different tale. A detour through these rural locales reveals stories of a changing world and devastating acts of nature.