Mississippi River

Most circuses — whether large and famous like Ringling Bros., and Barnum & Bailey, or small and regional — are traveling ones, and set up a big Big Top tent to perform in. But not this circus. It is traveling, but there is no Big Top tent involved!

Missouri History Today August 19, 1877: Bizarre River Monster Sightings Grab Headlines

Voted the #1 Thing to Do in Jefferson City and recipient of the 2022 Travelers’ Choice on TripAdvisor, the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) is worth exploring in Missouri’s capital city. It was named the “Bloodiest 47 Acres in America” in 1967 by Time magazine and is a beloved treasure to history buffs and thrill-seekers alike. Guests walk through once-overcrowded housing units and the gas chamber where 40 inmates took their final breath. See why a trip to this infamous prison should be on your bucket list!

If you enjoy the high energy, fast-paced tempo of bluegrass music, you'll want to “pick” this event for your weekend calendar. Some real practiced pros will be taking the stage at a rollickin’ good time, a pickin’ and a grinnin’.

On December 1, 1976, the Caruthersville Bridge across the Mississippi was completed on this day. 

On this day in Missouri history, the Admiral riverboat opens again on the Mississippi River. The popular attraction along the St. Louis riverfront arrived in 1940 and stopped cruising in the late 1970s when it was grounded by the Coast Guard for structural weakness.

Several noted scientists expressed interest in recent reports of a "sea serpent" sighted in the Mississippi River at eastern Missouri. It was described as 30-feet-long with dark scales, a head like a dog, and a mouth like a pelican.

The French explorer Robert de La Salle, who expeditioned in Missouri and the Mississippi Valley, was murdered on this date by mutineers.

The Mississippi River was frozen over, and people were walking across.