May 17, 2025, National Kids to Parks Day and the city of St. Charles are partnering to bring the Historical Children’s Festival to downtown St. Charles. The event will begin at the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site, where children are invited to travel back in time to life in the 1820’s and experience …
Missouri History
Visit Bonniebrook, the birthplace of America’s beloved cherubs. Story: Valerie Porter Just eight miles north of Branson lies a lite known treasure named Bonniebrook, the birthplace of a phenomenon that captured America’s heart and has remained popular for decades. Bonniebrook was once home to Rose O’Neill, creator of the impish creatures she called Kewpies, because …
The “Pine to Palm” route took early automobiles through the Show-Me State. From my backyard in Cameron, I can watch cars driving up and down a stretch of highway. A century ago, our property was a pasture from where grazing cattle could have seen farm trucks going to market and early automobiles traversing a north–south …
Missouri’s famous feuds comprise bloody chapters in the story of our state. Story: Ron Soodalter Illustrations: Spencer Owen When we think of feuds, the image that often comes to mind is of two multi-generational families, blazing away at each other over some ancient—and largely forgotten—offense. This is indeed one iteration. However, according to the Cambridge …
By Deborah Reinhardt It’s a good bet that most—if not all—of the urbanites sipping lattes at MoKaBe’s Coffeehouse in St. Louis can’t name the patriarch behind Chauvin Coffee, the local business that supplies the shop with its roasted beans. But when asked, many could name a member of the beer family who gave them Bud Light. …
As summer turns to fall, Missouri prepares to celebrate many traditions—fall festivals, hayrides, and pumpkin patches. A lesser-known tradition for many may be the Arch Builders event, hosted at the St. Louis Arch every October. At this special event, the National Park Service recognizes the many people who labored together to accomplish the “impossible”—constructing the …
West of St. Louis, the small community of St. Albans invites visitors to escape urban life. The highly walkable village, anchored by The Inns at St. Albans, is a favorite destination for weddings, family gatherings, or retreats. Along the hilly drive to the town, dense trees flank narrow, winding roads, and rail fences surround massive …
STORY Timothy Reinbott In 1820, Missouri was the western frontier. After the War of 1812, hearty souls looking for opportunity came from Kentucky and other eastern states to settle in mid-Missouri. These pioneers brought a yearning for new land and also a yearning for religious freedom that was free of creeds, oaths, and tests of …
A visceral encounter with Civil War stories that still echo on blood-stained ground. The spark for my interest in early American history was ignited long before I traveled Interstate 70 to visit Civil War battle sites in Lexington and Lone Jack. Oddly enough, it began while watching the movie The Patriot. Though this film depicts …
South of Downtown Columbia is a small cemetery where Missouri’s twenty-second governor is buried, as is the founder of William Jewell College. The site is bordered by a low stone wall with an iron gate. The cemetery was once part of the estate of George Jewell, who founded one of Missouri’s early dynasties. In 1841, …
Running for a limited time November 16–17 is Lone Jack Historical Society’s annual escape room adventure, “Hiding in Plain Sight-The Pinkerton Detectives & the Crookfield Case.” “We started the Escape Room almost 10 years ago as a fund raiser for the Lone Jack Museum,” says Alinda Miller, president of the Lone Jack Historical Society. “While …
Missouri magazine, a precursor to Missouri Life, caught up with legendary baseball manager Whitey Herzog in 1995. Herzog, who died April 15, 2024, developed an audacious playing style called Whiteyball, which propelled the St. Louis Cardinals through three pennants and a World Series championship.