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Brief History of Soulard
On February 10, 1841: Julia Soulard begins giving land to the City of St. Louis for use as a public market. The history of Soulard and the oldest public market west of the…
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Missouri’s President for a Day: David Rice Atchison
Senator David Rice Atchison may have been the United States President for 24-hours. The official US records beg to differ. (Atchison) “…was on Sunday, by virtue of his office, President of the United…
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Why is “Uncle Sam” Buried in Missouri?
He came to Missouri several times and died here in 1932 “Probably no globe trotter in history has ever achieved such celebrity as Frank S. Colburn.” -T.F. Matthews, Dayton Sunday Journal, 1917 Frank…
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The First Female Mayor in Missouri
1921: The citizens of St. James elect the first female mayor in the state. Two years after women in Missouri were finally allowed to vote, the first female mayor in Missouri history was…
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Brief History of Springfield, Missouri
1838: The “Queen City of the Ozarks” Started Small Springfield began as a small town in the southwestern part of the state but has grown to be the third largest city in Missouri.…
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Brief History of Jefferson City
How Jefferson City Became the State Capital Jefferson City is the first and only city “created” to be the seat of government in United States history. Jefferson City was not even a town…
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The Platte Purchase
1837 – Missouri Annexes Northwestern Border with the Platte Purchase Prior to 1837, much of the northwestern part of present-day Missouri was not a part of the state at all. When Missouri was…
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Missouri Bootheel History
Why does Missouri have a Bootheel? Missouri wasn’t supposed to have a bootheel. It wasn’t planned to be this way and it wasn’t included in the original maps. But a wealthy and influential…
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The Namesake for Raytown
January 18, 1808: William Ray is born. The name of William Ray may not be recognizable to most people, although the bustling town on the outskirts of Kansas City that was named in…
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Sara Evans Hits #1
January 17, 2001: “Born to Fly” hits number one for Sara Evans. Sara Evans was on top of the charts and on top of the world back in 2001. The former Columbia residents…
