State Historical Society of Missouri facts for kids

The Center for Missouri Studies in Columbia, Missouri is the headquarters of the society.

The State Historical Society of Missouri is a special place in Columbia, Missouri. It's like a giant library and museum that helps save and study Missouri's history and culture. It started in 1898 and became an official state organization in 1901. You can find it on the campus of the University of Missouri in Downtown Columbia.

The Society publishes a magazine called Missouri Historical Review. This is the only scholarly journal made in Missouri. They also have programs to share Missouri's history with everyone. These include theater shows, speakers, and a history conference.

The Society has a huge collection of historical items. They have over 460,000 books and pamphlets. There are also more than 500,000 old letters and papers. They have 2,900 maps and over 150,000 state records. Plus, there are over 57,000 reels of microfilm with old newspapers. In 2011, another big collection, the Western Manuscript Collection, joined the Society. This collection focuses on Missouri and the Midwest.

How the Society Started

People talked about starting a state historical society for a few years. But it really began in January 1898. This was at a meeting of the Missouri Press Association. Two main supporters were Edwin W. Stephens and Walter Williams. Stephens later became the first president. Williams started the Missouri School of Journalism. Isidor Loeb, a professor at the University of Missouri, also helped a lot.

At the meeting, everyone liked the idea. A group was formed to write rules for the new society. Stephens and Williams got a lot of help from the University of Missouri. The university even gave the new society space in Jesse Hall. Things moved fast! Just four months later, on May 26, the Missouri Press Association voted to create the State Historical Society of Missouri. Stephens was named president, and Williams became secretary.

A view of the stacks in the Reference Library at the Society.

The Society's leaders wanted the state to officially adopt it. Their hard work paid off in less than a year. On May 4, 1899, Governor Lon Stephens signed a bill. This made the Society an official trustee of the state. However, the Society didn't get money from the state until 1901. They received $4,500 to help them from 1901 to 1902.

The 1899 bill clearly stated what the new society should do:

It shall be the duty of the Society to collect books, maps, and other papers and material for the study of history, especially of this state and of the middle west; to acquire narratives and records of the pioneers, to procure documents, manuscripts and portraits, and to gather all information calculated to exhibit faithfully the antiquities and the past and present condition, resources and progress of this state...

Newspapers were a big part of the Society's early collection. This was because of their strong ties with newspaper editors. Editors could become members by donating their papers each year. After ten years, they got a lifetime membership. Secretary Loeb quickly worked to get more items. He asked people across the state for all kinds of things. This included "Indian relics" and other public and private items.

In 1901, the collection grew a lot. The new secretary, Francis Asbury Sampson, donated nearly 2,000 books and over 14,000 pamphlets. He also convinced the Sedalia Natural History Society to donate many books, pamphlets, maps, and charts. Around this time, the Society also prepared an exhibit about Missouri newspapers. This was for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. They also started publishing the Missouri Historical Review.

The growing collection needed more space. The Society slowly took over more of Jesse Hall. They stored many items in the basement and used the first floor. By 1902, they started looking for money for a new building. They even tried to get help from library supporter Andrew Carnegie. About 13 years later, in 1915, the Society moved into the new Ellis Library. This has been their home ever since.

The Shoemaker Years

Around the same time, Floyd C. Shoemaker joined the Society. He worked there for 45 years. During his time, Shoemaker achieved many great things. One goal was to make the Society have the most members in the country. Membership grew from 1,285 in 1916 to 3,356 in 1936.

The Great Depression didn't hurt the Society much. But it did get involved with some New Deal programs. For a few years, they hired men from the National Youth Administration. These men helped move books and newspapers. They also hired women from the Civil Works Administration. These women updated the Society's "Who's Who" files for the state. They also indexed selected newspapers. The Society also helped the Federal Writers' Project and the Works Progress Administration.

Ellis Library, former entrance to the State Historical Society of Missouri.

George Mahan joined Shoemaker at the Society. He served as a trustee and president. Mahan made a special donation after he passed away. This money helped the Society buy books for its Mark Twain collection. He also paid for 29 roadside historical markers. These markers were placed along United States highway 36. They stretched from St. Joseph to Hannibal. The Society's staff researched each marker and wrote what they said. The Society later expanded this program. They placed historical markers all over the state.

Shoemaker also kept adding to the Society's collection. He wrote personal requests and had some success. In 1932, he listed the donations for that year. These included "1,207 books, 964 pamphlets, 1 painting, 86 photographs and negatives, 28 manuscript collections, 3 ledger books, 1 medal, 49 clippings, 4 sheets of music, and 4 poems." This list didn't even include newspaper donations.

Shoemaker wanted the Society to publish more. They published books and weekly newspaper articles. From 1925 to 1939, they published articles called This Week in Missouri History. These appeared in at least one newspaper in 97 of Missouri's 114 counties. This included St. Louis. In 1922, the Society started a big project. It was a 20-volume series called The Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of the State of Missouri. This project finished in 1965. These books included life stories of governors and their official documents. Shoemaker was very proud of the Missouri Historical Review. He thought it was one of the best magazines of its kind in the country.

The Center for Missouri Studies

On August 10, 2019, a new building opened in Columbia. It's called the Center for Missouri Studies. This was on Missouri's 198th birthday as a state. This large public building replaced Ellis Library as the main home of the State Historical Society of Missouri.

The new center has a much bigger area to display collections and art. It has a library and reading room, classrooms, and offices. There are also special rooms for microfilm and an art restoration lab. It has a large event room and a gift shop. The Center for Missouri Studies is on Elm Street. It's on the University of Missouri campus in Downtown Columbia, right across from Peace Park.

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  From across Elm Street

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  Elm Street entrance

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  Loading dock and alley

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  Elm and 5th Street

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  North entrance and parking lot

Collections and Exhibits

The Society has a large collection of art by famous Missouri artists. These include George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton. Overall, the Society owns over 4,000 pieces of art. This includes paintings, prints, sketches, and engravings.

Their collection of editorial cartoons is also special. It includes works by Daniel Fitzpatrick, S. J. Ray, Don Hesse, Tom Engelhardt, and the famous Second World War artist, Bill Mauldin. The Society also has many photographs and maps.

The State Historical Society of Missouri often changes its art and history exhibits. These exhibits come from their own collections. All exhibits and collections are open for everyone to see and use.

George Caleb Bingham Art Collection

One of the most important artists in the Society's collection is George Caleb Bingham. He was born in Virginia, but he grew up and lived in Missouri. He was famous for showing everyday life on the rivers in Missouri. He also painted many portraits.

One of his most famous paintings is General Order No. 11. This painting is a treasure in the Society's collection. It shows people being forced to leave their homes in western Missouri. This happened during the Civil War. It was because of a special order from Union general Thomas Ewing. The Society has one of the largest collections of Bingham's artwork in the country.

Jon Luvelli Photography Collection

The Society also has a collection by Jon Luvelli. He is a street photographer known around the world. Luvelli's photos are famous for showing rural American towns. He was born in Como, Italy, but grew up in a farm town in Mid-Missouri. His work highlights modern life in the small towns of the "Show-Me State." Luvelli's art also shares important social messages. He isn't afraid to show difficult topics like racism, poverty, and abuse.

Daniel Fitzpatrick Cartoon Collection

Daniel R. Fitzpatrick was an editorial cartoonist for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice. His collection is one of the largest at the Society. It has over 1,500 original cartoon drawings. His art showed social, political, and artistic ideas. He especially focused on cartoons he made during the World War I era.

Libraries and Research

The Society's Newspaper Library has the biggest collection of Missouri newspapers in the nation. It goes all the way back to the very first newspaper published in 1808. Thousands of newspapers on microfilm are available to the public. You can see them at the Society or borrow them through other libraries. The Society has at least one newspaper for each of Missouri's 114 counties.

In 2008, the Society joined a special program. It's called the National Digital Newspaper Program. This program helps digitize important historical newspapers. It's run by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Some newspapers from the Society's collection, from 1880 to 1922, are on the Chronicling America website. The Society also has digital newspapers on its own website.

The Society's Reference Library has over half a million books. These are about Missouri and the Midwest. You can find family histories, county histories, and city directories. There are also state publications, church histories, and research journals. One of the Society's most famous collections is the J. Christian Bay Collection of Western Americana.

Western Historical Manuscript Collection

The Western Historical Manuscript Collection (WHMC) was a joint collection. It was shared between the University of Missouri and the Society. You could access it at different places around the state. Each of the four locations had different historical materials.

• The WHMC in Kansas City focused on the history and culture of Kansas City.
• The WHMC at the Missouri University of Science and Technology had materials about the Ozark highlands and southern Missouri.
• The WHMC office in St. Louis focused on the history of St. Louis and its area.
• The WHMC location in Columbia, Missouri, focused on the history of the whole state. It covered everything from before Missouri became a state until now. It also covered the "trans-Mississippi West." This included social, cultural, religious, educational, military, political, economic, legal, business, labor, urban, rural, ethnic, and environmental history. The Columbia collection included diaries, letters, photos, and other items. These were from Missourians like farmers, bankers, and pioneers.

In 2011, the Western Historical Manuscript Collection became part of the State Historical Society. It no longer exists as a separate group. You can now find these manuscripts and collections at the Society's Research Center in Ellis Library. You can also find them at Society research centers in Kansas City, St. Louis, Rolla, Cape Girardeau, and Springfield.

Sharing History with Everyone

The Society has many programs to bring history to the public. One way is through Missouri History in Performance (MoHiP). Playwrights create plays about moments in Missouri history. They often use the talents of folk musicians Cathy Barton and Dave Para. The playwrights often get ideas from old plays, personal letters, and newspaper stories from the 1800s.

Another way the Society shares history is through the Missouri History Speakers' Bureau. For almost 40 years, the Society has provided speakers. These speakers go to groups and organizations across the state. They talk about different parts of Missouri's history. This program gets some funding from the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Every year, the Society holds the Missouri Conference on History. This is a multi-day event. People give talks about topics related to Missouri history. Awards are also given for the best book, best journal article, and best student paper about state history.

Publications for the Public

Besides the programs, the Society also publishes things. They publish the Missouri Historical Review. They also have a quarterly newsletter for members called the Missouri Times. And they publish books.

The Missouri Historical Review has been published since 1906. It includes articles about Missouri history. It also reviews books about Missouri history. This magazine has won awards and comes out every four months. In 2006, the Society published special collections. These celebrated 100 years of the Review on specific topics. Examples include The Civil War in Missouri and Kansas City: America's Crossroads.

National History Day in Missouri

Since 1989, the State Historical Society of Missouri has sponsored National History Day in Missouri. This is the state contest for National History Day. More than 2,400 students across the state take part in the contest. Over 500 of them move on to the state level. Then, 50-55 students from Missouri go to the national contest in Washington, D.C.. They compete in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance/acting, and website.

Missouri Conference of History

The Missouri Conference of History brings together history teachers and professional historians. They share their research results. They also exchange ideas about teaching and school programs. They discuss ways to make history more interesting and help the history profession. They also talk about other concerns that all historians share. The conference happens every year at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.