The Civil War in Missouri collection includes letters and diaries offering valuable insight into how Missourians, both civilians and those in the military, experienced the Civil War.
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The Art Collection consists of over 12,000 works of art in a variety of media ranging from paintings and drawings to editorial cartoons and lithographs. The collection focuses on images of Missouri, works by Missouri artists, and works related to Westward expansion. Of particular importance are over fifty paintings, drawings, and prints …
The Society’s collection of editorial cartoons was started in 1946 with an important donation of works by Pulitzer-prize-winning artist Daniel F. Fitzpatrick. The collection continues to grow with over 21,000 works from Bill Mauldin, Tom Engelhardt, and many others.
The works graphically and often poignantly reflect the attitudes and …
The Photograph Collection consists of thousands of images of Missouri's people, urban and rural communities, transportation, and industry digitized from collections of print, negative, and glass plates.
The photograph collection can be searched by subject. Requests for reprints can be made to shsofmo@umsystem.edu.
The Index to the Manuscript collection provides subject and keyword access to the extensive manuscript collection.
Local historical and genealogical societies in Missouri provide a wealth of information about the history and culture of the people in their communities.
The Missouri Historical Review, an award-winning scholarly quarterly, has served as the cornerstone of the Society's publication program since 1906. This richly illustrated journal features recent scholarship on all facets of the state's history. The Missouri Historical Review also contains reviews of and notes on recently …
The State Historical Society of Missouri is pleased to announce online availability of the Politics in Missouri Oral History Project. One hundred sixty full-text transcripts and fifty-five full-audio recordings of oral histories given by Missouri political leaders and activists form this important collection. The interviews were …
The single document that knits the TWA story together is the in-house company publication, the TWA Skyliner—published from 1929-2002—which reported on the events of the airline and its staff but also the company’s role in Missouri and the national and international changes within the airline industry. This TWA Skyliner Magazine …
Beginning publication in August 1869, the Buffalo Reflex promised to “labor with untiring zeal to induce the emigrant to settle in our midst, to develop the vast resources of the county, to build up schools, and do what we can towards securing to the people of Dallas county a Railroad.” Featuring poetry and stories—along with …
The Bates County Record, the first paper established post-Civil War in Bates county, presented its inaugural issue in 1866. The Record promoted professionalism among newspapers: in its January 1, 1870 issue, it declared that it would never be “guilty of humbugging our readers by advising them to send money to some ‘retired …
The Carthage Banner began publication in December 1866. Self-styled as a “true index and expounder of home events and happenings,” the Banner was an advocate for the Republican party and for growth in Jasper county after the Civil War. It celebrated the “climate, water, soil, [and] fruit” of the area, hoping to encourage …
The first newspaper published in Charleston, Missouri was the Charleston Courier (est. 1857), “an independent journal devoted to the interests of the people of south-east Missouri.” It was one of the few southeast Missouri papers that continued to be published during the Civil War, although its run was interrupted several times. In …
Columbia’s University Missourian and its later incarnations—The Daily Missourian, The Evening Missourian, and The Columbia Evening Missourian—make up this collection. Established the same year as the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, the Columbia Missourian provided practical experience to journalism students, as …
The Commerce Dispatch (est. 1867) was the “pioneer paper of Scott county,” and its editors believed that a local county paper would provide more value than any city journal. Despite focusing on Scott county issues, events, and “local chat,” the Dispatch chose to adopt “something of [a] city air in typography.” Like most …
The Hayti Herald began publication in 1909 in Hayti, Missouri. William York, the Herald’s first publisher and editor, wrote that “few countries were equal to Southeast Missouri as a place to live and for a small newspaper no better place than Hayti could be found.” The Herald appeared weekly on Thursdays and advocated for …
At the end of June 1865, Charles W. Bowman published the first issue of The Holt County Sentinel in the town of Oregon. Although there was an attempt in the inaugural issue to portray the paper as independent in politics, its radical Republican leanings were evident with the paper announcing that “It is a mistaken idea to recognize …
The Iron County Register took “Our God, Our Country, and Truth” as its motto when it commenced publication in 1867. Although the early editors looked favorably on Conservative politics, they claimed that the Register would neither “advocate nor oppose any measure simply because it is promulgated by a certain party.” …
On August 4, 1871, the Missouri Cash-Book became the first newspaper to appear in Jackson, Missouri since the outbreak of the Civil War. Its salutatory message declared it would be an independent, democratic, “live, wide-awake local journal” that would serve and promote Jackson and Cape Girardeau county while encouraging “courtesy …
Starting out in 1898 as a four-page paper, The Jasper News declared its politics to be best described by the phrase “The greatest good to the greatest number.” The paper covered developments in southern Missouri, including news from rural towns such as Lebanon, Sheridan, Blue, and Bethel. Under the direction of various editors, the …
The Peoples’ Tribune was established October 4, 1865 with the ambitious goal to “preserve the natural and constitutional rights of individuals, promote justice, humanity, and patriotism, and secure the prosperity and happiness of the people.” Initial publisher C.J. Corwin believed this would be accomplished through “cordial …
The Kansas City Daily Journal and Kansas City Journal’s weekday and Saturday editions typically ran 8-10 pages and feature state, national, and international news; local and society details; editorials, book reviews, and serialized literature; and classified ads. Sunday editions, titled the Kansas City Sunday Journal, printed up to …
The four-page Weekly Graphic, which began publication in 1880, covers town, county, and state news; local and general agricultural markets; immigration notes; county, state, and national politics; general news; and current literature. The Graphic also provides detailed accounts of commerce, real estate transactions, and other …
The Missouri Valley Register launched in 1865, and in 1867 (volume 3, issue 1), the editor—L. Davis—wrote a letter “To our Radical Friends” in which he declared that the “Register has done more to insure the success of Radical principles in this county than any other political agent or agency…our paper became a rallying …
Claiborne Fox Jackson was one of the founders of the Marshall Democrat which opened its “office west side of the public square, next door to the Post Office.” The paper—which published its inaugural issue on January 15, 1858—promised to cover “industry, trade, political matters, [and] light reading” in its pages and use …
A.R. Grigsby established The Saline Republican in 1892. By 1899, the name was changed to The Marshall Republican, and by 1906 J. J. Witt was editor and proprietor. Witt tended to embrace social reform, but complaining about the cowardice of Marshall’s reformers in the February 9, 1906 issue, he stated “Of course, we want to …
The Montgomery Tribune was launched in Montgomery City in 1892. A number of editors were associated with the paper during its run, including two transplanted Chicagoans, Ferdinand Wahrer and Charles W. Gurney. Regardless of editorship, the Tribune was proudly Republican. In the March 29, 1901 issue, responding to news that a second …
In 1873, the Spring River Fountain and the Lawrence Journal consolidated and became the Fountain and Journal, a paper “devoted mainly to the local interests of Lawrence county.” The Journal claimed that in “politics, we will be neutral; in all things independent, fearlessly espousing the cause of right when duty calls.” One of …
The Osceola Herald was the first newspaper to appear in Osceola after the Civil War (July 1866). A Republican paper, the Herald announced that “our columns are open to all who choose to correspond with us, in any matters of local interest to our readers.” At the end of its first year, all readers were pointedly reminded to “renew …
When the Pleasant Hill Weekly Leader sent out its first issue on May 14, 1869, it felt “slightly rebellious” about the longstanding tradition of new journals “delivering an editorial inaugural” and thought that “Here we are” should really be sufficient introduction. However, since custom demanded a more detailed discussion, …
The Herald of Liberty (est. 1866) was re-named the Rolla Weekly Herald in 1869. Addressing its readers on January 6, 1870, the Herald scorned the tradition of newspapers presenting themselves as public servants, stating “This we do not propose to do, as we do not consider ourselves as the servants of the public, but a firm and staunch …
“If there was a man standing out on the bleak prairie west of Sedalia last night, kicking himself and making the atmosphere blue, that man was the presiding genius of the Bazoo.” J. West Goodwin, “the presiding genius,” was the distinctive and colorful editor of the Sedalia Weekly Bazoo, known for organizing “execution …
When the Springfield Leader launched in 1867, it demanded less: fewer laws, reduced taxes, and lower tariffs. Its opening editorial claimed that the “laws of a republic should be few and simple” and that high tariffs only benefited the manufacturers in the northeast while “sapping the hearts-blood out of the people of producing …
The Springfield Mirror began publication May 5, 1855, voicing the opinions of the American Party. Launching its second volume in 1856, editor Boren stressed that “Agricultural and Educational interests…shall receive attention as before” and that the “early and speedy completion of our Rail Roads is an object greatly to be …
The Missouri Weekly Patriot began publication in Springfield in 1864 and was often regarded as a Radical journal. On June 8, 1865, the paper was enlarged, and the editor affirmed his “wish to publish purely an independent paper, devoted to interests of South-West Missouri.” In addition to its more ambitious agenda, the Patriot also …
The eight-page St. Joseph Observer covered developments in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, and Kansas City as well as major state news items and national politics. The paper frequently includes information about local area agricultural markets and “doings in society” and presents printed serialized literature and excerpts from other …
The lineage of the Daily Missouri Republican, published between 1837 and 1869, can be traced back to Missouri’s first newspaper, the Missouri Gazette, begun in St. Louis by Joseph Charless in 1808. The Daily Missouri Republican printed four pages each day, providing extensive war coverage with descriptions of significant events and …
The lineage of the Daily Missouri Republican, published between 1837 and 1869, can be traced back to Missouri’s first newspaper, the Missouri Gazette, begun in St. Louis by Joseph Charless in 1808. The Daily Missouri Republican printed four pages each day, providing extensive war coverage with descriptions of significant events and …
The lineage of the The Missouri Republican, published between 1869 and 1873, can be traced back to Missouri’s first newspaper, the Missouri Gazette, begun in St. Louis by Joseph Charless in 1808. The paper is published under various titles until eventually becoming The St. Louis Republic in 1888. The paper was published with …
The St. Louis Republic’s weekday editions consistently feature reports on local, national, and international politics; local or statewide criminal investigations; society news; financial news, classified ads, marriages and deaths; and editorial comments. The paper averaged 15 pages during the week, with Sunday editions sometimes …
The Banner of Liberty (1873-1874) was proud of being a local journal and declared that it would represent “the best interests of South Central Missouri, and particularly of Maries county; advocating the interests of labor in the fields, the mines and the workshop.” Sold in 1874, the paper became the Vienna Courier. Despite the change …
The Weekly California News, launched in 1858, had a volatile existence during the Civil War years. In the July 20, 1861 issue, editor C.P. Anderson chronicled the “Destruction of our Office by a Mob.” He reported that on July 14, 1861 “some 200 United States troops…threw our office into a complete wreck, scattering our type in …
Plat Maps of Missouri
County plat books or atlases contain descriptions land owners and landmarks. Utilizing the Public Land Survey System each map is divided into township, range, and sections. Identified on the maps are the owners of these divisions of land and sometimes include landmarks such as churches, cemeteris, and schools. …
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The State Historical Society of Missouri Digital Collections provides online access to journals, photographs, newspapers, and oral histories telling the story of Missouri's history, people, and culture of Missouri.
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