State Historical Society of Missouri

The State Historical Society of Missouri is Missouri’s official historical society and a major research, collecting, publishing, and public-history institution. Based in Columbia on the University of Missouri campus, it preserves and interprets the cultural, political, social, artistic, and economic history of Missouri and the wider Middle West. Although it is a private membership organization, the Society was made a trustee of the state by legislation in 1899 and has received state support since 1901. The Society was created in 1898 through the Missouri Press Association. Newspaper editors and publishers were central to its formation because newspapers provided both an important historical record and an early source of members and donations. Edwin W. Stephens became the first president, Walter Williams became secretary, and University of Missouri scholar Isidor Loeb helped develop the institution’s early intellectual and organizational foundation. Its statutory mission was broad: to collect books, maps, papers, manuscripts, portraits, pioneer accounts, and other materials that could document Missouri’s past and present conditions. Its holdings include hundreds of thousands of books, pamphlets, state publications, manuscripts, archival records, maps, photographs, newspapers, and microfilm reels. The newspaper collection is particularly significant, covering Missouri newspapers from the first publication in the state in 1808 and including material from all 114 counties. The Society also maintains substantial art collections, including major works by Missouri-associated artists George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton, editorial cartoons, photography, maps, and other visual materials. Its collections support scholarly research, genealogy, local history, journalism, education, and public exhibitions. The Society’s principal publication is the Missouri Historical Review, a quarterly scholarly journal and the only academic historical journal produced in Missouri. Over its history, it has also issued books, documentary editions, articles, indexes, and historical reference materials. A notable long-term publication project, Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of the State of Missouri, assembled and contextualized gubernatorial documents in a multivolume series completed in 1965. Public access and outreach are central to the Society’s role. Programs have included Missouri History in Performance, which presents dramatized episodes from Missouri history, the Missouri History Speakers’ Bureau, the Missouri Conference on History, changing exhibitions, educational activities, and public research services. The Society has also participated in newspaper digitization through the National Digital Newspaper Program, a collaboration involving the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Selected historical newspapers are available through Chronicling America and the Society’s own digital resources. In 2011, the Western Historical Manuscript Collection was absorbed into the Society. Materials associated with that collection expanded the institution’s reach across Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, and Springfield, with regional holdings concerning Missouri, the trans-Mississippi West, the Ozarks, Kansas City, and St. Louis. In 2019, the Center for Missouri Studies opened in downtown Columbia, replacing Ellis Library as the Society’s headquarters and providing expanded galleries, reading rooms, classrooms, archival storage, conservation facilities, offices, event space, and a public shop. The Society continues to function as a research library, archive, museum, publisher, and statewide public-history organization.

Discussion of a formal historical society for Missouri preceded the organization’s creation, but the proposal gained decisive momentum at a January 1898 meeting of the Missouri Press Association. Edwin W. Stephens, Walter Williams, and Isidor Loeb were among its principal advocates. The association appointed a committee to prepare a constitution and bylaws, while the University of Missouri offered early institutional support and space in Jesse Hall even before the Society was formally established. On May 26, 1898, the Missouri Press Association voted to create the State Historical Society of Missouri. Stephens was selected as president and Williams as secretary. The founders intended the Society to serve the entire state rather than a single city or university department. Its collecting mission included books, maps, official papers, manuscripts, pioneer narratives, portraits, newspapers, and other evidence of Missouri’s history and development. The organization soon sought formal recognition by the state. The Fortieth General Assembly passed legislation establishing the Society as a trustee of Missouri, and Governor Lon Stephens signed the measure on May 4, 1899. The first state appropriation followed in 1901, providing $4,500 for the 1901–1902 period. Newspapers became the nucleus of the early collection because of the Society’s close relationship with the press. The institution also solicited materials from residents, accepted private and organizational donations, and developed collections relating to both Missouri and the broader Middle West. A major early acquisition occurred in 1901, when secretary Francis Asbury Sampson donated nearly 2,000 books and more than 14,000 pamphlets. He also helped secure a substantial donation from the Sedalia Natural History Society, including books, pamphlets, maps, and charts. The Society prepared an exhibit on Missouri newspapers for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair and began publishing the Missouri Historical Review, which became its principal scholarly periodical. As holdings grew, the Society expanded within Jesse Hall and used basement storage before seeking a purpose-built facility. After efforts to obtain support for a separate building, including an approach to Andrew Carnegie, the organization moved in 1915 into the newly constructed Ellis Library. Ellis Library remained the Society’s principal home for more than a century. Floyd C. Shoemaker joined the Society during this period and developed a career lasting approximately forty-five years. He expanded collecting, publications, membership, and statewide historical programs. Membership increased from 1,285 in 1916 to 3,356 in 1936, reflecting a sustained effort to build a broad public constituency. During the Great Depression, the Society participated in federal relief and cultural programs. National Youth Administration workers assisted with moving books and newspapers, Civil Works Administration workers helped update biographical files and index newspapers, and the Society contributed to Federal Writers’ Project and Works Progress Administration activities. George Mahan, a trustee and president during the same general period, supported the Society’s collections and historical-marker work. A posthumous donation associated with Mahan enabled purchases for the Mark Twain collection, while funding also supported twenty-nine roadside markers along U.S. Highway 36 between St. Joseph and Hannibal. Society staff researched the markers and drafted their inscriptions, establishing a model for later statewide marker activity. Shoemaker encouraged extensive publication and public distribution of historical material. From 1925 to 1939, the Society’s This Week in Missouri History articles appeared in newspapers across much of the state. Beginning in 1922, it also undertook the multivolume Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of the State of Missouri, a documentary and biographical project completed in 1965. These activities reinforced the Society’s dual identity as a scholarly institution and a public educator. Over time, the collections expanded beyond books and newspapers to include manuscripts, state records, maps, photographs, artwork, editorial cartoons, family histories, county histories, city directories, church records, and other documentary materials. The Society became particularly known for its holdings related to George Caleb Bingham, Thomas Hart Benton, Daniel Fitzpatrick, and other artists and commentators connected with Missouri. Its libraries and archives serve researchers, students, genealogists, journalists, educators, and members of the general public. The Western Historical Manuscript Collection, operated jointly with the University of Missouri, provided regionally focused manuscript services in Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla, and St. Louis. In 2011, the collection was absorbed into the State Historical Society, and its materials became accessible through the Society’s research locations, later including sites in Cape Girardeau and Springfield. The integration strengthened the Society’s statewide reach and consolidated manuscript stewardship. The Society also pursued digitization and public programming. In 2008 it participated in the National Digital Newspaper Program, making selected Missouri newspapers from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries available through the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America platform. Its outreach portfolio has included Missouri History in Performance, the Missouri History Speakers’ Bureau, the Missouri Conference on History, exhibitions, lectures, and educational events. On August 10, 2019, the Center for Missouri Studies opened in Columbia on the University of Missouri campus. The facility was designed to replace Ellis Library as the Society’s headquarters and to provide a more visible public home. It includes galleries, a library and reading room, classrooms, offices, open and closed stacks, microfilm rooms, an art restoration laboratory, event space, and a shop. The Center represents the Society’s continuing role as a statewide institution that preserves original sources while presenting Missouri history to broad public audiences.

• 2019

  Center for Missouri Studies opened

  [1]State Historical Society of Missourien.wikipedia.org

  The Society opened a new headquarters and public cultural facility in downtown Columbia.

• 2011

  Western Historical Manuscript Collection integrated

  [1]State Historical Society of Missourien.wikipedia.org

  The Western Historical Manuscript Collection was absorbed into the Society, consolidating regional manuscript resources.

• 2008

  Participation in newspaper digitization initiative

  [1]State Historical Society of Missourien.wikipedia.org

  The Society joined the National Digital Newspaper Program and began contributing selected historical newspapers to digital access platforms.

• 1915

  Move to Ellis Library

  [1]State Historical Society of Missourien.wikipedia.org

  The Society moved from Jesse Hall into the newly built Ellis Library, which served as its principal headquarters for more than a century.

• 1904

  Newspaper exhibit at the St. Louis World’s Fair

  [1]State Historical Society of Missourien.wikipedia.org

  The Society prepared an exhibit documenting Missouri newspapers for the St. Louis World’s Fair.

• 1901

  First state appropriation and major collection donations

  [1]State Historical Society of Missourien.wikipedia.org

  The Society received its first state appropriation and secured major book, pamphlet, map, and chart donations.

• 1899

  Recognized as a trustee of the state

  [1]State Historical Society of Missourien.wikipedia.org

  Missouri legislation established the Society as a trustee of the state, formalizing its public historical mission.

• 1898

  Society founded by the Missouri Press Association

  [1]State Historical Society of Missourien.wikipedia.org

  The Missouri Press Association formally created the State Historical Society of Missouri after an organizing effort supported by Edwin W. Stephens, Walter Williams, and Isidor Loeb.

A statewide steward of Missouri’s documentary and cultural heritage, combining the functions of a research library, archive, museum, publisher, and public-history organization.

• Scholarly journal

  Missouri Historical Review

  A quarterly scholarly publication devoted to Missouri history and related regional subjects. It is the only scholarly academic historical journal produced in the state and serves as a principal channel for historical research, documentary interpretation, and institutional scholarship.

• Research collection

  Missouri newspaper collection

  A comprehensive collection of Missouri newspapers, beginning with the state’s first newspaper in 1808 and including at least one newspaper from each of Missouri’s 114 counties. Materials are available in print, microfilm, interlibrary loan, and selected digital formats.

• Art collection

  George Caleb Bingham collection

  A major collection of paintings and other works by George Caleb Bingham, a Missouri-associated artist known for river scenes, portraits, and depictions of nineteenth-century life. The collection includes General Order No. 11, which portrays the forced removal of Missourians during the Civil War.

• Editorial cartoon collection

  Daniel Fitzpatrick collection

  A collection of more than 1,500 original drawings by Daniel R. Fitzpatrick, the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist associated with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The holdings document social and political commentary, including Fitzpatrick’s work from the World War I era.

• Photography collection

  Jon Luvelli collection

  A collection of fine-art photographs by Jon Luvelli depicting rural Missouri and small-town American life. The work combines documentary observation with attention to subjects including poverty, racism, sexuality, abuse, and addiction.

• Research and public-history facility · 2019

  Center for Missouri Studies

  The Society’s Columbia headquarters, opened in 2019, combines galleries, reading rooms, classrooms, archival stacks, microfilm facilities, offices, an art restoration laboratory, event space, and a public shop.

• Statewide membership expansion

  Missouri

  During Floyd C. Shoemaker’s tenure, the Society pursued a membership-building campaign that increased membership from 1,285 in 1916 to 3,356 in 1936.

  Outcome. The campaign established a substantially broader statewide constituency for the Society.

  Source
• Missouri roadside historical-marker program

  Missouri

  The Society researched and wrote inscriptions for historical markers, beginning with a group of twenty-nine markers along U.S. Highway 36 between St. Joseph and Hannibal.

  Outcome. The marker initiative expanded over subsequent decades and helped bring historical interpretation to public roads and communities.

  Source
• Missouri History in Performance

  Missouri

  The Society commissions or presents theatrical treatments of Missouri historical subjects, often drawing on letters, newspapers, nineteenth-century plays, and folk music.

  Outcome. The program extends historical interpretation beyond conventional library and museum formats.

  Source

• 2019

  Open the Center for Missouri StudiesStrategy

  Background

  The Society needed a larger and more publicly oriented headquarters than its long-standing location in Ellis Library could provide.

  Action taken

  The Society opened the Center for Missouri Studies in downtown Columbia with expanded galleries, research spaces, classrooms, archival facilities, conservation resources, and event areas.

  Aftermath

  The Center became the Society’s headquarters and its principal public venue for research, exhibitions, education, and events.

  Source

• 2011

  Integrate the Western Historical Manuscript CollectionStrategy

  Background

  The Society and the University of Missouri had jointly maintained regionally focused manuscript resources in several Missouri locations.

  Action taken

  The Western Historical Manuscript Collection was absorbed into the State Historical Society, with its materials made accessible through Society research centers.

  Aftermath

  The integration consolidated manuscript stewardship and broadened the Society’s statewide research network.

  Source

1. 1State Historical Society of Missourien.wikipedia.org
2. 2State Historical Society of Missouri official websiteshs.umsystem.edu