Events

Norman Akers, Osage artist and educator from Oklahoma will speak on Osage artists and the art that moves our culture forward. Osage Artists Today will examine a selection of contemporary Osage artists and how their work serves as a bridge between our history and cultural practices and the present. The Osage people experienced forced removal from Missouri and Arkansas in the early 1820s and subsequently settled on the Osage Reservation in Oklahoma in 1872. This displacement has led some to assert that there was a loss of culture and traditional practices.

As the centennial celebration of Route 66 draws closer to conclusion, a panel of experts, including SHSMO's Kathleen Seale, will discuss the future of Route 66 and how we can preserve the memories of those who built, traveled, and lived on the road.  This session introduces Research Route 66, a collaboration of libraries, museums, and archives dedicated to research, preserving historical records, and making Route 66 stories and testimony accessible for generations to come.

As we end a full year of activities for the commemoration of Route 66 in Missouri, we reflect on the centennial and share video travelogues and conversation of a week-long epic road trip from St. Louis to Joplin with SHSMO staff Kathleen Seale, Haley Frizzle-Green, Beth Pike and Stacia Schaefer. What did the centennial mean to people in Missouri and around the globe and where does this journey take the next travelers who will experience the open roadways in the U.S. and meet the people, visit places, and hear unique stories along the way.

Author Greg Olson of Columbia's newest book in 2026 tells the story of Jeffrey Deroine (de-rō-NAY), an enslaved trader, prairie diplomat and Missouri settler. Born into slavery in St. Louis in 1806, Deroine worked and lived in the heart of a rapidly changing nation. Forced to work in the fur trade on the Missouri River, he gained his freedom and became an interpreter for the Ioway nation. Later, he participated in the founding of the frontier city of St. Joseph, Missouri.

Join us in celebrating the centennial of Route 66 with a presentation by Dr. Megan Murph, director of the Budds Center for American Music, exploring the songs and sounds that shaped the highway's rich history in Missouri. The event is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by Hearing Place StudioLab (via the Center for the Humanities), the State Historical Society of Missouri, and the Budds Center for American Music Studies at the University of Missouri.

Join the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Lebanon-Laclede County Route 66 Society to hear from author and photographer Candacy Taylor on her work regarding the realities of travel on Route 66. Her work examines the gulf between our nostalgic reimagining of the postwar “happy days” and the fabled highway’s idealized past. It takes the audience through a state-by-state journey a Black family would have experienced traveling Route 66 during the Jim Crow era.

Join the State Historical Society of Missouri and Richard Bookstore (inside the Center for Missouri Studies) for our annual community tradition featuring unique local vendors, holiday shopping, live caroling, and a visit from Santa and the Grinch! The Holiday Open House brings together makers, artisans, and small businesses for a cheerful morning of shopping and festivities. It's the perfect place to enjoy the holiday spirit and find one-of-a-kind gifts and books for friends and family.

Vendor Registration

As Spencer and Route 66 both mark their centennial year, a once forgotten stretch of America’s Mother Road is experiencing a remarkable revival.  Located 24 miles west of Springfield, Mo. in Miller, travelers from across the globe stop at Spencer Station to visit this historical gem that is making a comeback.

America’s first big industry, railroads are a transformative force in our history. No other technology altered Missourian’s lives more in the decades surrounding the turn of the 20th century. Joel Rhodes, SHSMO executive director and author of A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: the Life of Louis Houck, explores Missouri railroading, which drove rapid modernization and the industrial revolution.