As part of its mission to generate interest and appreciation for the rich cultural heritage of the state and its people, the Society hosts a wide range of engaging and educational events for scholars and community members of all ages.
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The State Historical Society of Missouri and Phelps County Historical Society are hosting a series of Route 66 events to celebrate National Archives Month in October. Join Bob Roach and Tim Jones as they discuss growing up on Route 66 and running their families iconic Phelps County businesses along the famous route.
The Film Verliebte Feinde (Enemies in Love) tells the story of one of the most well-known, provocative, and politically connected married couples of 20th century Swiss history. After falling in love after meeting in law school, Iris and Peter von Roten had an unconventional marriage with opposing views on politics, culture, and women's rights. While married, Iris, travelled to Columbia, Mo. to study at the University of Missouri in the early 1930s with plans to write a book when she returned to Switzerland.
Join us for the 2026 Annual Meeting of the State Historical Society of Missouri, featuring a talk by Dr. Linda Godwin, former NASA astronaut and professor emeritus, University of Missouri Department of Physics and Astronomy. Learn about Dr. Godwin's career and how the state of Missouri influenced her life.
The business meeting and annual report begins at 10:30 a.m., including a presentation of the Book and Article Awards. The meeting is open to the public.
The State Historical Society of Missouri and Phelps County Historical Society are hosting a series of Route 66 events to celebrate National Archives Month in October. Join the SHSMO Rolla and Springfield Research Centers Regional Director Kathleen Seale for her discussion about navigating Missouri’s Route 66 through the years.
Join us for an afternoon of music so good it’s scary! This Halloween, SHSMO will close out the 2026 Music on Elm concert series with performances by hometown heroes The Onions and Adventure Hat. The event and the music are family-friendly and we encourage you to get into the holiday spirit with your finest costume! Crafts and candy provided for all the ghouls and goblins.
Are you participating in the National History Day program for the first time? Or maybe you're looking for History Day project ideas? We have you covered! Join us at the State Historical Society of Missouri St. Louis Research Center to learn more about the program and topics related to this year’s theme. Please RSVP to the regional coordinator at: ivqvw@umsl.edu.
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, 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.
SHSMO has a selection of on demand programs that are freely available to worldwide audiences.
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Do you enjoy a good ghost story? Join State Historical Society of Missouri archivist Hali Allen as we take a spooky ride along Missouri's Route 66, exploring haunted mansions, spooks lights, and the Zombie Road!
Over 350 country, gospel, and rock performers and groups recorded at Kennett Sound Studios (KSS) in the southeast Missouri town of Kennett between 1968 to 1997. Owned and operated by musician and songwriter Joe Keene, KSS hosted a couple of well-known performers. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and Mizzou alum Sheryl Crow is a Kennett native. Top ten country music singer Narvel Felts still lives up the road in Malden, Missouri. Most of the musicians who recorded at KSS, however, were known mainly in their home areas, largely southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas.
With the construction of Route 66, automobile tourism increased across the United States. Novelty shops along the route offered regional, one-of-a-kind gifts for newcomers. In the Ozarks, a region known for its traditional handicraft production, residents began making crafts not just for the practical needs of everyday life, but for the influx of tourists exploring their hills and hollers.
Ladies and Gentlemen… the Beatles! With those words Ed Sullivan – America’s unofficial Minister of Culture – introduced us to the Fab Four on February 9, 1964. With just five catchy songs on Sullivan’s show, “the sixties” as an era began that Sunday night. During their 1964 U.S. tour, the Beatles played an exhausting stretch of eight concerts a week, including Kansas City. On September 19, they were secretly flown to a ranch in Alton, Missouri for a needed weekend of rest and relaxation. Join Dr.
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In 2026, the State Historical Society of Missouri embarked on a five-day roadtrip from St. Louis to the state line, just west of Joplin, to meet the people and places along America's beloved Main Street - Route 66. SHSMO's crew of history adventurers arrived in Springfield, Mo., on April 30, 2026, just in time for the kickoff of the National Route 66 Centennial. Come along on our five-day adventure!
