Events

In the spring of 1885, newspapers around the United States carried sensational coverage of mysterious bones, artifacts, and alleged riches discovered by an exploration party in Tim Collins’ coal mine near Moberly, Missouri. However, just as quickly as the story reached a national audience, allegations of a hoax dampened the excitement. Join SHSMO Assistant Director of Research, Sean Rost, for Chapter 5 of the Missouri Mysteries series as he explores the mystery of Collins’ Coal Mine.

Is your classroom or history club participating in the 2025 National History Day contest? Are you unsure or interested but don’t know where to start? Are you not participating but still want to dive into historical content?

Join the National WWI Museum and Memorial, Shawnee Town 1929 Museum, and Truman Presidential Library education teams to explore content centered on Rights and Responsibilities in the 20th Century in a free and fun teacher workshop, with complementary food and beverages.

This year, the Western History Association and Southern Historical Association will host their conferences concurrently in Kansas City, Mo., at The Westin and Sheraton Kansas City at Crown Center. 

Join us for a spooktacular time at the State Historical Society of Missouri. We are joining our neighbors in Downtown Columbia for a free and fun late afternoon. Pick up treats, enjoy a craft, and show off your costume as we celebrate Halloweenie in the District! Halloweenie is a family friendly event held each October in Columbia's The District.

The opening reception for Wild Missouri - The ART of Conservation in the SHSMO Art Gallery includes a walk-through of the exhibit with photographer Noppaol Paothong and curator Joan Stack. The public is invited to attend. 

Missouri S&T Archivist Debra Griffith will give a short talk on the work of MS&T alumni Gerald Racket who innovated several film techniques and became the vice president of Technicolor. Griffith’s talk will be followed by the 1939 feature film The Wizard of Oz, made possible by Racket’s work using Technicolor’s three-strip film process. Come for the talk and stay for a special screening of this classic film in technicolor!

Artist and Missouri native Bryan Haynes will speak about his 40+ year career journey from commercial artist in Los Angeles, to becoming a fine artist developing his style that has been termed New Regionalism. “Living in the hills that bump up against the south bank of the Missouri River, and spending time in the oak and hickory forests here, how can one not imagine the people that came before,” writes Haynes. As an artist born in Missouri, Haynes’s sketchbook fills with figures, Osage warriors, the first Europeans, and early settlers.

2024 marks fifty years since Gary Kremer, executive director of SHSMO, published his first essay on the African American experience in Missouri.  Over the course of the past five decades, he has written dozens of articles and five books on the topic of race in Missouri, a publishing record unrivalled by any other scholar of the subject.  This presentation will feature Kremer talking about what he regards as some of his most important findings over the course of a half century of research and writing, along with stories about the fascinating people he has met and interviewed

Join the State Historical Society of Missouri for the Sixth Annual Holiday Open House and enjoy shopping for gifts made by your favorite Missouri artists and artisans. Many of the artists will be on hand, along with new artworks and crafts for everyone on your shopping list. Visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, carolers, and warm refreshments will add to your holiday cheer.

Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri played a larger role in the Civil War than most Missourians and others appreciate. Responding to the threat of occupation of Cape Girardeau by secessionists, the 20th Illinois Infantry occupied the town on July 10, 1861, and began to plan for four forts to protect against attack from the west and south. This presentation by SHSMO’s Bill Eddleman will discuss why Cape Girardeau was important to the war effort.