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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Join us for a free screening of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Faye Dunaway (Bonnie) and Warren Beatty (Clyde). Gene Hackman plays Clyde's brother Buck and Gene Wilder makes his film debut as a hapless undertaker. The movie is based on the real-life story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow who led a notorious crime spree in the 1930s. Among the couple's hideouts included a small apartment in Joplin, Mo.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
Join the State Historical Society of Missouri as we begin our year-long celebration of the centennial of the legendary Route 66! Missouri comprises just over 300 of the more than 2000 miles of historic Route 66. As the birthplace of the iconic highway, however, Missouri's contributions to the road’s development and history far surpass its size.
Join us as we celebrate Missouri History Day filmmakers and screen several short documentaries produced by one of our Missouri History Day alumni and professional artist Brian Hawkins of Kansas City, along with Rohan Deshpande, who is a current History Day student from St. Louis. Hawkins, who is an award-winning animator and filmmaker, will have some of his art pieces for sale to benefit the National History Day program in Missouri. NHD offers a contest to students in grades 6-12 annually.
Join us for the mid-Missouri premiere of a new short film, Soaring Together: A Tuskegee Airmen Story, inspired by a true story, centered on World War II Tuskegee Airmen James Shipley of Tipton, Missouri, and Harry Stewart Jr. of Queens, New York. Serving as Stewart’s crew chief, Shipley worked alongside him as the two rose above prejudice and war in pursuit of freedom.
Susan Croce Kelly, author of Father of Route 66: The Story of Cy Avery, explores how Avery's vision for better roads through his hometown of Tulsa set the stage for the creation of Route 66. A driving force in the Good Roads movement, Avery helped push the nation from local boosterism to nationwide political momentum and, ultimately, to pavement laid across the America. Kelly explores how Avery and a select group of advocates shaped not only the establishment of Highway 66 it its rise as an iconic road recognized around the world.
Missouri History Day transforms the way students view history. Students learn about their world and themselves by creating hands-on research projects and competing in successive local, state, and national contests. Join us at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City to learn more about the innovative program and to view creative student projects from the 2025 contest season.
The public is invited to learn more about the Lincoln School in West Plains, Mo., from Crockett W. Oaks III, executive director and founder of Lincoln School Project. Oaks will reflect on the school’s rich history and the educators and students who shaped generations of leaders. Lincoln school, which served Black children in the segregation era, has been restored and today stands as a cornerstone of community, culture, and resilience in West Plains.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The February 13 lecture will feature Erika Pani, Research Professor at Centro de Estudios Históricos, El Colegio de México.
In recognition of Black History Month, the State Historical Society of Missouri is curating an exhibition at the Ellis Library Colonnade on the University of Missouri campus through May 15, 2026. It will feature artworks from past and present African American Missouri artists, exploring the conservation of continuum within the realm of African American art. A pop-up exhibition will be on view at the William Guitar Little Missouri Gallery of Art inside the State Historical Society of Missouri from February 17 through February 27.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The February 20 program will be presented by Eliza Reid, author of Secret of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Woman and How They Are Changing the World.
National History Day in Missouri will host regional contests for students grades 6-12, leading up to the Missouri History Day state contest on April 25, 2026. Students from each region will present their innovative projects in one of five categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Contest winners will represent their region at the NHDMO state contest in April, which is administered by the State Historical Society of Missouri. Below are the dates and locations of each regional contest.
2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Route 66, which began with a telegram sent to Springfield, Mo., assigning a number to the new highway that would eventually be built from Chicago to California! The State Historical Society of Missouri is involved in a variety of programs, events, and projects to commemorate America's Main Street that through Missouri between Joplin and St. Louis.
Registration is open for the 2026 Missouri Conference on History at Old Kinderhook at the Lake of the Ozarks. The 68th annual conference is hosted by the Missouri State Archives and with the State Historical Society of Missouri as administrative sponsor. Anyone interested or involved in historical research, historical preservation, the teaching of history, or other history-related professions is invited. More information is on the conference’s website.
When the 1930s Depression gripped the Heartland, the Evangelical and Reformed Church sent Vincent Bucher to the impoverished Ozark mountains to lead a new mission church. He ministered not just to the community’s souls, but to their hearts, minds, and livelihoods. “Just obey the commandment to love neighbors,” he taught. “When neighbors care for each other, everyone benefits.” Before President Franklin D. Roosevelt created programs to lift Americans out of poverty, Bucher was organizing cooperatives to market folk art, cream and strawberries.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The March 13 lecture will feature Sayuri Shimizu, Dunlevie Family Chair in History at Rice University.
Historian Brooks Blevins will be the featured speaker in the next program of the Missouri Historical Review Author Series. Blevins, the Noel Boyd Professor of Ozarks Studies at Missouri State University, is the author of numerous books, including the three-volume A History of the Ozarks. His presentation will center on his article “The Missouri Scenic Rivers System and the Origins of the Property Rights Movement,” published in the Review in January 2025.
During the Civil War, Black men who gathered to enlist at Benton Barracks in St. Louis listed birthplaces in Canada, Jamaica, and England. While more than 600 Black Canadians did serve, those men enlisting in St. Louis were not in fact coming from abroad. They were Black Missourians, seeking to join the Union cause and hide from their family or their enslavers—especially when their enslavers actually supported the Union. As part of the African American Experience in Missouri Lecture, Dr.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The April 10 lecture will feature Brandon Park, Associate Professor at Chung-Ang University in Seoul.
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Join us for an opening reception of a new exhibition in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States as represented through stories and experiences woven within the fibers of the American military uniform. The reception will include a panel program with veterans Drew Cameron of Combat Paper, Martin Lesinksi and John Schneider of the U.S. Armed Services whose paper artworks are featured in the exhibition.
Author and baseball historian Eric Vickrey chronicles the St. Louis Cardinals memorable championship season in 1982 under legendary coach Whitey Herzog. The team played an entertaining style of baseball built on speed and defense. The roster was constructed and piloted by Herzog, a baseball visionary who tailored his team for the AstroTurf and spacious dimensions of Busch Stadium.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The April 17 lecture will feature Jay Sexton, Kinder Institute Director and Rich & Nancy Kinder Chair of Constitutional Democracy.
Join us for the National History Day in Missouri state contest, administered by the State Historical Society of Missouri. The annual contest will take place in-person at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Sign up to be a judge and support Missouri students! Top-ranking state projects will go on to compete in the national contest run by the NHD office in College Park, Maryland in June 2026.
As part of a yearlong celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, along with its partner, the State Historical Society of Missouri, will host a series of lectures January through May that reflect on this national milestone from a global perspective.
The May 12 lecture will feature Lawrence Goldman, Kinder Institute Senior Fellow and St. Peter’s College (Oxford) Emeritus Fellow in History.
Born in Ireland, Tom Connor lived the classic American rags-to-riches story. He witnessed several of the Civil War’s major battles as a newsboy with the 8th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, then spent a decade wondering around the U.S. before ending up in southwest Missouri. Connor soon developed a knack for knowing which tracts of land had rich zinc deposits underneath. He bought thousands of acres of land containing the ore and was a millionaire by age 31.
SHSMO has a selection of on demand programs that are freely available to worldwide audiences.
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Former Missouri Senator and Boone County Prosector Joe Moseley looks back on a groundbreaking case nearly 40 years ago where DNA evidence was used to convict Columbia, Mo. resident Ralph Davis of murdering his wife, Susan Davis. On June 10, 1986, Susan disappeared with her red Ford Escort car from her home. Police detectives immediately suspected Susan’s estranged husband in her disappearance due to threats Ralph had made against her. Previously, the court had issued an ex parte order of protection for Susan.
Gary R. Kremer, executive director emeritus of the State Historical Society of Missouri, was the featured speaker at the Society's annual My Missouri lecture on Nov. 22, 2025, at the Center for Missouri Studies, SHSMO's headquarters in Columbia. Kremer served as executive director of the State Historical Society of Missouri for over 21 years. He became the "unofficial state historian" to many Missourians during his half century career teaching, preserving, and publishing the state's history.
As the United States reflects on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and our history as a nation, join genealogy expert Bill Eddleman for the 19th episode of the Basic Genealogy series produced the State Historical Society of Missouri. Eddleman examines the roles our ancestors might have played in the beginning period of the United States.
In 1928, the International Trans Continental Foot Race, popularly knowns as the Bunion Derby by the American press, was a footrace from Los Angeles to New York. Organized by Charles "Cash and Carry" Pyle, the race included 199 runners. Fifty-five would cross the finish line at Madison Square Garden in New York on May 26, 1928. The 3,423 miles followed the new Route 66, including parts of Missouri. Andy Payne of Claremore, Oklahoma won the race and was awarded $25,000. Historic footage in this video includes runners who came through Springfield, Missouri.
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…an airship? In 1897, reports circulated across the United States of mysterious nocturnal sightings of airships of unknown origins. In this recorded webinar, Sean Rost, State Historical Society of Missouri Assistant Director of Research, explores the bizarre arrival of aeronauts to the Show-Me State in 1897.
