Events

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 May 12 lecture will feature Lawrence Goldman, Kinder Institute Senior Fellow and St. Peter’s College (Oxford) Emeritus Fellow in History.

Alberta’s Hotel near U.S. Highway Route 66 in Springfield offered Black travelers a reliable and welcoming place to stay during the Jim Crow era. Run by Alberta Northcutt Ellis and her family, the hotel provided comfort, home-cooked meals, and a sense of ease at a time when many African Americans had to plan every stop with care. Drawing on photographs, oral histories, family recollections, and entries from The Negro Motorist Green Book, this paper traces how Alberta transformed a former city hospital into a trusted stop along one of America’s most well-known highways.

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.

On Stony Dell’s opening day, the Rolla Herald reported that the pool in Arlington, Mo., attracted over 1,000 visitors; it quickly became a popular entertainment spot for locals, travelers along Route 66, construction workers, and military personnel at nearby Fort Leonard Wood during the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. the amenities at the Stony Dell complex included a spring-fed swimming pool with a slide and diving board, a stone bathhouse, a restaurant, rustic cabins, a souvenir shop, a filling station, and a park with a picnic area.

Route 66 caught international attention in 1928 with its first major promotional event. Famously known as the Bunion Derby, this foot race across the United States drew athletes from around the world and captivated newspaper and radio audiences for months. Racers endured harsh weather, injuries, hardships, and fatigue in a bid to come out on top and make it home with some prize money. The Bunion Derby only occurred twice at the very beginning of the Mother Road, but it helped launch its notoriety across the nation and the world.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, St. Louis renowned photographer and author Quinta Scott traveled extensively along Route 66 capturing this iconic road and the people and places associated with it. Join AJ Medlock, coordinator of the St. Louis Research Center, as he recounts Quinta Scott’s (1941-2024) groundbreaking research on Route 66. Scott was one of the first historians to chronicle Route 66’s history. Her books Route 66 (1988) and Along Route 66 (2000) provided the foundations for the study and preservation of the Mother Road. The Quinta Scott Papers are held at the SHSMO St.

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.

Do you love a good ghost story? Join SHSMO archivist Hali Allen as we take a spooky ride along Missouri’s Haunted Route 66, exploring haunted mansions, castles, roads, theatres, and other paranormal activities.  For more than a cetury, the area surrounding the Mother Road has produced tales of ghosts, zombies, spook lights and other unexplained phenomenon. Allen will share stories about the spirits at St. Louis's Lemp Mansion, the infamous Zombie Road, the Goat Man in Rolla, and the Ozark Spook Light outside of Joplin. Register and attend this webinar…if you dare.

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.