Latest News & Announcements

The State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO) Executive Director Gary Kremer will retire from his position in October 2025 after more than 21 years with the Society and more than 50 years as a highly regarded leader, educator, and advocate for preserving, publishing and sharing the state’s history. Kremer announced his retirement plans at the recent annual meeting of the State Historical Society of Missouri. During his tenure, Kremer led the organization through tremendous growth in services and facilities to benefit Missourians across the state.

The State Historical Society of Missouri invites the public to view a new exhibit, Wild Missouri – the ART of Conservation, open now through March 29, 2025, at the SHSMO Art Gallery located in the Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm St., Columbia. A public reception featuring the exhibit’s curator Joan Stack and photographer Noppadol Paothong will be held Saturday, October 26 from 1:30-3 p.m.

Jefferson City native Dr. Greg Markway is a descendant of a child who rode on the orphan train from New York to Missouri. He has done extensive research tracing his grandfather's journey to Missouri and will be sharing some of his finding at the next History on Elm program, Oct. 8, noon, at the State Historical Society of Missouri Center for Missouri Studies. 

Missouri History Day, administered by the State Historical Society of Missouri as part of the National History Day contest, recently received a major grant of $15,000 from Missouri Humanities for the 2024-2025 contest year. Missouri Humanities is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant funding will be used for student and teacher workshops, contest venue costs, and to help offset the costs for program supplies and promotional giveaways at outreach events statewide. 

Explore the new Historic “Mizzourians” biographies, now available on SHSMO's website . These new biographies are made possible through a generous donation from Carolyn P. and Robin R. Wenneker, whose financial support allows the State Historical Society of Missouri to expand the “Historic Mizzourians” initiative, highlighting prominent Missourians whose lives have intersected with the University of Missouri in meaningful ways.

To celebrate the grand opening of the exhibition Daily Disney: Walt Disney Cartoons in the Funny Pages, SHSMO is hosting a week of Disney talks and a Drawing Disney day the first week of October at the Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm Street in Columbia. 

The call for proposals for the 2025 Center for Missouri Studies fellowships has been extended through October 8, 2024. Applications may be sent to The State Historical Society of Missouri, 605 Elm Street, Columbia, MO 65201 or contact@shsmo.org; or an online application may be completed at https://shsmo.org/awards/center-fellowship. Each fellowship carries a stipend of $5,000 for a project that results in the completion of an 8,000 to 10,000-word scholarly essay on one of the two topics listed below.

The State Historical Society of Missouri is seeking proposals of up to $500, each, to help Missouri cultural heritage institutions preserve and provide access to local history. The deadline for organizations to submit their application is September 15, 2024. The one-year grant period begins November 2024. The Richard S.

A public open house and reception will be held Aug. 27, 4-6 p.m., to officially welcome a larger new space for the State Historical Society of Missouri’s Cape Girardeau Research Center in Kent Library, 1 University Place, on the Southeast Missouri State University campus.