State Historical Society of Missouri

Founded in May 1898 by the Missouri Press Association and established as a trustee of the state a year later, the State Historical Society of Missouri is the premier research center for the study of Missouri state and local history. Guided by its bylaws, the Society collects, preserves, and publishes materials that enhance research and support learning opportunities in the study of the Midwest.

The Center for Missouri Studies in Columbia also houses the nation’s best collection of Missouri regional and westward expansion art. The Center serves as the administrative headquarters for the Society and has flexible public spaces available for hosting a wide range of events. The State Historical Society of Missouri collects stories from the past and the present to ensure Missouri’s history is preserved and shared. Holdings currently boast: unique manuscript collections, an extensive newspaper collection dating from 1808 with newspapers from all 114 Missouri counties and the city of St. Louis, thousands of editorial cartoons that are national in scope, rare and specialized books, thousands of maps and photographic images, oral histories, an extensive art collection that includes major works by George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton.

Located within the Center for Missouri Studies, the Columbia Research Center connects students, researchers, patrons, and genealogists with the collections that the State Historical Society of Missouri holds on their behalf.