Upcoming Events

In 1897, the all-Black 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps embarked on an epic ride of more than 1,900 miles from Fort Missoula, Montana, to St. Louis, Missouri, as part of a U.S. Army experiment to determine the effectiveness of moving troops by bicycle. Dubbed “The Great Experiment” by national newspapers, the journey took 41 days to complete, following a route that closely mirrored the Northern Pacific and Burlington railroads through Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska and Missouri. Nicknamed the “Iron Riders” due to the heavy one-speed bicycles they pedaled, the soldiers faced grueling conditions that would challenge even the most experienced cyclists today. Join us as Missouri State Parks historian Kevin Smith recounts these hardships and how the Iron Riders ultimately reached St. Louis.

While most of Jefferson City’s history has been told from the perspective of men, author Michelle Brooks’ Interesting Women of the Capital City offers a different look, instead focusing on the women who made their own way in the city’s first two centuries. The 10 featured individuals range from Lydia Montague, who opened the community’s first school for African Americans before the end of the Civil War, to the nation’s first female news bureau chief, Jerena Giffen, who covered the 1954 Missouri State Penitentiary riot in evening-wear. Also recalled is the early suffrage work of Dolly Sheldon, the hotel operations of Emma Mathews, the civil rights leadership of Estella Diggs and more. Join us as Brooks recounts the lives of these resilient women who made the best of their circumstances and the opportunities afforded them.