Ste. Genevieve was the first permanent European settlement in Missouri. Settled around 1750 by French colonists, several of its early buildings constructed with vertical posts still exist today, as does this first brick house west of the Mississippi River, built around 1785.

Courtesy of University of Missouri-St. Louis Mercantile Library, St. Louis Globe-Democrat Photograph Collection. View this photograph collection online.

Established in 1764 as a trading post, by 1820 St. Louis was still a fortified frontier city. This map outlines fortifications built over a period of time beginning in 1780 during Spanish control. These included bastions built at angles to walls to allow defensive fire in multiple directions.

Courtesy of St. Louis Public Library, Papers of Dr. Lewis C. Beck.

The Wendell O. Pruitt Homes and William Igoe Apartments, better known as Pruitt-Igoe, was an urban housing project in downtown St. Louis. Residents claimed poor maintenance by housing authorities was responsible for the buildings' decline, while housing authorities blamed lack of funding. The 33-building complex was demolished in 1976.

Courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri George McCue Photograph Collection, S0718_7062.

Joseph Robidoux filed the plat for St. Joseph in 1843, near where he had been trading for nearly two decades. Robidoux Row was the last remaining apartment building constructed by Robidoux, dating to the 1850s. These were temporary housing for new residents while their homes were being built or as stopovers for travelers on their way west.

Courtesy of St. Joseph Historical Society and Robidoux Row Museum.

Kansas City's history, like that of St. Louis, is tied to the fur trade. Early in Missouri's history, a member of the St. Louis Chouteau family settled at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers. Eventually the settlement outstripped nearby Westport as the entry point to the west. It was reincorporated in 1853 as the City of Kansas. This map of the city is dated c1881.

Courtesy of University of Missouri-St. Louis Mercantile Library, History of Kansas City, Together with a Sketch of the Commercial Resources of the Country with Which It Is Surrounded by W.H. Miller, p. vii. View this book online.

The first white settlers arrived around 1830 at what is now Springfield. Dr. John Polk Campbell donated land in 1833 for a town, and Springfield incorporated in 1838. This invoice is dated over a year before the incorporation. It details medical services rendered to James A. McCarrol by Doctors Cornelius D. Terrell and Polk [Campbell].

Courtesy of Greene County Archives and Records Center.

With two major waterways (the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers), Missourians were able to travel and conduct business easier than ever before with the advent of steamboats. This mode of transport was not perfect, though, and several accidents were documented in local- and state-level lawsuits. These images are the first three pages of a Missouri Supreme Court case file wherein the plaintiff is suing an insurance company for nonpayment after his steamboat "Winona" sank in the Missouri River on October 27, 1854.

Source: RG600 Missouri Supreme Court B. 399 F. 7. View the whole case file online.

With two major waterways (the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers), Missourians were able to travel and conduct business easier than ever before with the advent of steamboats. This mode of transport was not perfect, though, and several accidents were documented in local- and state-level lawsuits. These images are the first three pages of a Missouri Supreme Court case file wherein the plaintiff is suing an insurance company for nonpayment after his steamboat "Winona" sank in the Missouri River on October 27, 1854.

Source: RG600 Missouri Supreme Court B. 399 F. 7. View the whole case file online.

With two major waterways (the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers), Missourians were able to travel and conduct business easier than ever before with the advent of steamboats. This mode of transport was not perfect, though, and several accidents were documented in local- and state-level lawsuits. These images are the first three pages of a Missouri Supreme Court case file wherein the plaintiff is suing an insurance company for nonpayment after his steamboat "Winona" sank in the Missouri River on October 27, 1854.

Source: RG600 Missouri Supreme Court B. 399 F. 7. View the whole case file online.

Largely a thing of the past, covered bridges once dotted Missouri roadways. The iconic Burfordville covered bridge has been in continuous service since 1867. This bridge is situated next to the Bollinger Mill and Dam.

Source: RG998 MS192 Gerald Massie Photograph Collection, #054_080. View this photograph collection online.

The first Pony Express ride, begun April 3, 1860, took 10 days. Traveling 2,000 miles from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA, riders crossed desert, mountains, and Native American territory faster than any competitor. It provided a crucial link at a time when no rail or telegraph lines went that far west. This statue commemorates the Pony Express's starting point in St. Joseph, MO.

Source: RG005 Secretary of State Publications Non-Portrait Collection, #78_20_092. View this photograph collection online.

The trail from Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico had a few starting points early on, but soon it became clear that Independence, Missouri in Jackson County was the main hub for departure. This image shows a Conestoga wagon being led by a team of four horses. The team was photographed in 1950 to represent early Santa Fe Trail travelers.

Source: RG998 MS192 Gerald Massie Photograph Collection, #046_064. View this photograph collection online.

The Butterfield Overland Mail line carried mail and passengers between 1858-1861 from Memphis and St. Louis to San Francisco. In March 1861, William W. McKay paid $6.50 fare to travel from Smith City to Bolivar. Near Warsaw, the coach overturned, leading him to sue for $2,500 in damages. Two years later, the case received a change of venue to Greene County. Two years after that, in July 1865, the case was dismissed. This is the original 1861 petition.

Courtesy of Polk County Circuit Court. Read the full Polk County case file on Missouri Digital Heritage.

The Butterfield Overland Mail line carried mail and passengers between 1858-1861 from Memphis and St. Louis to San Francisco. In March 1861, William W. McKay paid $6.50 fare to travel from Smith City to Bolivar. Near Warsaw, the coach overturned, leading him to sue for $2,500 in damages. Two years later, the case received a change of venue to Greene County. Two years after that, in July 1865, the case was dismissed. This is the original 1861 petition.

Courtesy of Polk County Circuit Court. Read the full Polk County case file on Missouri Digital Heritage.

The Butterfield Overland Mail line carried mail and passengers between 1858-1861 from Memphis and St. Louis to San Francisco. In March 1861, William W. McKay paid $6.50 fare to travel from Smith City to Bolivar. Near Warsaw, the coach overturned, leading him to sue for $2,500 in damages. Two years later, the case received a change of venue to Greene County. Two years after that, in July 1865, the case was dismissed. This is the original 1861 petition.

Courtesy of Polk County Circuit Court. Read the full Polk County case file on Missouri Digital Heritage.

The Butterfield Overland Mail line carried mail and passengers between 1858-1861 from Memphis and St. Louis to San Francisco. In March 1861, William W. McKay paid $6.50 fare to travel from Smith City to Bolivar. Near Warsaw, the coach overturned, leading him to sue for $2,500 in damages. Two years later, the case received a change of venue to Greene County. Two years after that, in July 1865, the case was dismissed. This is the original 1861 petition.

Courtesy of Polk County Circuit Court. Read the full Polk County case file on Missouri Digital Heritage.

Ferries provided valuable access when low-water fords or bridges did not. One of the earliest types was a cable ferry that crossed rivers by an overhead cable strung between both riverbanks. This picture shows the hand-operated winch used to move the ferry.

Source: RG998 MS330 Charles Elliott Gill Photograph Collection, #830. View this photograph collection online.

Horse-powered ferries had more power than cable ferries. The Tilda Clara ferry operated on the Missouri River at New Haven, Franklin County, powered by four horses divided into two teams. Each pair operated a wooden treadmill connected to a paddle wheel, powering the large ferry across the river.

Source: RG005 Secretary of State Publications Vanishing Missouri Collection, #5-949.

In 1859, the Hannibal and St. Joseph rail line, the first to traverse the state, was completed. Post-war reconstruction drove the rapid growth of railroads and soon there were dozens of railroad companies in operation in Missouri. This map is dated 1888 and shows the railroad lines at the time.

Source: MSA Map Collection.

The first horse-drawn streetcars appeared after the Civil War. Later they gave way to electric cars that ran on tracks, connected to overhead electric lines. Shown: the Kansas City, Clay County and Saint Joseph Railway Excelsior Springs car.

Courtesy of Kansas City Public Library Missouri Valley Special Collections, General Collection #10007363.

The earliest Missouri road-building efforts amounted to nothing more than clearing trees and brush from travel routes. State statutes from the 1830s specified the width of roads and that no stump left in the road should be higher than eight inches. Pictured here is page 1 of 11 of the 1843 state road map from Hermann in Gasconade County to Lick Settlement in Shannon County. Most maps like these consisted of text and drawings.

Source: RG005 Secretary of State Early State Road Maps Collection B. 25.

The Federal Aid Road Act was introduced by Missouri Representative Dorsey W. Shackleford and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. The federal government gave states matching funds to build modern roads. Missouri's drivers soon found out that even good roads couldn't stop accidents from happening.

Courtesy of Missouri State University Domino Danzero Photograph Collection.

The first airports in Missouri started showing up as soon as there were airplanes. Travel by air is now an accepted standard. Pictured here is Lambert Airfield in the 1950s, back when travelers dressed up to fly.

Source: RG104 Department of Economic Development Commerce and Industrial Development Division #CID_017_052. Photo by Gerald Massie.

Famous U.S. Route 66 highway runs from Illinois to California and makes its way through several sites in Missouri. The route was advertised in many tourist brochures and vacationers from across the country would "get their kicks" at stops along the way. This film is of the Missouri Department of Transportation building sections of Route 66 in Arlington Hill and Strafford, MO.

Source: RG107 Department of Tranportation Film Collection

Fur trade proved to be one of the most profitable undertakings for the territorial entrepreneur. The abundance of animal pelts encouraged a number of colorful characters to move up and down the Mississippi Valley region, playing a key role in the settlement and development of the Upper Louisiana area. St. Louis dominated the Upper Louisiana fur trade; several successful companies, including the famous Missouri Fur Company of Manuel Lisa and partners, were in business there. This series of images is a sample case file, Henly Donnolson vs. St. Louis Missouri Fur Company, dated 1810.

Source: St. Louis Circuit Court, RG794, Case File Number 48, Box 15, F. 3 Linking case file images to Missouri Judicial Records Database is an ongoing project.

Fur trade proved to be one of the most profitable undertakings for the territorial entrepreneur. The abundance of animal pelts encouraged a number of colorful characters to move up and down the Mississippi Valley region, playing a key role in the settlement and development of the Upper Louisiana area. St. Louis dominated the Upper Louisiana fur trade; several successful companies, including the famous Missouri Fur Company of Manuel Lisa and partners, were in business there. This series of images is a sample case file, Henly Donnolson vs. St. Louis Missouri Fur Company, dated 1810.

Source: St. Louis Circuit Court, RG 794, Case Number 48, Box 15, F. 3. Linking case file images to Missouri Judicial Records Database is an ongoing project.

Fur trade proved to be one of the most profitable undertakings for the territorial entrepreneur. The abundance of animal pelts encouraged a number of colorful characters to move up and down the Mississippi Valley region, playing a key role in the settlement and development of the Upper Louisiana area. St. Louis dominated the Upper Louisiana fur trade; several successful companies, including the famous Missouri Fur Company of Manuel Lisa and partners, were in business there. This series of images is a sample case file, Henly Donnolson vs. St. Louis Missouri Fur Company, dated 1810.

Source: St. Louis Circuit Court, RG 794, Case File Number 48, Box 15, F. 3. Linking case file images to Missouri Judicial Records Database is an ongoing project.

Fur trade proved to be one of the most profitable undertakings for the territorial entrepreneur. The abundance of animal pelts encouraged a number of colorful characters to move up and down the Mississippi Valley region, playing a key role in the settlement and development of the Upper Louisiana area. St. Louis dominated the Upper Louisiana fur trade; several successful companies, including the famous Missouri Fur Company of Manuel Lisa and partners, were in business there. This series of images is a sample case file, Henly Donnolson vs. St. Louis Missouri Fur Company, dated 1810.

Source: St. Louis Circuit Court, RG794, Case File Number 48, Box 15, F. 3. Linking case file images 

to Missouri Judicial Records Database is an ongoing project.

Fur trade proved to be one of the most profitable undertakings for the territorial entrepreneur. The abundance of animal pelts encouraged a number of colorful characters to move up and down the Mississippi Valley region, playing a key role in the settlement and development of the Upper Louisiana area. St. Louis dominated the Upper Louisiana fur trade; several successful companies, including the famous Missouri Fur Company of Manuel Lisa and partners, were in business there. This series of images is a sample case file, Henly Donnolson vs. St. Louis Missouri Fur Company, dated 1810.

Source: St. Louis Circuit Court, RG794, Case File Number 48, Box 15, F. 3. Linking case file images

to Missouri Judicial Records Database is an ongoing project. 

Henry Tibbe, a Dutch immigrant who settled in Washington, Missouri, began making corncob pipes in 1869. In 1878 he patented his "Missouri Meerschaum." The company continues to produce corncob pipes in Washington, which has become known as the "The Corncob Pipe Capital of the World." Included among their customers was General Douglas MacArthur.

Courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri, #C3711 Tibbe-Cuthbertson Family Papers.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, St. Louis was one of the nation's largest manufacturing cities because of its pool of immigrant labor. Shoe manufacturers such as Tennent-Stribling, Claflin Allen, Brown Desnoyer, Peter's, and Friedman-Shelby rose to prominence in St. Louis. By one account, St. Louis went from having no shoe factories in 1869 to wholesale sales exceeding $1 million in 1874. St. Louis companies supplied most Missouri merchants, but sometimes had to take legal action to recover their debt. These images are a sample from a case file of Brown Shoe Co. vs. James B. Sally, 1898.

Courtesy of Phelps County Circuit Court, MSA microfilm. Read more about the history of St. Louis shoe companies.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, St. Louis was one of the nation's largest manufacturing cities because of its pool of immigrant labor. Shoe manufacturers such as Tennent-Stribling, Claflin Allen, Brown Desnoyer, Peter's, and Friedman-Shelby rose to prominence in St. Louis. By one account, St. Louis went from having no shoe factories in 1869 to wholesale sales exceeding $1 million in 1874. St. Louis companies supplied most Missouri merchants, but sometimes had to take legal action to recover their debt. These images are a sample from a case file of Brown Shoe Co. vs. James B. Sally, 1898.

Read more about the history of St. Louis shoe companies.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, St. Louis was one of the nation's largest manufacturing cities because of its pool of immigrant labor. Shoe manufacturers such as Tennent-Stribling, Claflin Allen, Brown Desnoyer, Peter's, and Friedman-Shelby rose to prominence in St. Louis. By one account, St. Louis went from having no shoe factories in 1869 to wholesale sales exceeding $1 million in 1874. St. Louis companies supplied most Missouri merchants, but sometimes had to take legal action to recover their debt. These images are a sample from a case file of Brown Shoe Co. vs. James B. Sally, 1898.

Read more about the history of St. Louis shoe companies.

German immigrants brought the art of brewing to St. Louis. Everhard Anheuser entered the brewing business in the 1850s and was later joined by his son-in-law Adolphus Busch. One of Anheuser-Busch's products is Michelob Beer. Here, the company applies for a trademark in 1917.

Source: RG005 Secretary of State Commissions Trademarks B. 36 F. 3073.

German immigrants brought the art of brewing to St. Louis. Everhard Anheuser entered the brewing business in the 1850s and was later joined by his son-in-law Adolphus Busch. One of Anheuser-Busch's products is Michelob Beer. Here, the company applies for a trademark in 1917.

Source: RG005 Secretary of State Commissions Trademarks B. 36 F. 3073.

German immigrants brought the art of brewing to St. Louis. Everhard Anheuser entered the brewing business in the 1850s and was later joined by his son-in-law Adolphus Busch. One of Anheuser-Busch's products is Michelob Beer. Here, the company applies for a trademark in 1917.

Source: RG005 Secretary of State Commissions Trademarks B. 36 F. 3073.

Cherry Mash Candy, a concoction of cherries, peanuts, and chocolate, has been manufactured continuously in St. Joseph since 1918. The company itself has origins in St. Joseph as early as 1876. It evolved over time to become Chase Candy Company and in fact still operates under that name. This 1911 document re-incorporates the business under the name G. W. Chase & Son Mercantile Company.

Source: RG005 Secretary of State Commissions. Search businesses' articles of incorporation online.

Cherry Mash Candy, a concoction of cherries, peanuts, and chocolate, has been manufactured continuously in St. Joseph since 1918. The company itself has origins in St. Joseph as early as 1876. It evolved over time to become Chase Candy Company and in fact still operates under that name. This 1911 document re-incorporates the business under the name G. W. Chase & Son Mercantile Company.

Source: RG005 Secretary of State Commissions. Search businesses' articles of incorporation online.

Livingston County, Missouri counts itself as the home of sliced bread. In 1932, jeweler Otto Rohwedder patented a machine that not only sliced loaves of bread, but also wrapped them. The Chillicothe Baking Company sold the resulting product under the name Kleen Maid Sliced Bread.

Courtesy of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. View Rohwedder's whole patent application online.

Carthage Marble is not actually marble, but a finely-grained limestone quarried near Carthage, Missouri. It has been used for both building interiors and exteriors throughout the U.S., including the Broadway State Office Building (pictured) and State Capitol Building in Jefferson City.

Source: RG998 MS360 Dr. Arnold G. Parks Postcard Collection #116. View this postcard collection online.

Grandin, Missouri was built as a company town and lumber production began there in 1888. Operating in Butler, Carter, Reynolds, Ripley and Wayne Counties, Grandin's Missouri Lumber and Mining Company became one of the largest lumber producers in the U.S. By 1910, however, the forests around Grandin were depleted and its mills were moved elsewhere.

Source: RG998 MS265 Katy Duckett Photograph Collection B. 69 F. 7D.

Rawlings began in St. Louis in 1887 by selling a wide variety of sporting goods. It designed the first modern baseball glove in 1919. Today the company is headquartered in Town and Country, St. Louis County. Pictured here is George Sisler's 1920 leather Rawlings mitt.

Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, #002.00.00.

Rawlings began in St. Louis in 1887 by selling a wide variety of sporting goods. It designed the first modern baseball glove in 1919. Today the company is headquartered in Town and Country, St. Louis County. Pictured here is George Sisler's 1920 leather Rawlings mitt.

Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, #002.00.00.