Missouri State Archives

Missouri State Archives The official records repository of the state of Missouri. In addition to Facebook, connect with the Missouri State Archives on YouTube, Instagram and Flickr!
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Based in Jefferson City, the Missouri State Archives is the official repository for state records of permanent and historical value. Its mission is to foster an appreciation of Missouri history and illuminate contemporary public issues by preserving and making available the state's permanent records to its citizens and their government. Resources available at the Missouri State Archives include de

ath certificates, military service cards, naturalization records, judicial case files and more. The Missouri State Archives also operates a St. Louis branch office in the Carnahan Courthouse, which holds the St. Louis Circuit Court records, 1804-1875, and the St. Louis naturalization records, 1815-1911. Missouri State Archives-St. Louis
Carnahan Courthouse
1114 Market St., Rm. 245
St. Louis, MO 63101
Phone: (314) 588-1746
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.sos.mo.gov/archives/msastl/default

Missouri State Archives-St. Louis Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, but closed all federal and state holidays. Call ahead to ensure staff availability.

in 1880, Chester Arthur Franklin was born in Denison, Texas. Franklin is best remembered as the man behind the Kansas ...
06/07/2026

in 1880, Chester Arthur Franklin was born in Denison, Texas. Franklin is best remembered as the man behind the Kansas City Call (simply known as “The Call”), a historic Black newspaper.

Chester Arthur Franklin was the only child of Clara Belle and George F. Franklin. The Franklin family relocated to Omaha, Ne., in the mid-1880s, where George Franklin began publishing the Enterprise, an African American paper. The Franklins moved again to Denver, Co., in 1898, where the elder Franklin purchased The Statesman, another Black paper, from Edwin Henry Hackley. Franklin renamed The Statesman to the Denver Star. When George Franklin died in 1901, his wife and son continued his work at the Denver Star.

Hoping to start a paper with a larger audience in the rapidly expanding town, Chester Franklin and his mother moved to Kansas City in 1913. Franklin purchased his print shop at 1408 Main St., and launched The Call in May 1919. The Call was printed weekly, and papers sold for 5 cents a copy, with Clara Belle Franklin selling papers door-to-door. Within the first 6 years, readership grew from 2,000 in 1919 to 16,737 in 1927. By 1940, The Call became one of the largest Black weeklies in the county, with 20,000 papers being sold a week.

White papers at the time disenfranchised black readers, not covering news within their communities, or reporting on Black issues with bias or sensationalism. The Call stood against this, and further connected the African American community, not just in Missouri, but the Midwest at large.

In 1925, Chester Franklin married Ada Crogman. Crogman took over the paper during Franklin’s partial retirement in 1948, and after his death in 1955. The Call remains in print today.

This National Caves and Karst Day, join us at one of Missouri’s most famous show caves, Meramec Caverns.In 1933, Lester ...
06/06/2026

This National Caves and Karst Day, join us at one of Missouri’s most famous show caves, Meramec Caverns.

In 1933, Lester (“Les”) and Mary Dill leased what was then called Saltpeter Cave, from Charley Rueppele, who had wanted to mine the cave for minerals. It was the depths of the Great Depression and the Dills were unable to pay the asking price for the land, so they settled on renting it for $750 per year for 5 years, after which they would have the option to buy it. After Rueppele died in 1934, the Dills bought the land from his estate.

The Dills quickly set to work, renaming the cave Meramec Caverns, and establishing it as a prime tourist spot. Opened on Memorial Day 1933, it was advertised as the world’s first and only drive in cave. Curious tourists from the St. Louis area ventured down on Route 66, parking their cars in and directly outside of the cave. Once parked, Dill family members and other employees wired bumper signs (the predecessor of the modern bumper sticker) to the front of visitor’s bumpers. Visitors would then drive away not only with a reminder of their visit, but with a walking advertisement for Meramec Caverns. Primed for the automotive tourist, Dill paid locals to paint barns advertising Meramec Caverns.

Meramec Caverns has many delightful features, including an underground river, towering limestone formations, and most famously, a ballroom. Just as famous are the people and events associated with it. Les Dill popularized the story that Jesse James may have hid out in the cave, and the Caverns were also featured in the 1966 episode of Lassie, “Lassie the Voyager, Part 6” and the 1973 film “Tom Sawyer,” where the Caverns represented McDougal’s cave from Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

in 1875, Charles H. Sumner High School opened in St. Louis for the public education of African-American students in th...
06/05/2026

in 1875, Charles H. Sumner High School opened in St. Louis for the public education of African-American students in the city.

Sumner was established to create education equality in the city, but the original location of the school did not speak to this mission. The school was located at Eleventh and Spruce Streets, a heavily industrialized area that also contained warehouses, brothels, as well as the city gallows and morgue. The school was relocated in the 1880s after parents complained their children’s walk to school was not safe, and argued Black students deserved a clean, quiet school, the same as white students.

Sumner was again rebuilt in 1908, and served as the only public high school for Black students in St. Louis until Vashon High School opened in 1927. The 1908 building (shown here) was designed by William B. Ittner, whose architecture speckles the City of St. Louis. For its historic significance and its notable Colonial Revival design, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

In its 151 years, Sumner has educated several famous Missourians including actor Robert Guillaume, tennis great Arthur Ashe, and rock legend Tina Turner.

Continuing our coverage with Cliff Cave County Park in St. Louis County. Though today the cave is inaccessible for hum...
06/04/2026

Continuing our coverage with Cliff Cave County Park in St. Louis County. Though today the cave is inaccessible for humans, Cliff Cave attracted visitors for millennia.

Located 15 miles south of downtown St. Louis, Cliff Cave is one of the longest cave systems in St. Louis County. While no official archeological digs or geological surveys have been completed in the cave’s history (not to our knowledge!), it has long been studied and observed by locals and travelers alike. Nearly a mile of passage has been surveyed within the cave, the result of thousands of years of sinkholes.

An 1895 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article titled “Ancient Cave Home,” focuses on Cliff Cave’s history and closes with testimony from local resident Chris Fanzberger: “Fanzberger has lived near the cave for sixty-one years, and as a boy explored it and attended picnics on the ward near the opening. Picnics and exploring parties have been the lot of the cave since Farmer Fanzberger was a boy.”

By the 1860s, the cave was being used by Cliff Cave Wine Company as cold storage for its beverages. It was the Cliff Cave Wine Company that constructed the stonework at the entrance of the cave. The company installed a door to cover the mouth of the cave and protect their product. The cave was also a stop on the Iron Mountain Railroad which still runs through the area, though it was then known as Indian Cave.

Mythos surrounds the history of the cave. It is suspected that Native Americans would have used the cave as a rest area for its spring water, or its naturally cool conditions in the summer. Similarly, early French explorers like Marquette and Joliet, may have also taken refuge in the cave. Confederate soldiers are said to have held covert meetings in the cave during the Civil War.

In 1977, the land was acquired by St Louis County, and the area was then absorbed into the St. Louis County Parks system. In 2009, a gate was installed over the entrance of the cave to deter human exploration, and to preserve native populations of the Indiana bat.

Join the Missouri State Archives for an entertaining and educational afternoon!On Saturday, June 13th, our support organ...
06/03/2026

Join the Missouri State Archives for an entertaining and educational afternoon!

On Saturday, June 13th, our support organization, The Friends of the Missouri State Archives, is hosting their Annual Meeting and Luncheon. Please note, this is a paid, ticketed event. The event will begin with a Friends board meeting to award fellowship recipients and outstanding volunteers, and finalize business for the fiscal year. Afterward, attendees will enjoy a catered lunch by Word of Mouth, followed by a special presentation.

This year’s featured speaker is Stephen L. Kling, Jr., who will present on his 2020 book, “The American Revolutionary War in the West.” Kling will detail the skirmishes of the Revolutionary War that occurred west of the Mississippi, and the various groups involved.

To attend this ticketed event, an RSVP by end of business on Tuesday, June 9th is required. A Friends of the Missouri State Archives membership guarantees one admittance to the Annual Meeting. Cash or check payments will be accepted at the door, or mailed to the Friends’ P.O. Box.

Interested in attending, but not yet a Friends member? All are welcome to place a reservation and purchase a ticket for $25.

See the attached flyer or visit https://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/about/calendar for additional information.
Reservation and questions can be addressed to [email protected]

According to the National Cave and Karst Research Institute, the first week of June is . In celebration, this week, we ...
06/02/2026

According to the National Cave and Karst Research Institute, the first week of June is . In celebration, this week, we will highlight some of our favorite Missouri caves. We begin in Crawford County at Onondaga Cave State Park.

In 1932, Onondaga Cave stood out from Missouri’s 7,500 caves by being the first to be illuminated by electric lightbulbs. While electricity was bound to make its way into the caves eventually, its arrival at Onondaga was likely expedited by the competition between promoters who sought to attract the most visitors, and therefore the most money, to their caves.

Land ownership of caves can be complicated. If a person owns a plot of land, they also hold the rights to the area under that land. Cave systems twist and turn, however, so maintaining subterranean property lines can be challenging. At Onondaga Cave, this question of ownership was at the center of a feud between Dr. William Mook and Robert and Mary Bradford.

The Bradfords owned land that covered much of the cave (though even that is a subject for debate), and Dr. Mook leased a nearby area in 1930. While Robert Bradford had opened the cave for tourism, William Mook dug his own entrance and offered tours of his own section of Onondaga. It was Mook’s section of the cave that became lit by lightbulbs in 1932. The two parties came to legal blows, as Mook accused Bradford of trespassing by operating tours that crossed over property lines. This case was argued up to the Missouri Supreme Court, which ruled in Mook’s favor. Mook, however, died before the ruling.

Ownership of Onondaga Cave changed hands in subsequent decades before the state acquired the land, and Onondaga Cave State Park was established in 1982.

📷: 1973, Commerce and Industrial Development Division Prints Collection
📷: 1992, Division of Tourism Photograph Collection

in 1950, Charles “Sonny” Liston was received at the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) on a five-year robbery sentence....
06/01/2026

in 1950, Charles “Sonny” Liston was received at the Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) on a five-year robbery sentence.

During his incarceration, Liston was encouraged by Reverand Alois Stevens to take up boxing. Several recreational sports were available to MSP inmates, including leagues for softball, football and boxing. Liston, who measured 6’1 and 199 lbs. at his penitentiary intake, excelled as an MSP boxer.

Liston was released from MSP in 1952, three years early, on recommendation from Reverand Stevens. He then began a celebrated boxing career. In 1953, the amateur Liston won the Heavyweight titles at both the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament, and the Intercity Golden Gloves Tournament in New York City. In 1962, Liston cemented his place in boxing history when he defeated Floyd Patterson to earn the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Following his win, Liston visited the penitentiary, where he was fondly received by prisoners and staff alike.

Images shared here are from the Mark Schreiber Collection. They feature Liston during and after MSP.

🚨Announcement!🚨Bring out the herald trumpets and pageantry!We are very happy to announce the addition of 24 historic fil...
05/31/2026

🚨Announcement!🚨

Bring out the herald trumpets and pageantry!

We are very happy to announce the addition of 24 historic films to the Archives YouTube channel! This round of digitization was made possible by the generosity of the Friends of the Missouri State Archives. (Thank you, Friends!) The new additions are:

• Office of the Governor (1 film)
• Office of Secretary of State Missouri State Library (1 film)
• Division of Tourism (2 films)
• Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) (20 films)

The films cover such general topics as the Floods of 1993, 1951, and 1928, road construction, tourism, and all the awesome places to see and things to do in our fair state. We also uncovered footage of famous Missourians John Goodman (see previous post) and Bob Cummings as well as non-Missourian Lowell Thomas.

Here’s some stuff we learned:

• In the 1950s, there were aquatic plants in the Fountain of the Centaurs on the Capitol grounds! (Okay, maybe this is only interesting to Jefferson City people…)
• Road striping was very different. Sometimes, there was a solid black line in the center of a two-way road. Other times, there were solid yellow lines in the MIDDLE of each lane! It took a while to shift to dashed white lines, solid white lines at the sides, and the yellow striping we’re used to today.
• OSHA was created because of the work construction workers conducted in the 1950s!
• Families have been telling their kids to behave “or else I’ll turn this car around!” since at least 1961.

Click the link below to visit our YouTube channel playlists.

https://www.youtube.com//playlists

, State v. Duncan was decided by the Missouri Supreme Court. In arguing the case, Walter Moran Farmer became the first ...
05/30/2026

, State v. Duncan was decided by the Missouri Supreme Court. In arguing the case, Walter Moran Farmer became the first Black lawyer to be heard before the Court.

Born in Brunswick, Chariton County around the early-mid 1860s (dates vary), Walter Moran Farmer grew up in the direct aftermath of the Civil War, to formerly enslaved parents Asa and Lucretia (Christie) Farmer. As a teenager, Farmer attended Lincoln Institute (now Lincoln University) in Jefferson City, where he graduated in 1883.

In 1889, Farmer became the first Black student to graduate from Washington University’s School of Law. At the ceremony, Dean William Hammond walked with Farmer where Farmer’s fellow students, all white, refused. After Farmer’s graduation, Washington University did not admit another Black student until 1947, and did not open their undergraduate programs as a whole to Black students until 1952.

After his graduation, Farmer worked as a defense attorney, and was nominated for the position of Prosecuting Attorney for the Court of Criminal Correction on the Republican ticket in 1890, but did not win.

In 1892, he worked as the defense attorney in State v. Harry Duncan, in which Harry Duncan was accused of killing Police Officer James Brady in a shootout at a saloon. After Duncan was found guilty of murder in the 1st degree and sentenced to death, Farmer appealed the case to the Missouri Supreme Court, where Farmer lost. Farmer then worked with fellow notable Black lawyer Emanuel Molyneaux (E. M.) Hewlett to appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court, where the Court dismissed Hewlett and Farmer’s motion in 1894. Farmer fought for Harry Duncan until the end, petitioning the Governor to commute Duncan’s sentence from death to life in prison. After Governor Stone declined to intervene, Duncan was executed on July 27th 1894.

In 1905, Farmer moved to Chicago, where he practiced as a lawyer for over three decades, but today, we remember him for his role as a groundbreaker in Missouri’s judicial history. ⚖

in 1839, Washington, Missouri was founded by Lucinda Owens. The original town contained twelve blocks and thirteen fra...
05/29/2026

in 1839, Washington, Missouri was founded by Lucinda Owens. The original town contained twelve blocks and thirteen fractional blocks, divided into 144 lots.

Lucinda and her husband, William G. Owens, purchased the land that would become Washington in 1829. Lucinda became the sole proprietor in 1834, after William Owens was murdered. For many years, William Owens worked as the Franklin County Circuit Court Clerk, and his shooting, while unsolved, is thought to have been in retaliation to testimony he was set to give in a forgery case. This left Lucinda in charge of his estate, as well as their children.

The Owens’s third daughter, Sarah, married businessman John F. Mense in 1838. In 1839, Mense was granted Lucinda Owens’s power of attorney, and cared for her interests in the town until her death in 1860. Lucinda is buried with her husband in Bassora Cemetery, which is now Krog Park.

📜: Plat map for Washington Missouri featuring outline of original town and subsequent addition by Lucinda Owens, 1898, State Historical Society Missouri County Platbooks Collection https://cdm16795.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/mocoplats/id/4549/rec/7

Address

600 W Main Street
Jefferson City, MO
65101

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+15737513280

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