The William Porth House was built of a local limestone called "cotton rock" sometime in the mid to late 1820s. The house is named after a man who moved to town in 1842 and became a judge. Upon his death in 1888, his son, Dr. Joseph P. Porth inherited the house and resided here with his family. Dr. Porth ran his medical practice from the walkout basement; Joseph was elected Mayor of Jefferson City in 1903 and was president of the Cole County Medical Association. The house passed out of the family's hands in 1923 and became a restaurant for decades. The building now house the corporate offices of the Architects Alliance.
The Missouri State Archives are located two blocks west of the State Capitol Building on West Main Street. The Archives are situated within the James C. Kirkpatrick State Information Center, across the street from the historic William Porth House (also a Clio entry). The Archives houses over 336 million pages of paper, so you're sure to find something of interest! Thousands of historical maps, census records, county records, photographs, and military records of Missourians are housed here. The Archives are open for in-person research and offer tours for schoolchildren with advance notice.There are lots of resources available through their digital collection online, too.
Built from 1913 to 1917, the Missouri State Capitol is located Jefferson City and is the seat of the state government. It is the state's third capitol building. Like other state capitol buildings, it was designed in the Classical Revival style. Its most prominent feature, the dome, rises 262 feet from the basement floor. The building houses the Missouri State History Museum, which is operated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The capitol was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
The Missouri State Museum is located in the Missouri State Capitol. There are two galleries on the main floor that provide exhibits portraying the state's natural and cultural history. Museum staff provide tours of the Capitol and also manage Jefferson Landing State Historic Site, including the Elizabeth Rozier Gallery. The museum is operated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources/Missouri State Parks.
Missouri women quickly organized to advocate for suffrage, utilizing their networks from previous reform and war aid work. The Woman Suffrage Association of Missouri formed in 1867, one of the earliest such organizations in the United States. Missouri women asked the state legislature for a suffrage amendment eighteen times between 1867 and 1901 with no success. In 1868 the 14th Amendment was ratified to the Constitution and Missouri suffrage leaders argued that the 14th Amendment protected a women’s right to the vote. Virginia Minor and her husband Frank advocated for a strategy where women showed up to polling places and asked to register for the vote. After Virginia Minor was turned away from the St. Louis County Courthouse in 1872, the Minors sued the city registrar, Reese Happersett, in a case that advanced to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the case Minor v. Happersett (1874) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution did not grant suffrage to anyone and reaffirmed that it was the power of the states to decide who could vote. In the 1910s Missouri women continued to push for suffrage and in March 1919 the state passed legislation allowing women to vote only in presidential elections. A few months later Missouri was the 11th state to ratify the 19th Amendment on July 3, 1919.
Located just down the street from the state capitol building, this monument commemorates the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which passed what is now Jefferson City on June 4, 1804. It consists of five bronze statues depicting expedition leaders Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Lewis' Newfoundland dog Seaman, Clark's African-American slave York, and George Drouillard, who was an interpreter, hunter and trapper. The monument is part of a plaza featuring interpretive panels describing the expedition and the Jefferson City Greenway, which is a multi-use trail that runs throughout the city.
The Jefferson Landing Historic Site is an historic area located in Jefferson City, Missouri, situated just east of the state capitol building. It is comprised of two historic structures: the Lohman Building, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and the Union Hotel. The Lohman Building has been restored as an 1850s general store and warehouse. A film about the history of Jefferson City is also shown there. The Union Hotel houses the Elizabeth Rozier Gallery, which presents rotating exhibits about Missouri history, art and culture. Admission to the site and both buildings is free.
Built in 1871, the Missouri Governor's Mansion is located near the state capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri. The first governor to take up residence there was Benjamin Gratz Brown (in office from January 1871-January 1873). It was designed by English native George Ingham Barnett in the Second Empire style, which was popular at the time. The style is distinguished by the use of a steep roof, which allows for another living space on the top floor. The home was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
The Cole County Historical Society is a local, non-profit organization in Jefferson City, Missouri dedicated towards educating the public about the county's history through the collection and preservation of historical artifacts and other materials. The society operates a museum, housed in the Benjamin Gratz Brown House. Docents provide tours from Tuesday to Saturday, 1 to 3 pm. Admission charges are $3 pre person, with discounts for age 55+ and schoolchildren. Ages five and under, as well as Historical society members, get admitted at no cost. Brown was elected the twentieth Governor of Missouri in 1870. He had these triple rowhouses constructed around 1871 on his wife's family's lot. One was used for housing while a new Governor's Mansion was being built, and then as a home for his mother-in-law and sister-in-law. The Benjamin Gratz Brown House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
This historical marker commemorates the life and accomplishments of engineer and radio pioneer Wilis Porter. In a shack at this location on the night of January 27, 1917, eighteen-year-old and amateur radio operator Willis Porter Corwin received and transmitted three Morse code messages from Denver and sent them to Albany, New York. On that day, he was part of an amateur radio team that sent the messages from Los Angeles, California to Hartford, Connecticut. This relay was the first successful one-way transcontinental radio transmission in U.S. history. Corwin participated in another experiment two weeks later in which a message was successfully sent in both directions in a span of eighty minutes. After serving in World War I, Corwin built the city's first commercial AM radio station.
Constructed in 1883, Temple Beth El is the oldest synagogue still used west of the Mississippi River and the 14th oldest in the country. It is a simple one-story structure located in the heart of downtown Jefferson City. It is a Reform congregation and as such belongs to the Union of Reform Judaism. According to official records, Jews had been living in the city since at least 1865. In 1879, a few of the men formed the Jefferson City Hebrew Cemetery Association to create a place for burial and also established the congregation that year. In 1882, some women of the Hebrew Ladies Sewing Society donated money to buy a plot of land with the purpose of building the temple. These women are honored in a plaque that is on display in the temple.
The Cole County Courthouse in Jefferson City was built in the Romanesque Revival style, a popular form for Missouri courthouse buildings in the late nineteenth century. The structure was built as the third courthouse for the county, and the second in Jefferson City, after the county seat was moved here from Marion in the 1830s. The massive stone courthouse with a county jail was completed in 1897. The building was gutted by a fire in March 1918 that started in the central clock tower; the corner pavilions collapsed due to the damage. The first floor and basement remained intact, but new stone was required to rebuild the second story and higher. Rebuilding began in October 1918 by Louis Schell. Don't miss the bicentennial events the county has planned for 2020 - see below for info on whiskey and beer being made just for the occasion.
Now home to the Cole County Assessor, the former Carnegie Library remains a landmark structure in Jefferson City. The library was built in 1902 and like 2508 other libraries across the United States, it was named in honor of Andrew Carnegie as his matching grant supplied half of the funds needed to construct the building. Over the next seven decades, the building not only served as a library but also as an entertainment and civic venue. The reading room and books were located on the first floor (the children's section was in the basement) and an auditorium was located on the second. A fine example of Classical architecture, the library was designed by local architecture firm Miller & Opel.
Ivy Terrace is a Queen Anne style historic home built in 1893, that was the home of Governor Lawrence V. ("Lon") Stevens. Stevens was the State Treasurer when he had the house constructed. The huge Victorian home has about six bedrooms and seven baths and offers nearly 6,000 square feet of living space. As part of its mission to fight blight in urban Jefferson City, Ivy Terrace and five other nearby historic homes nearby (dating from 1875 to 1920) were acquired in 2019 by the Jefferson City Housing Authority and offered for redevelopment. The house was slightly damaged in a tornado that struck the town recently. Dozens of potential buyers viewed the Ivy Terrace home during open houses, and a redevelopment plan was accepted in February 2020, with details to be announced.
The James A. Houchins House is a Jefferson City Landmark. Houchin dominated Missouri's burgeoning saddle horse breeding industry during the first two decades of the twentieth century. Just as wealthy industrialists routinely own expensive cars today, industrialists like Houchin invested and showcased their horse collections prior to the late 1910s. James also made money in other business ventures and proved politically influential in the Democratic Party. The Houchin family's house, and the lavish parties they hosted, speak to the family's prominence during the pre-automobile era.
The Missouri State Penitentiary is a former prison located in Jefferson City. It was in operation from 1836-2004 and as such was the oldest prison still in use in the state until it closed. Over time, buildings were added to the 47 acre site; the Warden's House, built in 1868, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The prison housed several high profile inmates such as James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King in 1968. At its peak, the prison housed 5,200 inmates. It is open for tours and operates a museum located the corner of High and Jefferson streets.
One of the city's leading figures of the early 20th century, Lester S. Parker, and his wife, Missouri "Zue" Parker, bought this elegant historic home in 1905 upon its completion. Parker was a successful businessman and is known for establishing the L.S. Parker Shoe Company. He also served as the state's first superintendent of industries at the state penitentiary across the street, and was a member of the Capitol Decoration Commission in the 1920s, which was tasked with collecting artwork for the capitol building. The house is also a fine example of Classical Revival architecture. It features a full-height porch with Ionic columns and a pediment, a balconet, a fanlight and tracery surrounding main entrance, and arched window openings with keystones and circular panels. It appears to be be an apartment building today. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
The red brick building on the corner of E. High and Lafayette was built sometime between 1892 and 1898. An example of the two-part commercial block, the structure features two commercial spaces on the ground floor and two residential units on the second story. A drugstore named East End Drugs has been in business in this building since 1904. The front façade makes it appear that both commercial spaces are one. The roof line is distinctive, with a parapet on the front façade having a rectangular section rising from the center and gabled peaks on the outer corners. The building features a corner entrance facing the street corner. The storefront was modernized in the 1950s with plate glass windows, light green Vitrolite facing, and aluminum. The original soda fountain still operates in what is now known as Whaley's East End Drugs.
The John B. and Elizabeth Ruthven House, erected in 1878-1879, is an example of German Vernacular design and indicative of the strong influence on local architecture by the abundance of German immigrants who came to Missouri during the late nineteenth century. John B. Ruthven and his son John W. worked as masons for the local prison, and they also became involved in banking and real estate, including developing the Ruthven Subdivision adjacent to the historic home.
Built in 1915, the H. E. Gensky Grocery Store Building exemplifies an early twentieth-century family-owned neighborhood grocery store will living quarters above the store for the family-operated business. The Gensky family, immigrants from Germany, owned and operated the store from 1915 to 1942. From 1942 to 1966, the grocery section on the lower level functioned first as Glover's market and then as the Cherry Street Market. During that period, in 1950, the Capitol City Lodge No. 9 F. & A. M. purchased the property; they remain the property's owner today. After buying the property, they converted upstairs into a Masonic lodge, serving the Prince Hall affiliation. Although the club exists as a predominantly African American organization, it welcomes all races.
Jefferson City National Cemetery was established in 1867 and contains the remains of veterans from every branch of the U.S. military. The earliest burials date to the Civil War. The cemetery is two-acres in size and features a monument to the 39th Missouri Mounted Regiment of Centralia, MO, which honors the Union soldiers killed at the Battle of Centralia on September 27, 1864. The cemetery is also notable for the lodge and utility building, which was erected in 1870 and is a good example of the Second Empire style. The Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis County operates the cemetery, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
This historic Jefferson City building was constructed in 1895 and originally served as a dry goods store. Eleven years later, the Kaullen family, who lived adjacent to the building, took over the store and turned it into the most prosperous business in the area until it closed in 1942. The building was home to a marine supply store until 1977 before ownership changed hands many times. During the late twentieth century, the building largely stood vacant. Today, a steakhouse and seafood restaurant occupies the historic building. In addition to its significance as an influential retailer, the architectural design resembles many brick, L-shaped buildings built by German immigrants along the Missouri River during the late nineteenth century.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
Get a QR Code for this tour
This tour starts at a historic home and the Missouri State Archives and includes numerous landmarks including monuments and historic houses, the State Capitol, several museums, a temple, a courthouse and the state penitentiary. Stop for a milkshake at an old-time soda fountain in a drugstore, see two historic cemeteries, and enjoy the walk which was designed to follow the Missouri River.
