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<p>Completed in 2021, the Bicentennial Bridge in Jefferson City commemorates Missouri's statehood founding in 1821. The 830-foot-long pedestrian bridge promotes restoring the Capitol's connection to the Missouri River, expanding tourism throughout Jefferson City, and being able to help celebrate Missouri's long history. Depicted along the bridge are famous Missourians such as Mark Twain, Maya Angelou, and Harry Truman. The bridge leads to a park along the Missouri River that includes a picnic lawn, a landing plaza and donor wall, a river viewing area, an event lawn, pavilions, and forest trails.</p>

Bicentennial Bridge

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Cultural events across Missouri took center stage in 2023 as part of the new "Horizons" initiative created by Missouri Humanities, Missouri Arts Council and Missouri Division of Tourism.

"Horizons" was designed to encourage in-state travelers and out-of-state visitors to experience culture, art, and the humanities at Missouri events, festivals, and institutions.

“Missouri is rich in history and culture,” said Ashley Beard-Fosnow, executive director of Missouri Humanities, “and we want people of all ages and interests to learn more about how people, the arts, and different traditions helped shape our state. 'Horizons' is designed to do that by encouraging people to find new experiences.”

As part of the pilot year of the program, 9 organizations were selected to participate in "Horizons" and received grants from Missouri Humanities to support public cultural events. Many of these programs featured artists who celebrate Missouri’s cultural traditions through song, artistic expression, history demonstrations and other interpretative means.

“Our goal is to generate more interest in Missouri as a hub for cultural activities and for our residents and visitors to have an increased appreciation for the arts,” said Michael Donovan, executive director of the Missouri Arts Council. “The events featured in Horizons are a source of local pride for the areas in which they’re held and our organizations want all Missourians, and visitors, to feel that sense of community.”

Follow the "Horizons 2023" Trail with stops at:
•	Carl Junction Bluegrass Festival
•	Pony Express Museum Family Festival in St. Joseph
•	Dogtown Irish Festival and Parade in St. Louis
•	Dogwood Azalea Festival in Charleston
•	Cinco De Mayo in Kansas City
•	Twain on Main in Hannibal
•	For the People Pow Wow in Jefferson City
•	Scott Joplin Festival in Sedalia
•	Old Time Music Ozark Heritage Festival in West Plains

“While these events are the stars of the show, there’s much to explore in the host communities,” said Stephen Foutes, director of Missouri Division of Tourism. “Visitors will find great local dining, art and history museums, beautiful outdoor spaces, and perhaps a renewed appreciation for all Missouri has to offer.”

Broaden your "Horizons"! To find great places to explore in Missouri, check out VisitMo.com.


<span><p>Before the construction of the transcontinental telegraph was completed in October 1861 (the transcontinental railroad was completed in May 1869), there was no such thing as a quick and easy way to get mail and news from one coast to another. Three men came up with an idea to use men on horseback to carry the mail in saddlebags to California in record time. This became known as the Pony Express. Riders rode in all weather and conditions and through dangerous territories, from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California and back. It was an efficient system but only lasted for one year upon the completion of the transcontinental telegraph line.<br></p><p>The Pony Express is a key component for connecting the east and west&nbsp;United States in the late 1800s. The founders of the Pony Express chose to set up their enterprise in St. Joseph because more people left for the west near the Missouri River. It was also the site for a terminus of both the telegraph and railroad points. Across the plains and mountains from Missouri to California, there were numerous rest spots and relay stations where some men exchanged the mail and continued forward. If it weren’t for the Pony Express men, the west would not have gotten their mail in a timely manner, and it wouldn’t have inspired the mail system that is in place today.</p><br></span>

The Pony Express was a mail relay system that started in St. Joseph, MO. and ended in Sacramento, CA. Riders would carry the mail on horseback, stopping at relay stations for meals and a change of horses. The Pony Express started in 1860 but was shut down after the completion of the transcontinental telegraph lines in 1861. The Pony Express Museum is in the original building where the riders would start their journey west. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The museum, which was founded in the 1950s, features a number of exhibits that explore the history and legacy of the Pony Express.  

Pony Express National Museum 

<div>Spanish Translation/Traducción en Español<br></div><div><br></div><div>Durante los comienzos de los años 1900 un éxodo causado por las dificultades de la revolución mexicana hizo que muchos mexicanos empezaron a irse de su país en busca de una mejor vida para ellos y su familia. Estos inmigrantes persiguieron los trabajos disponibles&nbsp; que había en el norte en áreas de agricultura de inmigrantes, ferrocarriles y el hato. Aunque muchos pararon en el Suroeste ya predominantemente mexico-americano, otros fueron más al norte y decidieron asentarse en la comunidad del Oeste de Kansas City, Missouri.</div><div><br></div><div>A su llegada, los inmigrantes mexicanos se enfrentan con otra dificultad. La discriminación. Los niños mexicanos no estaban permitidos en ciertas escuelas, mientras sus padres no estaban permitidos a comprar en ciertos lugares. Los mexicanos también fueron explotados, en el trabajo y los servicios básicos ofrecidos por hospitales del área y las agencias gubernamentales no se les concedió. Sin saber a dónde ir o cómo responder, la necesidad para servicios básicos dentro de la comunidad mexicana continuó creciendo.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Para responder a esta creciente necesidad, un club de mujeres católicas en el 1919 decidió establecer una escuela de voluntarios y una clínica para inmigrantes desprivilegiados quienes se habían asentado en el área Noroeste. Nombrando la entidad en reconocimiento a la santa patrona de México, El Centro de Guadalupe se convirtió en uno de las primeras agencias de servicios sociales para latinos y ha crecido a ser reconocida como el corazón de la comunidad latina de Kansas City.&nbsp;</div>

During the early 1900s an exodus caused by the hardships of the Mexican Revolution, many Mexican nationals began to leave their homeland in pursuit of a better life for both themselves and their families. These Mexican immigrants followed jobs to the north in areas of migrant farming, railroad, and livestock. While many stopped in the already predominant Mexican-American Southwest, others went further north and decided to settle in the Westside Community of Kansas City, Missouri.

Upon their arrival, the Mexican immigrants faced yet another hardship. Discrimination. Mexican children were not allowed into certain schools, while their parents were not allowed to shop in many places. The Mexicans were also exploited in the workplace and basic services offered by area hospitals and government agencies were not granted to them. Not knowing where to turn or how to respond, the need for basic services within the Mexican community continued to grow.

To answer this growing need, a Catholic women’s club in 1919 decided to establish a volunteer school and clinic for the underprivileged Mexican immigrants who had settled in the Westside. Naming the entity after the patron saint of Mexico, the Guadalupe Center became one of the nation’s first social service agencies for Latinos and has grown to be the heart of the Latino community within Kansas City.


Guadalupe Centers

<p>Built in 1928, the C.C. Hubbard High School (also known as Lincoln School and Lincoln-Hubbard School) educated black students in Sedalia, Missouri. Named for its first principal Christopher C. Hubbard in 1943, the school is the last remaining building in Sedalia that was built and used specifically as a segregated school for black students. Used as a regional school for black students, the Lincoln-Hubbard school bused black students from Otterville, Syracuse, Georgetown, Longwood, Tipton, and Warrensburg suggesting that those communities did not have adequate high schools for their local black students. Later closing in 1962, the Hubbard School housed the Lincoln-Hubbard Neighborhood Assistance Program which served special needs students until 1973. Today, the building was renovated as an apartment building for senior citizens.</p>

C.C. Hubbard High School

Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens (he used a number of other pen names including Sieur Louis de Conte and Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass),&nbsp;was one of America's greatest writers. He was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri to a large family; he was the sixth of seven children (he and three siblings would survive into adulthood). The Clemens moved to Hannibal when Twain was four. This move would be consequential for his development as a writer because many of his stories, most notably the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Adventures of Tom Sawyer,&nbsp;were based on his experiences living here.&nbsp;<br><br>Twain's literary career began when he became a printer's&nbsp;apprentice at the&nbsp;local Missouri Courier&nbsp;newspaper after completing fifth grade. He was tasked with placing the type for newspaper's stories, which gave him the opportunity to read them. In 1851, he started working for his brother, Orion, who had&nbsp;owned a publication called the Hannibal Journal. Twain worked as a typesetter and published articles. He also became the editor when Orion was away.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>For the next few years, after&nbsp;he turned 18, Twain&nbsp;headed to St. Louis, Philadelphia, New York City, and then Cincinnati where he found employment at other newspapers. He returned to Missouri in 1857 to become an apprentice "cub" river pilot under Captain Horace Bixby, who was a well-known steamboat pilot at the time. Twain received his pilot's license two years later. It was during this time that he adopted his pen name; "mark twain" is a term to describe twelve feet deep of water.&nbsp;<br><br>At the outbreak of the Civil War, traffic on the Mississippi River was halted. Twain then&nbsp;joined a local Confederate militia but quit after just two weeks. He then moved to Nevada to work for his brother Orion who had been recently appointed Secretary of Nevada; Twain became Orion's secretary. However, he caught mining fever and hoped to become rich.&nbsp;His life as a miner did not pan out despite traveling around the territory. But he did write humorous pieces and articles&nbsp;for the Virginia Territorial Enterprise. In 1863, he began using the pseudonym, Mark Twain.&nbsp;<br><br>In the coming years, Twain moved to San Francisco and spent a few months as a correspondent in Hawaii. He got a big break in 1865 when he wrote a story called&nbsp;<span>"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." It became an immediate hit around the country. The next year, Twain went on a lecture tour around the country. His life became even better in 1870 when he married his wife, Livy. <br><br>They moved to Hartford, Connecticut and built a large home (also a Clio entry) in 1874. During the next couple of decades, Twain would write his most famous works including <i>The</i>&nbsp;</span><i>Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i>, <i>The</i> <i>Adventures of Tom Sawyer</i>, and&nbsp;<i>A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court</i>. Unfortunately, while Twain earned a lot of money for his work and lectures, he got into serious financial trouble after making a series of bad investments. He and his family were forced to sell the house and moved to Europe in 1891. However, he was able to gradually pay back his debts by writing and giving lectures, and he also got financial help from friends.&nbsp;<br><br>Twain suffered a number of personal losses in his later years. In 1896, his daughter Suzy died of meningitis. His wife Olivia passed away in 1904, and another daughter, Jean, died in 1909. Twain himself passed away on April 21, 1910 in Redding, Connecticut and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Woodlawn, New York. He was 74.<br>

The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum is dedicated to promoting the legacy of writer Mark Twain (1835-1910) and preserving the historic properties associated with him here in Hannibal, most notably the house in which lived in between c.1843-1853. The museum complex consists of eight buildings, a garden, and a statue depicting two of Twain's famous characters, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The historic structures are: the Boyhood Home, the WPA Stone Building (located next to the home), the John M. Clemens Justice of the Peace Office, Grant's Drug Store, the Becky Thatcher House, the Interpretive Center, the Huckleberry Finn House, and the Museum Gallery building. The Interpretive Center is the starting point for museum visitors, and the Museum Gallery building features exhibits displaying Twain books and items belonging to him, as well as 15 original Norman Rockwell paintings depicting Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The Boyhood Home is a National Historic Landmark and a contributing property of the Mark Twain Historic District (some of the buildings of the museum complex are contributing properties to the district as well). The museum opened in 1912 when the Boyhood Home was donated to the city.

Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum

<p>Built in 1928, the St. James Church in Dogtown, St. Louis is an 11th-Century-Gothic replica of a cathedral in Queenstown, Ireland. The St. James Church has served the Irish Catholic community in Dogtown since 1860 as a mission of St. Malachy's Church. After the opening of the five-mile railroad section of the Pacific Railroad from St. Louis to Cheltenham in the 1850s, immigrants from Ireland, France, Germany, and Wales came to Cheltenham who mostly ended up working in clay, coal mining, and other manufacturing work. The first church was built in 1861 by Richard Tobin but later burned in 1891 as did the second church in 1919. Today, the St. James Church - with its illuminating spire - continues to serve the local Catholic community as well as participate in the annual Dogtown St. Patrick's Day Parade.</p>

St. James the Greater Parish

<p>Built in 1918, The Russell Hotel is a Colonial Revival style building near downtown Charleston, Missouri. Named for U.S. Congressman Joseph J. Russell, the hotel opened during a period of national hotel development in downtown areas in small cities and towns. Designed by Cape Girardeau architect W.E. Parlow, the hotel catered solely to white guests in the community and visitors to the area. The Russell operated under the Marable family during most of its existence and served as a central space for the Charleston community for over forty years until its closure in the mid-1960s. Today, the former hotel has sat vacant for several decades but new owners intend to save, restore, and revive the Russell Hotel to its original glory.</p>

Russell Hotel

<p>Built in 1937, the Howell County Courthouse is in the middle of the historic Courthouse Square in West Plains, Missouri. The first courthouse was built in the original public square in 1859 but was destroyed along with all of its records in 1862 during the Civil War. Later, T. E. Britton built the second courthouse in 1869 but was replaced in 1882 when 19-year-old architect Henry H. Hohenshchild built the third courthouse. Springfield architect, Earl Hawkins, designed the final courthouse out of Carthage stone with three stories in an Art Deco Style.</p><p>The courthouse overseas various cases of civil and criminal jurisdiction.</p>

Howell County Courthouse

<p>The Carl Junction Community Center houses City Hall, an recreation facilities, a senior center, classrooms, event spaces, and community library for the Carl Junction community at large. Designed by Sap Design Architects in 2010, the facility was constructed on a formerly abandoned railroad yard and dump site. The modern building accomplishes Carl Junction's goals to promote aesthetics, economy, flexibility, and sustainability in a building they want to have long-term usability. In 2012, the Community Center displayed a replica mammoth skeleton similar to four real fossilized elephant remains (the extinct Elphas Americanus) found in a Carl Junction mine in the early 1890s. Today, the Carl Junction Community Center has helped revitalize Carl Junction's Main Street and downtown.</p>

Horizons 2023

Bicentennial Bridge

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