Missouri History Museum occupies a Jefferson Memorial building constructed in 1913 to honor Thomas Jefferson and to hold the collections of the Missouri Historical Society. The museum sits at the north end of Forest Park, near the former location of the 1904 World's Fair's main entrance. Inside, you'll find one of the most comprehensive collections of St. Louis and Missouri history in existence: artifacts from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, including items collected during their 1804-1806 journey; materials from the 1904 World's Fair; exhibits on the history of St. Louis's African American community; and documentation of events like the Pruitt-Igoe housing project and the desegregation battles of the mid-20th century.
Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery departed from Camp Dubois, just across the river in Illinois, on May 14, 1804. They spent that first night camped on the Missouri side of the river, having traveled only a few miles. What they were attempting was unprecedented: a transcontinental journey into territory that no American citizens had mapped, across lands that dozens of Native nations called home.
The museum tells their story alongside the stories of those nations. Come here before or after your tour to put everything in deeper context.