The Bois Brule Bottom (French: Bois Brûlé) is an alluvial floodplain in Bois Brule Township in Perry County, Missouri stretching between Bois Brule Creek to the west and the Mississippi River to the east.
102-626: The American Bottom stretches from St. Louis south along the east side of the Mississippi River all the way to the mouth of the Kaskaskia River , just north of Fort Kaskaskia, Illinois . At Morrow Island the American Bottom is broken by the Mississippi River, and on the west side of the Mississippi River the alluvial plain continues as the " Le Grande Champ " or Big Field Bottom, which includes Kaskaskia Island . South of Kaskaskia Island
204-486: A massive EF-5 tornado killed 158 people and destroyed roughly one-third of the city of Joplin . The tornado caused an estimated $ 1–3 billion in damages, killed 159 people and injured more than a thousand. It was the first EF5 to hit the state since 1957 and the deadliest in the U.S. since 1947, making it the seventh deadliest tornado in American history and 27th deadliest in the world. St. Louis and its suburbs also have
306-603: A "wilderness" policy for the Forest Service. Their efforts bore fruit with the Wilderness Act of 1964 , which designated wilderness areas "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by men, where man himself is a visitor and does not remain." This included second growth public forests like the Mark Twain National Forest . The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Missouri
408-644: A 2018 report by the Missouri Attorney General 's office, for the past 18 years, "African Americans, Hispanics and other people of color are disproportionately affected by stops, searches and arrests." The same report found that the biggest discrepancy was in 2017, when "black motorists were 85% more likely to be pulled over in traffic stops". In 2018 the USDA announced its plans to relocate Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food & Agriculture (NIFA) to Kansas City. They have since decided on
510-527: A figure equaled only by its neighbor, Tennessee. Missouri is bounded by Iowa on the north; by Illinois , Kentucky , and Tennessee across the Mississippi River on the east; on the south by Arkansas ; and by Oklahoma , Kansas , and Nebraska (the last across the Missouri River) on the west. Whereas the northern and southern boundaries are straight lines, the Missouri Bootheel extends south between
612-562: A glut of unskilled labor, driving wages down. Most Missouri farmers practiced subsistence farming before the American Civil War . The majority of those who held slaves had fewer than five each. Planters , defined by some historians as those holding 20 slaves or more, were concentrated in the counties known as " Little Dixie ", in the central part of the state along the Missouri River . The tensions over slavery chiefly had to do with
714-416: A history of experiencing particularly severe tornadoes, the most recent one of note being an EF4 that damaged Lambert-St. Louis International Airport on April 22, 2011. One of the worst tornadoes in American history struck St. Louis on May 27, 1896, killing at least 255 people and causing $ 10 million in damage (equivalent to $ 3.9 billion in 2009 or $ 5.54 billion in today's dollars). Missouri
816-455: A major meatpacking center, as large cattle drives from Texas brought herds of cattle to Dodge City and other Kansas towns. There, the cattle were loaded onto trains destined for Kansas City, where they were butchered and distributed to the eastern markets. The first half of the 20th century was the height of Kansas City's prominence, and its downtown became a showcase for stylish Art Deco skyscrapers as construction boomed. In 1930, there
918-403: A single speech, to appeal to a greater number of listeners. In informal contexts respellings of the state's name, such as "Missour- ee " or "Missour- uh ", are occasionally used to distinguish pronunciations phonetically. There is no official state nickname. However, Missouri's unofficial nickname is the "Show Me State", which appears on its license plates . This phrase has several origins. One
1020-581: A specific location in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. With the addition of the KC Streetcar project and construction of the Sprint Center Arena, the downtown area in KC has attracted investment in new offices, hotels, and residential complexes. Both Kansas City and St. Louis are undergoing a rebirth in their downtown areas with the addition of the new Power & Light (KC) and Ballpark Village (STL) districts and
1122-543: A state legal system. The rivers were used as transportation routes for trading and travel. The introduction of steamboats to the Mississippi and other major rivers led to deforestation of the river banks in the 19th century. The steamboats consumed much wood for fuel, leading to dramatic environmental effects along the Mississippi River between St. Louis and the confluence with the Ohio River . With so many trees taken down,
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#17328489314231224-690: A temporary state capital in St. Charles. In 1826, the capital was shifted to its permanent location of Jefferson City , also on the Missouri River. Originally the state's western border was a straight line, defined as the meridian passing through the Kawsmouth, the point where the Kansas River enters the Missouri River. The river has moved since this designation. This line is known as the Osage Boundary. In 1836
1326-516: A transfer of power to France on November 30, 1803, just three weeks before the cession to the United States. Part of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase by the United States, Missouri earned the nickname Gateway to the West because it served as a significant departure point for expeditions and settlers heading to the West during the 19th century. St. Charles , just west of St. Louis, was the starting point and
1428-478: A variety of goods to traders for sale and trade with their Native American clients. The fur trade and associated businesses made St. Louis an early financial center and provided the wealth for some to build fine houses and import luxury items. Its location near the confluence of the Illinois River meant it also handled produce from the agricultural areas. River traffic and trade along the Mississippi were integral to
1530-488: A whole, is called the Camp Jackson Affair . These events sharpened the divisions within the state. Governor Jackson appointed Sterling Price , president of the convention on secession, as head of the new Missouri State Guard . In the face of Union General Lyon's rapid advance through the state, Jackson and Price were forced to flee the capital of Jefferson City on June 14, 1861. In Neosho, Missouri , Jackson called
1632-461: Is / m ɪ ˈ z ʊər i / , with / m ɪ ˈ s ʊər i / being a possible alternative. Donald M. Lance, a professor of English at the University of Missouri , stated that no pronunciation could be declared correct, nor could any be clearly defined as native or outsider, rural or urban, southern or northern, educated or otherwise. Politicians often employ multiple pronunciations, even during
1734-539: Is about 9 miles (14 km) in the north, and it is about 2 to 3 miles in width throughout most of its southern extent. Before European settlement, the area was home to indigenous peoples for many centuries. The peak civilization was created by peoples of the Mississippian culture , known as the Mound Builders . With the cultivation of maize, they were able to create food surpluses and build concentrated settlements in
1836-497: Is alternately influenced by air from the cold Arctic and the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico. Missouri's highest recorded temperature is 118 °F (48 °C) at Warsaw and Union on July 14, 1954, while the lowest recorded temperature is −40 °F (−40 °C) also at Warsaw on February 13, 1905. Located in Tornado Alley , Missouri also receives extreme weather in the form of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. On May 22, 2011,
1938-516: Is approximately six miles wide and eighteen miles long, with very rich soil, very suited to farming. Bois Brule Bottom is bordered to the north by the Old River, which is the old channel of the Mississippi River that had shifted course following the Great Flood of 1844 and separates Bois Brule Bottom from Kaskaskia Island . Cinque Hommes Creek forms the border to the south, with Bois Brule Creek and
2040-529: Is bounded on the east by a nearly continuous, 200- to 300-foot high, 80-mile (130 km) long bluff of limestone and dolomite , above which begins the great prairie that covers most of the state. The Mississippi River bounds the Bottom on its west, and the river abuts the bluffline on the Missouri side. Portions of St. Clair , Madison , Monroe , and Randolph counties are in the American Bottom. Its maximum width
2142-568: Is home to diverse flora and fauna , including several endemic species. There is a large amount of fresh water present due to the Mississippi River , Missouri River , Table Rock Lake and Lake of the Ozarks , with numerous smaller tributary rivers, streams, and lakes. North of the Missouri River, the state is primarily rolling hills of the Great Plains , whereas south of the Missouri River,
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#17328489314232244-438: Is popularly ascribed to a speech by Congressman Willard Vandiver in 1899, who declared that "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton, cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri, and you have got to show me." This is in keeping with the saying "I'm from Missouri", which means "I'm skeptical of the matter and not easily convinced." However, according to researchers,
2346-472: The 1904 election . He promoted what he called "the Missouri Idea", the concept of Missouri as a leader in public morality through popular control of law and strict enforcement. He successfully conducted antitrust prosecutions, ended free railroad passes for state officials, extended bribery statutes, improved election laws, required formal registration for lobbyists, made racetrack gambling illegal and enforced
2448-629: The Illinois Country. They came from colonial villages on the east side of the Mississippi River, where soils were becoming exhausted and there was insufficient river bottom land for the growing population. The early Missouri settlements included many enslaved Africans and Native Americans, and slave labor was central to both commercial agriculture and the fur trade. Sainte-Geneviève became a thriving agricultural center, producing enough surplus wheat, corn and tobacco to ship tons of grain annually downriver to Lower Louisiana for trade. Grain production in
2550-450: The Mississippi River , which makes up the eastern border. With over six million residents, it is the 18th-most populous state of the country. The largest urban areas are St. Louis , Kansas City , Springfield , and Columbia . The capital is Jefferson City . Humans have inhabited present-day Missouri for at least 12,000 years. The Mississippian culture , which emerged in the ninth century, built cities and mounds before declining in
2652-567: The Platte Purchase was added to the northwest corner of the state after purchase of the land from the native tribes, making the Missouri River the border north of the Kansas River. This addition increased the land area of what was already the largest state in the Union at the time (about 66,500 square miles (172,000 km ) to Virginia's 65,000 square miles, which then included West Virginia). In
2754-581: The St. Francis and the Mississippi rivers. The two largest rivers are the Mississippi (which defines the eastern boundary of the state) and the Missouri River (which flows from west to east through the state), essentially connecting the two largest metros of Kansas City and St. Louis. Although today it is usually considered part of the Midwest , Missouri was historically seen by many as a border state , chiefly because of
2856-537: The St. Louis Arsenal . Alarmed at this action, and discovering the Confederate aid, General Nathaniel Lyon struck first, encircling the camp and forcing the state troops to surrender. Lyon directed his soldiers, largely non-English-speaking German immigrants , to march the prisoners through the streets, and this led to riot by pro-secession citizens. While it is disputed how it started, this riot led to violence and Union soldiers killed by St. Louis civilians. The event as
2958-474: The protests and riots that followed the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer of Ferguson , which led Governor Jay Nixon to call out the Missouri National Guard . A grand jury declined to indict the officer, and the U.S. Department of Justice concluded, after careful investigation, that the police officer legitimately feared for his safety. However, in a separate investigation,
3060-529: The 14th century. The Indigenous Osage and Missouria nations inhabited the area when European people arrived in the 17th century. The French incorporated the territory into Louisiana , founding Ste. Genevieve in 1735 and St. Louis in 1764. After a brief period of Spanish rule , the United States acquired Missouri as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Americans from the Upland South rushed into
3162-529: The 21st century by a levee and drainage canal system. Immediately across the river from St. Louis , Missouri , are industrial and urban areas, but nearby marshland , swamps , and the Horseshoe Lake (which was created by the river) are reminders of the Bottoms' riparian nature. This plain with its rich alluvial soil , served as the center for the pre-Columbian Cahokia Mounds civilization, and later
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3264-693: The Bois Brule Bottom area were the Kaskaskia Indians who originated from the area of present-day Peoria, Illinois , but had migrated south to the area of Kaskaskia, Illinois . In the late 1770s and 1780s, remnants of the Illinois Nation , the Peoria tribe , left the east bank of the Mississippi River to escape British and American oppression, with some settling in New Ste. Genevieve and about 100 settling in
3366-682: The Bois Brule Bottom. The first Europeans to colonize the Middle Mississippi River region were the French. Both the present-day Illinois and Missouri shores along the Mississippi River were referred to as the Illinois Country and was governed as a district of New France . A number of Métis and French colonial communities had been established just to the north of Bois Brule Bottom: Kaskaskia , Ste. Genevieve , Chartres , Prairie du Rocher , Nouvelle Bourbon , and St. Phillipe . In 1763,
3468-489: The Bois Brule Bottom. These Maryland Catholics included Levy Wiggins, William Boyce, and Isadore Moore. The American Catholics chose to live separately from the French and Creoles in the district, and many had left the bottoms by 1820. A number of other Americans also settled in Bois Brule Bottom. The Fenwick Settlement was founded in the late 1790s by Maryland Catholics who had previously settled in Kentucky. These included
3570-595: The Civil War and the end of World War II, Missouri transitioned from a rural economy to a hybrid industrial-service-agricultural economy as the Midwest rapidly industrialized. The expansion of railroads to the West transformed Kansas City into a major transportation hub within the nation. The growth of the Texas cattle industry along with this increased rail infrastructure and the invention of the refrigerated boxcar also made Kansas City
3672-742: The Department of Justice also found that the Ferguson Police Department and the City of Ferguson relied on unconstitutional practices in order to balance the city's budget through racially motivated excessive fines and punishments, that the Ferguson police "had used excessive and dangerous force and had disproportionately targeted blacks," and that the municipal court "emphasized revenue over public safety, leading to routine breaches of citizens' constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection under
3774-453: The Fenwick brothers: Walter, Ezekial, Thomas and James. Another group of settlers were Irish Catholics who settled in the late 1790s along Bois Brule Creek . Despite the fertile soil, early settlers faced a number of problems. The land was level with thick gluey soil, which led to bayous, mosquitos, chills, malaria, typhoid and brain fever, to name a few of the maladies. In 1804 ownership of
3876-467: The French settlement of Illinois Country . Deforestation of the river banks in the 19th century to fuel steamboats had dramatic environmental effects in this region. The Mississippi River between St. Louis and the confluence with the Ohio River became wider and more shallow, as unstable banks collapsed into the water. This resulted in more severe flooding and lateral changes of the major channel, causing
3978-470: The Illinois Country was critical to the survival of Lower Louisiana and especially the city of New Orleans. St. Louis was founded on February 14, 1764, by French fur traders Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent , Pierre Laclède , and Auguste Chouteau . From 1764 to 1803, European control of the area west of the Mississippi to the northernmost part of the Missouri River basin, called Louisiana, was assumed by
4080-569: The Mississippi River to Illinois imposed a tax on heavy traffic. Rather than pay it, developers simply located their industries in East St. Louis. In the early 20th century, dramatic growth in industrial jobs in the American Bottom attracted many European immigrants and African-American migrants. The latter left the rural South in the Great Migration to work in factories and gain better lives for their children. Eastern European immigrants founded
4182-654: The Mississippi River were part of the French province of Louisiana . To distinguish the settlements in the Middle Mississippi Valley from French settlements in the lower Mississippi Valley around New Orleans, French officials and inhabitants referred to the Middle Mississippi Valley as La Haute Louisiane, "The High Louisiana", or "Upper Louisiana". The first European settlers were mostly ethnic French Canadians , who created their first settlement in Missouri at present-day Ste. Genevieve , about 45 miles (72 km) south of St. Louis. They had migrated in about 1750 from
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4284-490: The Mississippi bluffs bordering along the west, and the Mississippi River to the east. American Bottom The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro East region of Southern Illinois , extending from Alton, Illinois , south to the Kaskaskia River . It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about 175 square miles (450 km ), mostly protected from flooding in
4386-414: The Mississippi shifted, it was cut off from the mainland of Illinois and is connected to Missouri land. The area of the Bottom directly across from St. Louis became highly industrialized. Industrialists located many "smokestack" industries here, such as steel mills, chemical plants, and oil refineries, because they ran on Illinois coal. In addition, the people who built the first bridge from St. Louis across
4488-475: The Mississippians, Americans made massive changes in the floodplain; their development has reduced its ability to absorb floods. The destruction of wetlands and paving over of areas along all the major rivers has increased the severity of flooding over the decades, despite attempted engineering solutions for flood control, which in turn have exacerbated flooding. During the Great Flood of 1993 , major portions of
4590-672: The Missouri Partisan Rangers, such insurgencies also arose in portions of the Confederacy occupied by the Union during the Civil War. Historians have portrayed stories of the James brothers' outlaw years as an American "Robin Hood" myth. The vigilante activities of the Bald Knobbers of the Ozarks in the 1880s were an unofficial continuation of insurgent mentality long after the official end of
4692-747: The Missouri River lie the Northern Plains that stretch into Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Here, rolling hills remain from the glaciation that once extended from the Canadian Shield to the Missouri River. Missouri has many large river bluffs along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramec Rivers . Southern Missouri rises to the Ozark Mountains , a dissected plateau surrounding the Precambrian igneous St. Francois Mountains . This region also hosts karst topography characterized by high limestone content with
4794-537: The Mormons from Missouri and confiscated their lands. Conflicts over slavery exacerbated border tensions among the states and territories. From 1838 to 1839, a border dispute with Iowa over the so-called Honey Lands resulted in both states' calling-up of militias along the border. With increasing migration, from the 1830s to the 1860s, Missouri's population almost doubled with every decade. Most newcomers were American-born, but many Irish and German immigrants arrived in
4896-691: The Spanish as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain , due to Treaty of Fontainebleau (in order to have Spain join with France in the war against England). The arrival of the Spanish in St. Louis was in September 1767. St. Louis became the center of a regional fur trade with Native American tribes that extended up the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, dominating the regional economy for decades. Trading partners of major firms shipped their furs from St. Louis by river down to New Orleans for export to Europe. They provided
4998-659: The Spanish gained control of the Upper Louisiana and ruled the area as a part of New Spain . Among the first settlers in Bois Brule was Jean Baptiste Barsaloux, a traveling merchant, who lived in the Bois Brule Bottom in 1787, and applied to the Spanish Colonial officials for a concession for himself and his father Girard Barsaloux. In the late 1700s and early 1800s the Spanish authorities granted American Catholics from Kentucky, also known as Maryland Catholics , to settle in
5100-474: The Sunday-closing law. He helped enact Progressive legislation, including an initiative and referendum provision, regulation of elections, education, employment and child labor, railroads, food, business, and public utilities. Several efficiency-oriented examiner boards and commissions were established during Folk's administration, including many agricultural boards and the Missouri library commission. Between
5202-403: The United States, involving the realization of the medial consonant as either / z / or / s / ; the vowel in the second syllable as either / ɜːr / or / ʊər / ; and the third syllable as / i / or / ə / . Any combination of these phonetic realizations may be observed coming from speakers of American English . In British received pronunciation , the preferred variant
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#17328489314235304-587: The West", "The Iron Mountain State", and "Pennsylvania of the West". It is also known as the "Cave State" because there are more than 7,300 recorded caves in the state (second to Tennessee ). Perry County is the county with the most caves and the single longest cave. The official state motto is "Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto", Latin for "Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law." Archaeological excavations along river valleys have shown continuous habitation since about 9000 BCE. Beginning before 1000 CE ,
5406-446: The alluvial flood plain continues on as the Bois Brule Bottom. The Bois Brule Bottom is bounded on the north by an old channel of the Mississippi River which flows around Kaskaskia Island, and is bounded on the south by Cinque Hommes Creek (also known as St. Cosme creek), with the Mississippi River lying to the east. The Brazeau Bottom continues further south along west side of the Mississippi River. Bois Brûlé, French for "Burnt Wood"
5508-527: The area in the 17th century at the time of first French exploration. The French made the earliest European settlement in this region of the Mississippi River Valley . They encountered Illiniwek clans called Cahokia, after whom they named the earthwork complex, and Kaskaskia , after whom the French named a river, a town and a fort. The French villages included Kaskaskia , Cahokia , Prairie du Rocher , St. Philippe, and Prairie du Pont , all under
5610-411: The banks became unstable, collapsing into the river due to the powerful current. In this area, the Mississippi became wider and more shallow, which resulted in more severe flooding and lateral changes of the major channel. Several French colonial towns in the 19th century, such as Kaskaskia , Cahokia , and St. Philippe, Illinois, were flooded and destroyed. Kaskaskia was rebuilt but, after the channel of
5712-557: The center of the complex and fronting on a 40-acre (160,000 m ) Grand Plaza. Monks Mound is the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in the Americas, and the complex is the largest earthwork north of Mexico. The engineering of the mounds showed that their builders had an expert knowledge of the varying soils and their capacities. Cahokia was a complex, planned, and designed urban center with a residential population, farming, and artisan production of refined crafts and goods. With its location at
5814-488: The central precinct and was rebuilt several times. They also discovered two major solar calendars, now known as Woodhenge, as the works were constructed of cedar , which was considered a sacred wood. The area surrounding the mounds had numerous borrow pits from which soil was taken to build the mounds and to fill and level the Grand Plaza and other plazas. After Cahokia was abandoned, there were few indigenous inhabitants in
5916-414: The centuries after 600 CE. The Cahokia Mounds Site, which was built as the center attracted a rapid increase in population after 1000 CE, is a six-square mile complex of large, man-made, earthen mounds rising from the flood plain. In 1982, it was designated by UNESCO as one of only eight World Heritage Sites in the United States. The most prominent structure is Monks Mound , rising ten stories high at
6018-418: The city for newer housing developed in the suburbs, often former farmland where land was available at lower prices. These major cities have gone through decades of readjustment to develop different economies and adjust to demographic changes. Suburban areas have developed separate job markets, both in knowledge industries and services, such as major retail malls. In 2014, Missouri received national attention for
6120-647: The confluence of three major rivers, it was the center of a regional trading network reaching to the Great Lakes and the Gulf Coast . With a population estimated at 30,000 at its peak, Cahokia was the largest city north of modern-day Mexico . Perhaps for ecological reasons—deforestation and overhunting—the city went into decline after 1300 and was abandoned before 1400. No city in the territorial United States surpassed this population until 1790, when New York City exceeded it. Archaeological investigation has determined that
6222-577: The destruction of several French colonial towns, such as Kaskaskia , which relocated; Cahokia , and St. Philippe, Illinois . The southern portion of the American Bottoms is primarily agricultural, planted chiefly in corn, wheat, and soybean. The American Bottom is part of the Mississippi Flyway used by migrating birds and has the greatest concentration of bird species in Illinois. The flood plain
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#17328489314236324-415: The early 1830s, Mormon migrants from northern states and Canada began settling near Independence and areas just north of there. Conflicts over religion and slavery arose between the 'old settlers' (mainly from the South) and the Mormons (mainly from the North). The Mormon War erupted in 1838. By 1839, with the help of an "Extermination Order" by Governor Lilburn Boggs , the old settlers forcibly expelled
6426-402: The east bank of the Mississippi River and identified their settlements as being in le pays des Illinois, "the country of the Illinois". When settlers of French Canadian descent began crossing the Mississippi River to establish settlements such as Ste. Genevieve, they continued to identify their settlements as being in the Illinois Country. At the same time, the French settlements on both sides of
6528-429: The election of a special convention on secession. This convention voted against secession, but also qualified their support of the Union. In the aftermath of Battle of Fort Sumter Pro-Southern Governor Claiborne F. Jackson ordered the mobilization of several hundred members of the state militia who had gathered in a camp in St. Louis for training. In secret, he also requested Confederate arms and artillery to help take
6630-417: The face of a largely reinforced Union Army. Though regular Confederate troops staged some large-scale raids into Missouri, the fighting in the state for the next three years consisted chiefly of guerrilla warfare . "Citizen soldiers" or insurgents such as Captain William Quantrill , Frank and Jesse James , the Younger brothers , and William T. Anderson made use of quick, small-unit tactics. Pioneered by
6732-433: The first Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the United States in Madison, Illinois . Today, East St. Louis is predominantly African-American in ethnicity. Following industrial restructuring, other immigrant descendants moved to other areas when following jobs and housing. Heavy industry is still prominent in the area, although total employment in these industries continues to decline after restructuring and industry changes. Like
6834-430: The formation of sinkholes and caves. The southeastern part of the state is known as the Missouri Bootheel region, which is part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain or Mississippi embayment . This region is the lowest, flattest, warmest, and wettest part of the state. It is also among the poorest, as the economy there is mostly agricultural. It is also the most fertile, with cotton and rice crops predominant. The Bootheel
6936-421: The future of the state and nation. In 1860, enslaved African Americans made up less than 10% of the state's population of 1,182,012. In order to control the flooding of farmland and low-lying villages along the Mississippi, the state had completed construction of 140 miles (230 km) of levees along the river by 1860. After the secession of Southern states began in 1861, the Missouri legislature called for
7038-429: The institution of slavery . They settled predominantly in 17 counties along the Missouri River , in an area of flatlands that enabled plantation agriculture and became known as " Little Dixie ". The state was rocked by the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes . Casualties were few due to the sparse population. In 1821, the former Missouri Territory was admitted as a slave state , under the Missouri Compromise , and with
7140-420: The language. The Goshen Settlement was an early American settlement at the edge of the Bottom. The settlers continued to use the rich alluvial floodplain mostly for agriculture until the late 19th century. Brooklyn, Illinois was founded by 1839 as a freedom village by free people of color and fugitive slaves, led by "Mother" Priscilla Baltimore . It was the first town incorporated by African Americans under
7242-412: The largest companies based in the state include Cerner , Express Scripts , Monsanto , Emerson Electric , Edward Jones , H&R Block , Wells Fargo Advisors , Centene Corporation , and O'Reilly Auto Parts . Well-known universities in Missouri include the University of Missouri , Saint Louis University , and Washington University in St. Louis . The state is named for the Missouri River , which
7344-549: The late 1840s and 1850s. As a majority were Catholic , they set up their own religious institutions in the state, which had been mostly Protestant . Many settled in cities, creating a regional and then state network of Catholic churches and schools. 19th-century German immigrants created the wine industry along the Missouri River and the beer industry in St. Louis. While many German immigrants were strongly anti-slavery, many Irish immigrants living in cities were pro-slavery, fearing that liberating African-American slaves would create
7446-556: The law." A series of student protests at the University of Missouri against what the protesters viewed as poor response by the administration to racist incidents on campus began in September 2015. On June 7, 2017, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People issued a warning to prospective African-American travelers to Missouri. This is the first NAACP warning ever covering an entire state. According to
7548-567: The levee; only the spire of the Catholic church and roof of a nearby shrine rose far above the waters. 38°24′N 90°18′W / 38.4°N 90.3°W / 38.4; -90.3 Missouri Missouri ( / m ɪ ˈ z ʊər i / mih- ZOOR -ee ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States . Ranking 21st in land area , it borders Iowa to
7650-439: The middle Mississippi and Ohio river valleys, extending into the southeast and the upper river. The land that became the state of Missouri was part of numerous different territories, possessed changing and often indeterminate borders, and had many different Native American and European names between the 1600s and statehood. For much of the first half of the 1700s, the west bank of the Mississippi River that would become Missouri
7752-603: The new Missouri Territory ; Missouri played a central role in the westward expansion of the United States. Missouri was admitted as a slave state as part of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 . As a border state , Missouri's role in the American Civil War was complex, and it was subject to rival governments, raids, and guerilla warfare. After the war, both Greater St. Louis and the Kansas City metropolitan area became large centers of industrialization and business. Today
7854-462: The north, Illinois , Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma , Kansas , and Nebraska to the west. In the south are the Ozarks , a forested highland, providing timber, minerals, and recreation. At 1.5 billion years old, the St. Francois Mountains are among the oldest in the world. The Missouri River , after which the state is named, flows through the center and into
7956-436: The people of the Mississippian culture created regional political centers at present-day St. Louis and across the Mississippi River at Cahokia , near present-day Collinsville, Illinois . Their large cities included thousands of individual residences. Still, they are known for their surviving massive earthwork mounds , built for religious, political and social reasons, in platform , ridgetop and conical shapes. Cahokia
8058-399: The phrase "show me" was already in use before the 1890s. Another one states that it is a reference to Missouri miners who were taken to Leadville, Colorado to replace striking workers. Since the new miners were unfamiliar with the mining methods, they required frequent instruction. Other nicknames for Missouri include "The Lead State", "The Bullion State", "The Ozark State", "The Mother of
8160-459: The protection of Fort de Chartres and Fort Kaskaskia . Examples of 18th-century French Colonial architecture survive here, including the old Cahokia courthouse and Holy Family Catholic Church , both made with the distinctive vertical-log construction known as poteaux-sur-solle . American settlers began arriving near the end of the American Revolution after the Illinois Country
8262-561: The renovation of existing historical buildings in each downtown area. The 2019 announcement of an MLS expansion team in St. Louis is driving even more development in the downtown west area of St. Louis. Kansas City has experienced a boom in population, with new developments such as Three Light apartments being centered in Downtown Kansas City , as well as suburban development in the Northland . Missouri borders eight different states,
8364-597: The return destination of the Lewis and Clark Expedition , which ascended the Missouri River in 1804, to explore the western lands to the Pacific Ocean. For decades, St. Louis was a major supply point for parties of settlers heading west. As many of the early settlers in western Missouri migrated from the Upper South , they brought enslaved African Americans as agricultural laborers, and they desired to continue their culture and
8466-637: The settlement of migrants from the South and its status as a slave state before the Civil War, balanced by the influence of St. Louis. The counties that made up " Little Dixie " were those along the Missouri River in the center of the state, settled by Southern migrants who held the greatest concentration of slaves. In 2005, Missouri received 16,695,000 visitors to its national parks and other recreational areas totaling 101,000 acres (410 km ), giving it $ 7.41 million in annual revenues, 26.6% of its operating expenditures. North of, and in some cases just south of,
8568-430: The southern Bottom were flooded; 47,000 acres (190 km ) of land below Columbia, Illinois was inundated, destroying the town of Valmeyer . The waters came within five feet of overtopping the East St. Louis levee. If they had run over, they would have flooded 71,000 acres (290 km ) and destroyed this urban industrial area. More than nine feet of floodwater covered the town of Kaskaskia in 1993 after it overtopped
8670-511: The state and beyond. Missouri is a major center of beer brewing and has some of the most permissive alcohol laws in the U.S. It is home to Anheuser-Busch , the world's largest beer producer, and produces Missouri wine , especially in the Missouri Rhineland . Outside the state's major cities, popular tourist destinations include the Lake of the Ozarks , Table Rock Lake and Branson . Some of
8772-491: The state and volunteer regiments for the Union Army. Fighting ensued between Union forces and a combined army of General Price's Missouri State Guard and Confederate troops from Arkansas and Texas under General Ben McCulloch . After winning victories at the battle of Wilson's Creek and the siege of Lexington, Missouri and suffering losses elsewhere, the Confederate forces retreated to Arkansas and later Marshall, Texas , in
8874-434: The state convention was reassembled with most of its members present, save twenty who fled south with Jackson's forces. The convention declared all offices vacant and installed Hamilton Gamble as the new governor of Missouri. President Lincoln's administration immediately recognized Gamble's government as the legal Missouri government. The federal government's decision enabled raising pro-Union militia forces for service within
8976-515: The state is divided into 114 counties and the independent city of St. Louis. Missouri has been called the "Mother of the West", the "Cave State", and the "Show Me State". Its culture blends elements of the Midwestern and Southern United States . It is the birthplace of the musical genres ragtime , Kansas City jazz and St. Louis blues . The well-known Kansas City-style barbecue , and the lesser-known St. Louis-style barbecue , can be found across
9078-467: The state is dominated by the Oak-Hickory Central U.S. hardwood forest . Recreational and commercial uses of public forests, including grazing, logging, and mining, increased after World War II. Fishermen, hikers, campers, and others started lobbying to protect forest areas with a "wilderness character". During the 1930s and 1940s, Aldo Leopold , Arthur Carhart and Bob Marshall developed
9180-475: The state legislature into session to call for secession. However, the elected legislative body was split between pro-Union and pro-Confederate. As such, few of the pro-unionist attended the session called in Neosho, and the ordinance of secession was quickly adopted. The Confederacy recognized Missouri secession on October 30, 1861. With the elected governor absent from the capital and the legislators largely dispersed,
9282-451: The state's economy. As the area's first major city, St. Louis expanded greatly after the invention of the steamboat and the increased river trade. Napoleon Bonaparte had gained Louisiana for French ownership from Spain in 1800 under the Treaty of San Ildefonso after it had been a Spanish colony since 1762, but the treaty was kept secret. Louisiana remained nominally under Spanish control until
9384-561: The territory of Upper Louisiana was transferred to the United States, and by the 1820s American settlers began pouring into the region. After Missouri statehood in 1821, Bois Brule Bottom, originally part of the Ste. Genevieve District, was reorganized as a township in Perry County, Missouri. Flooding has been a constant concern of residents of Bois Brule Bottom since settlement began. Under French and Spanish colonial administration, each settler
9486-421: The various types of mounds were arranged in a planned construction that reflected the cosmology of the Mississippians. The smaller ridge-top and conical mounds were used for ritual burials, some for elites and some for apparent sacrifices. The larger platform mounds were used for temples and homes of the elite. Archaeologists have found remains of a 2-mile (3.2 km) long, defensive wooden stockade that enclosed
9588-467: The war, and they are a favorite theme in Branson's self-image . The Progressive Era (1890s to 1920s) saw numerous prominent leaders from Missouri trying to end corruption and modernize politics, government, and society. Joseph "Holy Joe" Folk was a key leader who made a strong appeal to the middle class and rural evangelical Protestants. Folk was elected governor as a progressive reformer and Democrat in
9690-519: Was a diphtheria epidemic in the area around Springfield, which killed approximately 100 people. Serum was rushed to the area, and medical personnel stopped the epidemic. During the mid-1950s and 1960s, St. Louis and Kansas City suffered deindustrialization and loss of jobs in railroads and manufacturing, as did other Midwestern industrial cities. St. Charles claims to be the site of the first interstate highway project in 1956. Such highway construction made it easy for middle-class residents to leave
9792-423: Was ceded by Great Britain to the new United States. In the early years, American single men came to the country, and there was little government and much anarchy. As Americans arrived, many residents of French descent moved west of the Mississippi River to St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve, Missouri . Within several years, the former French colonial towns had become mostly American in population, and English dominated as
9894-471: Was given to the flood plain by early French settlers. The name was applied by the French to describe a burnt tract of forest. The first Native American groups known to have inhabited the area were the Mound Builders . The Mound Builders constructed large earthen mounds in the area, particularly along the Mississippi River. By the 12th and 13th centuries, the Mississippian culture was in decline and eventually disappeared. Later Native American groups in
9996-644: Was mostly uninhabited, something of a no man's land that kept peace between the Illinois on the east bank of the Mississippi River and to the North, and the Osage and Missouri Indians of the lower Missouri Valley. In the early 1700s, French traders and missionaries explored the whole of the Mississippi Valley, and named the region "Louisiana". Around the same time, a different group of French Canadians established five villages on
10098-529: Was named after the indigenous Missouria , a Siouan-language tribe. French colonists adapted a form of the Illinois language -name for the people: Wimihsoorita . Their name means "One who has dugout canoes". The name Missouri has several different pronunciations even among its present-day inhabitants, the two most common being / m ɪ ˈ z ɜːr i / mih- ZUR -ee and / m ɪ ˈ z ɜːr ə / mih- ZUR -ə . Further pronunciations also exist in Missouri or elsewhere in
10200-522: Was required to build and maintain levees on his land. Significant number of floods occurred throughout the 1800s and 1900s, but the Great Flood of 1993 devastated the Bois Brule Bottom. Most of the communities failed to recover. The US Army Corps of Engineers operates the Bois Brule Levee and Drainage District, and cares for the maintenance of the levees and chutes. The Bois Brule Bottom has an elevation of 360 ft. (109 m.) The bottomland
10302-530: Was the center of a regional trading network that reached from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico . The civilization declined by 1400 CE, and most descendants left the area long before the arrival of Europeans. St. Louis was at one time known as Mound City by the European Americans because of the numerous surviving prehistoric mounds since lost to urban development. The Mississippian culture left mounds throughout
10404-518: Was the epicenter of the four New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 . Missouri generally has a humid continental climate with cool, sometimes cold, winters and hot, humid, and wet summers. In the southern part of the state, particularly in the Bootheel , the climate becomes humid subtropical . Located in the interior United States, Missouri often experiences extreme temperatures. Without high mountains or oceans nearby to moderate temperature, its climate
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