The University of Missouri was established just over 182 years ago, and it remains a vital public institution. The college is central to the life of its students and, by and large, the residents of Columbia. Whether it’s the access to schooling, jobs, or simply the entertainment of watching the sports teams, MU and Columbia […]
Since its inception, Columbia grew with mindfulness to the future about what kind of community its people wanted it to be. But Columbia’s history is not without times of struggle — times when strong leadership needed to step in and set or reset its course. In 1818, Howard County extended from around St. Charles to
How many of these interesting facts did you know? In 1968, the city constructed canopies over downtown sidewalks on Broadway. They were built to protect pedestrians from the sun. From the ’90s to the early 2000s, there was a Downtown Twilight Festival held every Thursday of June and September. Stephens College was originally named Columbia
The universal and inevitable response to the question “What’s Booches?” is always accompanied by a jaw drop and genuine gasp of shock. At Booches in downtown Columbia, there is no perfectly cooked steak. No token appetizer gracing the minimalist menu, which hangs in its singular location on the wall. No fryer. There aren’t even plates,
Tucked away in the middle of MU’s campus, the Sanford Conley House serves as a reminder of the rich history found in Columbia. Citing the house as a “rare, local example of the Italianate style in Columbia, Missouri,” the application to the National Register of Historic Places noted that “most of these examples are concentrated
The CoMo 200 Bicentennial Task Force, appointed by Mayor Brian Treece in early 2018, was tasked with a huge job — ensuring that Columbia’s bicentennial was a memorable and historical celebration for the city. As they broke into various working groups and began brainstorming and planning a wide range of community projects and activities to
Downtown Columbia, Circa 1925-1933.(Roe F. Montgomery Scrapbook. P0054. 023140-2. The State Historical Society of Missouri. Photograph Collection.) Interstate 70, 1960. (Missouri Ruralist Photographs. P0030-4800. The State Historical Society of Missouri. Photograph Collection) 1. I-702. Business Loop3. MU Women’s and Children’s Hospital 4. Highway 635. Conley Road6. Exit 1287. Walmart Supercenter8. Columbia Country Club Industrial Development Site,
When the earliest pioneers settled in Boone County, people lived in log cabins daubed with mud and covered in boards, with roofs secured by poles. Corn cost the settlers 20 cents per bushel; land cost between $2 and $6 per acre; and a horse cost between $20 and $40. Among the first settlers who came
Let’s meet Richard and Ann Hawkins Gentry, a pioneering couple whose union changed the history of Columbia and Missouri forever. If you’ve driven through Gentry County or attended Ann Hawkins Gentry Middle School here in town, you’ve witnessed their legacy for yourself. Although they were founders of Columbia, their story started further east, in Madison
One hundred years ago, Boone County Hospital hosted a celebratory grand opening of its new building. The 40-bed hospital was built in the wake of a worldwide pandemic, the Spanish flu. Fast forward a century and you’ll see that Boone is in the midst of another momentous year, transitioning to independence in the midst of
