Missouri River

This picture is taken from the Missouri State Capitol of the Missouri River. As you can see the Missouri Capital was definitely located within the 4o mile radius on the Missouri River.

Signing of the Treaty

The first sculpture was designed by Karl Bitter for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. It depicts Robert Livingston, standing, James Monroe seated, and Francois Barbe-Marbois signing the treaty by which the United States acquired the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, commonly known as the "Louisiana Purchase" and Missouri became the second state formed out of this purchase. The second sculpture is the "Fountain of the Arts and Sciences. These fountains, designed by Robert Aitken, are characterized by their dignity and simplicity. He believed that the Arts and Sciences were the guardians of the welfare of the state. The third sculpture if the Fountain of the Centaurs. The large figures in this fountain are mythological half animal, half human creatures knows as centaurs. They are seen wrestling with serpents and giant fish to represent the wildness of the West, The smaller figures are sea urchins. They are spraying water of the centaurs with their fish to represent the playfulness of the small animals of the West. The fourth sculpture of the Ten Commandments was a stone marker presented to the state by the Missouri State Aerie Fraternal Order of Eagles on June 28,1958.

Statuary is a Prominent Feature of the Missouri Capitol Grounds

Heroic bronze figures depicting Missouri's two great rivers, the Mississippi and Missouri, one on each side of the capitol steps and and a 13-foot statute of Thomas Jefferson stands in the center.

Noted Missourian's

On the second floor of the Missouri State capitol there were bronze statue's of "noted" Missourians that were placed throughout the Capitol. Walt Disney, among many more famous people, came from Missouri.

Tour of Missouri State Capitol

Today we toured the State of Missouri Capitol. The building is 437 feet long and 300 feet wide at the center. The dome towers 263 feet above ground level. The doors at the highest level, where I was standing, are not being used any longer. The entrance at the lower level, where I was standing, was used for the legislators too come and go. The tour guide was explaining the use of the Member's lounge, where Jerry was standing. This room was an interesting room and had so much history. The paintings of the wall were painted by Thomas Benton, from Missouri. He used egg white in a French painting technique to make the paint stick and also help preserve the vivid colors. The color paintings are as bright today as they were when they were painted after the capitol was constructed in the 1918.

Missouri State Capitol

Missouri's first legislators wrote in the constitution that Missouri's capital must be located on the Missouri River on a site within 40 miles of the mouth of the Osage River. The City of Jefferson, named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, met these requirements and became Missouri's capitol city. The present structure is the fourth Capitol of Missouri. The first state Capitol was in St. Charles, MO from 1821 to 1826. The second Capitol was located in Jefferson near the present site of the Governor's Mansion. It was destroyed by fire in 1837. The third Capitol , located where the present stands, was erected in 1840. It was destroyed by fire when lightening struck the dome Feb. 5, 1911. Later that same year, Missourians approved a bond issue of $3.5 million to build a new state Capitol. The present Capitol was constructed between 1913- 1918. It only costs $2.5 million, because it was funded by a bond, the remaining $1 million surplus left was used to design interior and exterior artwork for the building.