Jefferson City, Missouri

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Welcome to Missouri's capital,
a city where you will feel the history

President Thomas Jefferson, great reader, thinker and armchair explorer, dreamed of a voyage up the Missouri River and on to the Pacific Ocean. The dream became reality with the completion of the great Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and President Jefferson commissioning the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804-1806.

Although Thomas Jefferson never set foot on Missouri soil, the citizens of Jefferson City and the people of Missouri revere his name and his vision, in much the same way as residents of Monticello, Charlottesville, and all of Virginia.

In 1822 the State of Missouri honored Thomas Jefferson in his lifetime by naming our capital the "City of Jefferson" and locating it on the limestone bluffs above the Missouri River. The Louisiana Purchase, the great westward expansion, and the legacy of the Corps of Discovery, all played a part in that decision.

The present Capitol, completed in 1917 and occupied the following year, is the third Capitol in Jefferson City and the sixth in Missouri history. The first seat of state government was housed in the Mansion House, Third and Vine Streets, St. Louis; the second was in the Missouri Hotel, Maine and Morgan Streets, also in St. Louis. St. Charles was designated as temporary capital of the state in 1821 and remained the seat of government until 1826 when Jefferson City became the permanent capital city. The first Capitol in Jefferson City burned in 1837 and a second structure completed in 1840 burned when the dome was struck by lightning on February 5, 1911.

The present Capitol was constructed for $4,215,000, including site and furnishings. It is five stories high, 437 feet long, 300 feet wide in the center and 200 feet wide in the wings. The dome is 238 feet high and the height of the wings is 88 feet. The building includes 500,000 square feet of floor space.

Information is courtesy of the Jefferson City Convention & Visitors Bureau

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