Missouri Travel Guide
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Overview
Named after the Missouri Native Americans that inhabited the
fertile lands around the tributaries of the Mississippi and
Missouri Rivers, the state of Missouri became part of the US after
a long colonial tussle between France and Spain. The original
Missouri people were driven out by the flood of European immigrants
who came to settle here, founding the two fur trading centres of St
Louis and Kansas City. The state's central location on the
Mississippi River's north-south trade route and the east-west
railroad made it an important crossroads. Kansas City, and St Louis
in particular, established themselves as major gateways to the
western frontier.
Today the state is associated with historical figures from the
nation's past, such as Mark Twain and his famous stories about Tom
Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, the gun-slinging outlaw Jesse James,
western pioneers like Lewis and Clark, and the 33rd president of
the United States, Harry Truman. The brown waters of the great
Mississippi River and its small river towns, paddle steamers, the
stockyards of Kansas City and the jazz and blues clubs of St Louis
are other images representative of the state. The dominant city of
St Louis is recognisable for its Gateway Arch and is the 'Home of
the Blues', while the only other significant city, Kansas City is
famous for its steaks and barbecues as well as its hearty jazz. In
contrast, the south features the beautiful hillsides and lakes of
the Ozark Mountains that are great recreational areas, and the
conservative country-and-western tourist town of Branson.
Music, history, arts and heritage are all an intricate part of
Missouri… 'Where the Rivers Run'.