Information and history of the state of Missouri

Hernando de Soto visited the Missouri area in 1541. France's claim to the entire region was based on Sieur de la Salle's travels in 1682. French fur traders established Ste. Genevieve in 1735, and St. Louis was first settled in 1764.

The U.S. gained Missouri from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and the territory was admitted into the union as the 24th state on August 10, 1821.

The state is named for the Missouri River, which was named after the indigenous Missouri Indians, a Siouan-language tribe. They were called the ouemessourita, meaning "those who have dugout canoes".

Some Missouri Symbols

1. State Bird	2. State Mammal	3. State Flower	4. State Mineral	5. State Reptile
6. State Tree	7. State Insect	8. State Fossil	9. State Fish	10. State Dessert

1. Eastern Bluebird - Missouri designated the lovely eastern bluebird as the official state bird in 1927. The bluebird's song is a rich warbling whistle broken into short phrases or a dry chatter.
2. Missouri Mule- Missouri designated the Missouri mule as the official state animal in 1995. Mules are hybrids, the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey.
3. Hawthorn - Missouri designated the white hawthorn blossom as the official state flower in 1923.
4. Galena - Missouri designated galena as the official state mineral in 1967. Galena is the major source of lead ore, and Missouri is the top producer of lead in the United States.
5. Three-Toed Box Turtle - Missouri designated the three-toed box turtle as the official state reptile in 2007.
6. Flowering Dogwood - Missouri designated the flowering dogwood as the official state tree in 1955.
7. Honeybee - Missouri designated the honeybee as the official state insect in 1985.
8. Crinoid - Missouri designated the crinoid as the official state fossil in 1989. Crinoids are the fossilized remains of prehistoric sea lilies that lived in the oceans that once covered Missouri.
9. Channel Catfish - Missouri designated the channel catfish as the official state fish in 1997.
10. Ice Cream Cone - Missouri designated the ice cream cone as the official state dessert in 2008.

Did you know?

• In 1865 Missouri became the first slave state to free its slaves.
• Missouri is known as the "Show Me State".
• At the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, Richard Blechyden, served tea with ice and invented iced tea.
• Also, at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904, the ice cream cone was invented. An ice cream vendor ran out of cups and asked a waffle vendor to help by rolling up waffles to hold ice cream.
• Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, Missouri is the largest beer producing plant in the nation.
• On Sucker Day in Nixa, Missouri, school closes officially and the little town swells to a throng of 15,000 hungry folks. All craving a taste of the much maligned but delicious bottom dweller fish loathed by almost everyone else.