Missouri Facts and Figures

1876 artwork by Henry Mitchell, via Wikipedia Commons

 Missouri ranks 16th among states and provinces with markers in this database. Missouri is a state in the United States of America located in the American Midwest. It is also in the Upper Plains region. Missouri is some 70 thousand square miles in size with a population of around 6.1 million people. The state is divided into 115 counties and an independent city and 102 of them have entries in this database. In Missouri we have discovered historical markers in 306 cities and towns lying in 318 different ZIP Codes.

There are at least 2,613 historical markers in Missouri, by our count. We have cataloged 2,581 historical markers and 264 war memorials—each individually presented on 2,805 illustrated, annotated, and searchable pages of the Historical Marker Database. Pages for historical markers from this state make up 1.8% of our total. In addition, we are reasonably certain of another 32 historical markers in Missouri that we don’t yet have, and instead show on our Want List. Our correspondents have been finding and adding hundreds of markers a month to the database from all over the world, so next time you visit this page you will probably find that the numbers here have changed.

The first Missouri marker in the database, Tom Sawyer’s Fence, was added December 27, 2007. It was photographed in Hannibal in Marion County. The last one added was submitted on January 13, 2021, and titled Jewels of the City: West End Architecture. It is in West End in St. Louis. Keeping in mind that the erection date of many markers in the database is not known, the earliest historical marker we know of in Missouri was erected in 1874. It was this one: Nathaniel Lyon, and one of our correspondents found it in Kosciusko in St. Louis on July 3, 2011.

Missourians don’t want to forget their Industry and Commerce history. How do we know? Because there are more historical markers in the database from Missouri about Industry and Commerce—590 of them—than about any other historical topic. It is followed by Settlements and Settlers with 511 markers.

The first marker added to the database with the Industry and Commerce topic was also Tom Sawyer’s Fence, added December 27, 2007. It had been erected in Hannibal in Marion County. The last one submitted also was submitted on January 13, 2021, and titled Jewels of the City: West End Architecture. It had been erected in West End in St. Louis. The earliest marker erected with the Industry and Commerce topic that we have listed was erected in 1913. It is Sanders Tavern - 1826, found in Warrenton in Warren County on May 19, 2011.

What is the most interesting historical marker in Missouri? What we know is that Independence Veterans Memorial is the most viewed entry in the database from Missouri since it was added in 2010. It is located in Independence in Jackson County. This year so far, the most viewed Missourian entry is located in Warrensburg in Johnson County. It is Warrensburg.

The Missouri county or independent city with the most historical markers listed in this database is the independent city of St. Louis, with 472 of them. It is followed by St. Louis County with 404 markers. The Downtown area of St. Louis has the highest number of markers within its limits, 188. In St. Louis County the area with the most markers, 129, is University City.

Checking the database for the city or town in Missouri with the most markers we find Kansas City in Jackson County at the top of the list with 196 markers in or near it. And Downtown shows up again in next place, just missing out with 188 markers. For the ZIP Code with the most markers it’s 63102 at the top of the list with 185 markers in its delivery area. (ZIP Code 63102 is assigned to Saint Louis MO.) It is followed by ZIP Code 63130 with 133 markers. (63130 is assigned to Saint Louis MO including the University City delivery area.)

Getting back to the independent city of St. Louis, the first marker added to the database from there, In Memory of Robert E. Lee, was added January 25, 2008. It was erected in 1977 in Downtown. The last one submitted—also the last one submitted in all of Missouri—was uploaded on January 13, 2021, and is titled Jewels of the City: West End Architecture, in West End. The earliest marker erected in St. Louis that we have listed was erected in 1874. It was Nathaniel Lyon, found in Kosciusko on July 3, 2011.

By Jason Voigt, April 16, 2015

Latest Entry from Missouri
“Jewels of the City: West End Architecture”

And finally the first, last, and oldest markers from Kansas City. The first: Mutual Musicians Association Building, was added March 28, 2008. It had been erected in 1981. The last: William Rockhill Nelson Chapel added on January 5, 2020. It had been erected in 1917. The earliest marker erected was erected in 1902: Forest Hill Confederate Memorial, added on January 18, 2010.

There is no organization in charge of erecting official historical markers state-wide in Missouri today but the State Historical Society of Missouri was once responsible for erecting them. We have 97 of their markers in the database. Also, a number of counties and an independent city have erected historical markers on their streets and roads and within their public areas, as have some other cities and towns.

By Cosmos Mariner, September 9, 2017

A State Historical Society of Missouri Historical Marker

Then there are federal government agencies that put up historical markers, especially in national parks and other areas under their jurisdiction. And finally, there are the numerous public and private organizations and individuals that erect markers. Some do this as a continual endeavor, and others once in a while, to mark something, someone, or someplace they find important or interesting. When one of our correspondents comes across one that satisfies our criteria, we add it to the database.

You’ll find that even the smallest, least populated, or most rural areas of Missouri have been marked with history. Check out McDonald County, Douglas County and Benton County. We've only found one historical marker in each. Visiting one or more of these parts of Missouri might make for a pleasant road trip, and maybe you’ll discover more historical markers while you’re there. If you do, perhaps you’ll take the time to photograph them and, when you get home, become an HMdb correspondent by adding them to the database. Happy Hunting!