Missouri Historical Society · Founded 1866

Find yourself in St. Louis history.

Three buildings, one mission. The Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, Soldiers Memorial Military Museum downtown, and the Library & Research Center on Skinker — together, the documentary memory of a city.

Plan a visit Become a Member

Free general admission at all three locations.

[HERO · ARCHIVAL ST. LOUIS STREET SCENE WITH MODERN VISITORS COMPOSITED · FOREST PARK CONTEXT]

[MUSEUM HERO · JEFFERSON MEMORIAL BUILDING EXTERIOR, FOREST PARK, GOLDEN HOUR]

Forest Park · Free admission

Museum

Missouri History Museum

ON VIEW NOW

Mill Creek Valley: The Soul of St. Louis

ThreadMill Creek Valley — Sixty-six years after the demolition, the neighborhood is still the most important story St. Louis hasn't finished telling.

Plan a visit Open the Mill Creek thread →

[MEMORIAL HERO · COURT OF HONOR INTERIOR, COFFERED CEILING, EARLY MORNING LIGHT]

Downtown St. Louis · Free admission

Memorial

Soldiers Memorial Military Museum

OPENING APR 2026

Coming Home: St. Louisans Return from Vietnam

ThreadComing Home — From the front to the kitchen table — letters, recordings, and an exhibition about the months after the last letter arrived.

Plan a visit Open the Coming Home thread →

[LIBRARY HERO · READING ROOM INTERIOR, ARCHIVAL BOXES ON SHELVES, NATURAL LIGHT]

Skinker–DeBaliviere · Free, by appointment

Library

Library & Research Center

ON VIEW NOW

Papers of a City: Manuscript Highlights, 1820–1920

ThreadPapers of a City — Rotating manuscripts from the Library's vault — what's most asked-for and least seen.

Plan a visit Open the Papers of a City thread →

THREADS · WHAT'S ALIVE ACROSS THE SOCIETY

Five conversations the Society is having with the city right now.

A thread is an editorial throughline that cites exhibits, stories, events, collections, and collecting initiatives across all three properties. Pick a thread to follow what we're working on.

All threads

[THREAD HERO · ARCHIVAL PHOTO OF MILL CREEK VALLEY CORNER STORE COMPOSITED WITH PRESENT-DAY SAME CORNER]

ACTIVE NOW

Anchored at Museum

Mill Creek Valley

Sixty-six years after the demolition, the neighborhood is still the most important story St. Louis hasn't finished telling.

8 pieces · across exhibits, stories, events, collections

[THREAD HERO · FOLDED LETTER ON ARCHIVAL CRADLE WITH SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD]

OPENING SOON

Anchored at Memorial

Coming Home

From the front to the kitchen table — letters, recordings, and an exhibition about the months after the last letter arrived.

4 pieces · across exhibits, stories, events, collections

[THREAD HERO · GRID OF CONTRIBUTED OBJECTS — PHOTOGRAPHS, LETTERS, MASKS, FAMILY ITEMS]

ONGOING

Anchored at Society

We Are St. Louis

An open invitation for the region to add its own evidence to the historical record.

8 pieces · across exhibits, stories, events, collections

[THREAD HERO · PANORAMA OF THE PALACE OF AGRICULTURE, 1904, COLORIZED OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH]

ONGOING

Anchored at Museum

1904 World's Fair

Postcards, official photography, and family snapshots from the fair that still shapes how St. Louis sees itself.

1 pieces · across exhibits, stories, events, collections

[THREAD HERO · CLOSE-UP OF 19TH-CENTURY LETTER OPEN ON ARCHIVAL CRADLE]

ACTIVE NOW

Anchored at Library

Papers of a City

Rotating manuscripts from the Library's vault — what's most asked-for and least seen.

3 pieces · across exhibits, stories, events, collections

ONE SEARCH · ALL THREE PROPERTIES · 200,000+ RECORDS

Find anything across the Society.

Exhibits, events, programs, blog stories, threads, and the digitized collection — one bar, one results panel grouped by what to visit, read, attend, and research.

UPCOMING

What's coming up across the Society.

See full calendar

[EVENT · CIRCLE OF CHAIRS, RESPECTFUL LIGHTING]

Memorial · Sat, Apr 18 · 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Veterans Listening Session: Coming Home

An invited, structured listening session with St. Louis-area Vietnam veterans, paired with the new exhibit.

Free · RSVP requiredWheelchair accessibleASL

[TOUR · GROUP STANDING ON CORNER WITH HISTORICAL MARKER]

Museum · Sun, May 31 · 10:00am – 12:00pm

Mill Creek Valley Walking Tour

A guided walk through the bulldozed neighborhood's surviving boundaries, with maps and photographs.

Free · RSVP requiredWheelchair accessible

[EVENT · BRASS BAND ON LAWN AT GOLDEN HOUR, AUDIENCE SEATED]

Museum · Fri, Jun 5 · 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Twilight Thursdays: Brass Roots St. Louis

Free outdoor concert series on the Museum's front lawn. Food trucks and family-friendly.

FreeWheelchair accessibleSensory friendly

[EVENT · SPEAKER AT LECTURN IN GRAND HALL]

Society · Fri, Jun 12 · 7:00pm – 8:30pm

St. Louis Historians Speakers Series

A new lecture series featuring local historians on the long backstory of contemporary St. Louis.

$10 · Members freeWheelchair accessibleAudio described

By the numbers · Fiscal year 2025

The Society in one snapshot.

Attendance: 416,809
Artifacts: 175,000+
Students served: 36,510
Supporting members: 4,500+

[WE ARE ST. LOUIS · GRID OF CONTRIBUTED OBJECTS — PHOTOGRAPHS, LETTERS, FAMILY ITEMS, MASKS]

We Are St. Louis

The history of this place is still being written. You can help write it.

We Are St. Louis is the Society's invitation to the region to add its own evidence to the historical record. Photographs, letters, recordings, family objects — reviewed by curators, stewarded as part of the collection.

Contribute your story What we've heard so far →

STORIES

Editorial from the curators, archivists, and historians who work here.

All stories

[HERO · ARCHIVAL PHOTO OF MILL CREEK VALLEY CORNER STORE, 1955, COMPOSITED WITH SAME CORNER TODAY]

MILL CREEK THREAD · ANCHORED AT THE MUSEUM

Why we still talk about Mill Creek Valley.

Sixty-six years after the demolition, the neighborhood is still the most important story St. Louis hasn't finished telling.

[BYLINE · STAFF HISTORIAN] · Apr 22, 2026 · 11 min read

[HERO · FOLDED LETTER ON ARCHIVAL CRADLE, SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD]

COMING HOME · EXHIBITION FEATURE

What the letters knew that the news did not.

From the Coming Home exhibit: correspondence between St. Louis families and their soldiers in Vietnam — and the months after the last letter arrived.

[BYLINE · CURATOR, MILITARY HISTORY] · Apr 4, 2026 · 7 min read

[HERO · GRID OF SUBMITTED OBJECTS — PHOTOS, NOTES, FAMILY ITEMS]

WE ARE ST. LOUIS · YEAR-IN-REVIEW

What 1,200 contributions taught us about the city.

Year one of We Are St. Louis — what people sent in, what they wrote about, and what the project will do next.

[BYLINE · DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY HISTORY] · Mar 18, 2026 · 6 min read

Become a Member

Four thousand-plus households keep this place free.

Membership keeps general admission free at all three properties, underwrites collecting initiatives, and pays the educators who serve 36,000 students a year. It also brings you closer in — curator briefings, behind-the-scenes tours, member previews.

Become a Member Or make a gift

Individual
$75/yr
Member newsletter · Library research credits · 10% Shop discount
Household
$125/yr
All Individual benefits · Guests at member previews · Family member events
Patron
$300/yr
Curator briefings · Behind-the-scenes tours · Acknowledgement in annual report
History Circle
$1000/yr
Private collection access · Director's salon · Travel program priority

Newsletter

A monthly note from the curators.

What's opening, what's coming, what's worth reading. One email a month. Unsubscribe in one click.