I had a couple of days with nothing to do and decided to take another road trip while the weather was still reasonably warm. My main objective was to visit Jefferson City, MO, check another state capital off of my list and keep working on a bucket list goal of visiting all 50 U.S. state capitals. So far, I have been to 24 (see map), two-thirds of those in the past two years, after beginning this quest in earnest. Plans are underway to see the rest and fair warning; if you live in or close to a capital city in a state not highlighted below, expect a visit in the near future!
If you’re a nerd like me, you can probably name all 50 state capitals already. If you’re still learning, or need a refresher, check out this fun and educational video from Warner Brothers’ Animaniacs: YouTube—Wakko’s America
My road trip began after dropping off Kathleen at the airport for a girls’ trip to Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula, then I drove due south in light rain, arriving in Jefferson City, MO, around sunset. After a quick dinner, I checked into my hotel and could see the lighted capitol dome from my window. The capitol sits on a river bluff and is visible from almost anywhere in this city of 43,000, the fifth-largest in Missouri. Originally and informally called Lohman’s Landing, it was named in honor of our third president in 1821, with “Jefferson City” winning out over runner-up “Missouriopolis.” Map link: Jefferson City, MO
Bonus Question: Jefferson City is one of four state capitals on the Missouri River. Can you name the other three? (answer at end of post).
The area was home to the Osage native people, who were forced out in the 19th century and resettled in Oklahoma. Lewis and Clark camped here in June of 1804 on day 22 of their two-year journey. Daniel Morgan Boone, a surveyor and son of the famous frontiersman, was on the committee that selected the location of the new state capital and laid out the town’s plat.
After breakfast, I headed straight for the capitol, parking on the grounds in one of several spots reserved for veterans. The present structure is the fourth Missouri Capitol. The first was in St. Charles, which we visited last month (blog link: DragonflyBoating, Sept. 9, 2025: Three Rivers Sightseeing). At only 40 by 60 feet, the second capitol and first in Jefferson City was destroyed by fire in 1837. The third, erected in 1840, was struck by lightning in 1911 and also burned down. Built on the ruins of its predecessor, the current building was constructed between 1913 and 1918 out of Missouri limestone. The capitol interior houses the Missouri State Museum, with the typical displays of history, civics, natural resources, portrait galleries, and other memorabilia that normally fill state museums.
After the capitol, I walked to the Lewis and Clark Monument and Governor’s Mansion before heading down the hill to the Missouri River, nicknamed “Big Muddy” due to its high sediment content. At 2,341 miles long, the Missouri is the longest river in the U.S., edging out the Mississippi by a mere 20 miles. Water levels were low, as they typically are in the autumn, exposing enormous rock wing-dams used to deflect the current away from the river banks and into the main navigation channel. In the third photo below, you can see how they work—the water above the wing-dam is moving while the water below the dam is stagnant.
The other dominant landmark in Jefferson City is the former Missouri State Penitentiary, the state’s primary maximum security facility from 1836 to 2004 and now a museum and tourist attraction. Famous inmates included bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, Sonny Liston, who learned to box inside the prison and became the World Heavyweight Champion in 1962 after being paroled, and career criminal James Earl Ray, who spent seven years here on armed robbery and mail fraud convictions before escaping inside a bread truck in 1967. Ray was still on the run when he assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968; he then fled the country before being captured in London.
On my way out of Jefferson City, I took a walk on the Katy Trail, which stretches 240 miles across most of the state and is the longest rails-to-trails conversion in the country. We bicycled a portion of this outstanding trail in St. Charles last month (see blog link above). Adjacent to the trail, which follows the Missouri River, I found BoatHenge, a collection of painted fiberglass boats erected in 1993 by anonymous artists.
I then drove 30 miles to Columbia, home of the University of Missouri. Along the way, I spotted both armadillos and Waffle House restaurants, the farthest north that I’ve seen either species. The beautiful Mizzou campus has a unique and curious historical marker on its Francis Quadrangle—Thomas Jefferson’s original tombstone. Jefferson left very specific instructions before his 1826 death for a three-piece granite obelisk at his gravesite at Monticello, VA. This monument stood for more than 50 years, but fell into disrepair after decades of visitors chipped off pieces for souvenirs. Jefferson’s grandchildren decided to replace the marker and received many requests for the original, ultimately giving it to the University of Missouri; choosing a location more than 800 miles away for reasons that are not entirely clear. Unveiled on the Columbia campus in 1885, the monument was relocated frequently and now stands near a bronze sculpture of the great American in what is known as Jefferson Garden. In response to several acts of vandalism, it was encased in acrylic in 2020 to protect it from further harm. Map link: Columbia, MO
I continued north and crossed into Iowa, stopping in Ames, home of Iowa State University. Parks Library on campus is home to the largest works of art created by American artist Grant Wood, with murals on the walls and staircases. Next to the football stadium is Reiman Gardens, a 14-acre, year-round botanical garden with a conservatory, butterfly house, beautiful displays and Elwood, the world’s largest concrete garden gnome. Map link: Ames, IA
My last stop was at a farm field in Grant Township, IA, where the airplane carrying rock n’ roll pioneers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper) crashed on February 3, 1959. The musicians had completed a show in Clear Lake, IA, and chartered a plane to their next gig in Moorhead, MN, 365 miles away. Holly had apparently grown weary of the cold, uncomfortable tour buses and splurged for a chartered airplane. Soon after takeoff, the plane crashed, killing all aboard, including pilot Roger Peterson. Band members Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup were originally scheduled to accompany Holly on the flight. Jennings gave up his seat to Richardson, who was suffering from the flu, while Allsup lost his spot to Valens in a coin toss.
The site is a dirt lot with some makeshift memorials and a large replica of Holly's signature black spectacles. The death of these young musicians (Holly was 22) was forever memorialized as “the day the music died” in Don McLean’s classic 1971 song “American Pie,” his biographical reflection on his childhood, the tumultuous 1960s and the tragic loss of his musical idols. Map link: Buddy Holly crash site
It was a quick, but enjoyable trip. Special thanks to Atlas Obscura, one of the resources that I use to find interesting historical sites, tourist stops and roadside oddities when I’m exploring. Link: https://www.atlasobscura.com/
I’m up to 25 state capitals now—halfway there!!
Bonus Question Answer: Helena, MT, Bismarck, ND and Pierre, SD, are the other three state capitals on the Missouri River.