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The first Europeans set foot on Missouri soil. Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet descended the Mississippi from the North and supplied the first written accounts of
exploration in Missouri -
The area was claimed for France by Robert de La Salle. As part of the Louisiana Purchase Territory, Missouri has belonged to three nations.
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Ste. Genevieve, Missouri’s first permanent settlement, was founded.
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France ceded the area to Spain.
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The City of St. Louis was founded by Pierre Laclede Liguest and Auguste Chouteau.
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By secret treaty, Spain returned the Louisiana Purchase Territory to France.
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The United States bought the Louisiana Purchase Territory from Napoleon for $15
million. -
The Lewis and Clark Expedition set out from St. Louis.
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A portion of the Louisiana Purchase Territory became the Territory of Missouri
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1818-Congress received a petition requesting statehood for Missouri
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1820-The “Missouri Compromise” was written, including measures allowing Missouri to
enter the Union as a slave state and Maine to enter as a free state to maintain the balance
of slave and free states in Congress. -
1820-Missouri’s first constitution was adopted on July 19th. Missouri’s first General Assembly
convened at the Missouri Hotel in St. Louis on September 18th. -
Missouri was admitted to the Union as the 24th state on August 10th; the state Capitol
was located in St. Charles until a permanent location was designated. -
Jefferson City was designated as Missouri’s permanent seat of government.
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Missouri’s first Capitol in Jefferson City was destroyed by fire.
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The University of Missouri was founded in Columbia.
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With the discovery of gold in California, many Missouri towns became gateways to
the West, a event that inspired the design of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis -
The area that would later be Kansas City was incorporated.
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The Pony Express began its 18-month run in April from St. Joseph.
