The “Show Me” state was once the gateway to the west, and was the starting point and return destination of Lewis and Clark expedition following the Louisiana Purchase from 1804 to 1806. Home to such famous Americans as Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, Missouri was admitted to Union in 1821.

The area was first explored by Europeans explorers from France in the late 17th century, and settled by French colonists as part of New France in the 18th century. The city of St. Louis was founded by Pierre Laclede Liguest in 1764. The land that is today modern Missouri was ceded to Spain at the end of the French and Indian Wars, but then transferred back to French control in 1800, only to be sold as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

The land was the starting point of the Lewis Clark expedition in 1804, and Missouri became the 24th state to be admitted to the Union in 1821. Jefferson City became the state capital in 1826. The pony express started its runs to California beginning in 1860.

During the American Civil War the state remained loyal to the Union, although many residents supported the Confederacy. The state was the scene of several small engagements, which took place throughout the course of the war.

In 1965 the Gateway Arch in St. Louis was completed, and today it symbolizes the importance of St. Louis and the state of Missouri in that nation’s westward expansion.