Edward Millman

The group of men at the left symbolizes the struggle for statehood. These men, John Rice Jones, David Banon, Henry Dodge  Alexander McNair and Edward Bates were among the most prominent members of the Constitutional Convention,” which resulted in the “Missouri Compromise” and led the way to Missouri statehood in 1820.

To the right of the convention group is a portrait of Joseph Charles, founder of the Missouri Gazette, the first newspaper west of the Mississippi River. In the center is a stagecoach bringing bags of mail to St. Louis in 1825, thus furnishing the Gazette with a “regular line of intelligence.” To the right of the stagecoach is a group kneeling in prayer, depicting the coming of the church into pioneer Missouri and the important role it played in development of the Missouri frontier.

 This panel suggests some of the important political trends in the historical pattern of the state. On the left is a portrait of the Dred Scott Decision. Justice Taney is shown handing down the decision of this famous case that was tried in the Old Court House in St. Louis.

In the center group, Senator Thomas Hart Benton is portrayed giving one of his famous stump speeches. These speeches were given in various communities of Missouri during the recess of Congress. Benton was one of the first two Senators from Missouri and, for 30 years, represented this state in Washington D.C. His tremendous influences in shaping policies for the country during the Jacksonian era was of great importance.

The group on the right symbolizes an episode of Pre-Civil War Missouri, showing the violence and struggles of the era.

This panel portrays the extremely important role of Missouri in our early national life. The commerce and trade originating in the Missouri territory were vital factors in the development of the frontiers west of the Mississippi.

To the left is a Missouri pack train on the Santa Fe Trail. In the center, a group of fur trappers are unloading their skins. To the right is Manuel Lisa, the most noted of the early fur traders in Missouri, who bought furs from trappers along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.