Jefferson City is dominated by the domed Capitol, which rises from a bluff overlooking the Missouri River to the north. Lewis and Clark passed the bluff on their historic expedition upriver before Europeans established any settlement there.

Missouri has been called the "Mother of the West" and the "Cave State", but its most famous nickname is the "Show Me State", which appears on its license plates. The origin of the phrase is popularly ascribed to a speech by Congressman Willard Vandiver in 1899, who declared that "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton, cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri, and you have got to show me."

The state is named for the Missouri River, which was named after the indigenous Missouri Indians. It is said they were called the ouemessourita (wimihsoorita), meaning "those who have dugout canoes".

The first westbound Pony Express trip left St. Joseph on April 3, 1860, and arrived 10 days later in Sacramento, California, on April 14. When it was later replaced by the telegraph, the Pony Express quickly became part of the lore of the American West. Its reliance on the ability and endurance of individual young, hardy riders and fast horses was seen as evidence of rugged American individualism of the frontier times.

On April 3, 1882, after eating breakfast, Jesse James was shot dead by the Ford brothers at his home in St. Joseph, Missouri. The house, now known as the Jesse James Home Museum, has been relocated at least three times and still features the bullet hole from that fateful shot. St. Joseph is identified by the slogan, "Where the Pony Express started and Jesse James ended."

Kansas City's barbecue craze can been traced back to Henry Perry, who in the early 1920s started barbecuing in an outdoor pit adjacent to his streetcar barn, serving the slabs of his labor wrapped in newspaper. Today, barbecue still stands as the city's signature cuisine, with more than 90 barbecue restaurants operating in the metropolitan area.

Missouri designated the white hawthorn blossom as the official state flower in 1923. More than 75 species of the hawthorn grow in Missouri, particularly in the Ozarks.

Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States and officially dedicated to "the American people," the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch has become an internationally recognized symbol of St. Louis, as well as a popular tourist destination.

7 Up was created by Charles Leiper Grigg, who launched his St. Louis-based company, The Howdy Corporation, in 1920. The product, originally named "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda", was launched two weeks before the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and contained lithium citrate, a mood-stabilizing drug, until 1948.

McNair was elected governor in 1820, receiving 72% of the vote and defeating the famous explorer William Clark.