The Visa National Gymnastics Championships are kicking off today in St. Louis. Top qualifiers will head to the Olympic trials in San Jose on June 28. Those who make the cut will go for the gold at the London Games, due to start on July 27. Read more »

 James last wrote from Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 27, 1862. He and his company then traveled to St. Louis, arriving on May 31, where he finally had an opportunity to see Molly. While in St. Louis, his company learned that Federal troops had already captured Corinth, Mississippi. The men left St. Louis and went first to Cairo, Illinois, then took a steamboat to Columbus, Kentucky, arriving there on June 2.

Columbus
June 4th 1862 Read more »

When I started my internship at the Missouri History Museum, I was most excited about the opportunity to work with rare and beautiful objects that I would never come across in my everyday life. There is something wonderful about meeting, learning about, and handling objects that are one-of-a-kind. So imagine my surprise when the most poignant find for me was an object that I had spent every summer with throughout my growing years.

Photo at left: Coleman portable glass stove, ca. 1960s. Courtesy of Maggie Abbott. Read more »

In late May 1862, five companies of the 8^th Kansas Infantry regiment, including James’s Company K, finally left Kansas and headed to the war to join Major General Henry W. Halleck’s command at Corinth, Mississippi. United States forces had wanted to take control of Corinth and its southern railroad junction, and sever Confederate railroad communication, since February. After their loss in the Battle of Shiloh, Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard retreated to Corinth. At the end of April, Halleck, commander of U.S. Read more »

Be it a simple spark or a roaring inferno, fire elicits both fear and fascination. Fire warms us, but it can just as easily destroy us. Flames can engulf a city, leaving death and destruction. By harnessing fire, workers forge sturdy steel and artists create delicate glass objects of great beauty. Campfires and candlelit services create a sense of community and camaraderie. Using artifacts from its extensive collection and local collectors, the Missouri History Museum examines the mystifying duality of fire in a family-friendly new exhibition, Fire! Friend and Foe. Read more »

James ponders his future after the war, as a farmer or storekeeper. He is happy to hear that Molly got a sewing machine, and tells her that he received the deed for land in St. Francois County, Missouri, south of St. Louis, in her name. In war news, James mentions that the regiment was almost sent to Corinth, Mississippi, but hoped to stay in Kansas as home guard. Finally, James discusses relations between the United States and England, or “Johnny Bull” as he calls it. Read more »

The powerful exhibit About Hunger & Resilience will be closing on May 28. When I learned about this exhibit I immediately thought of a book we published in 2007, The Boyhood Memoirs of A. E. Hotchner: King of the Hill and Looking for Miracles. Hotchner recounts his childhood in St. Louis during the Depression, when jobs and food were scarce.

Left: Author A. E. Hotchner, who lived with hunger during the Depression. Read more »

Underneath It All, an exhibition about the evolution of women's undergarments, opens in June at the Missouri History Museum. Senior curator Shannon Meyer gives us a sneak peek at some of the items that may be included in the exhibition. For more Behind the Scenes videos, view our archives. For more and other MHM videos, bookmark or subscribe to the Museum's YouTube page. Read more »

In this letter, James addresses personal matters, primarily responding to information Molly provided in her letters. He thanks Molly for the “Morgan St. news.” In the early 1860s, James’s aunt and uncle, James and Mary Jane Adams, and their four children, John, Mary E., Ellen, and Eliza Ann, lived in a house on Morgan Street. Eliza Ann was married to Molly’s brother, William C. Wilson, who lived in the same house along with their baby, James, and three servants. Molly lived a few blocks away with her mother, Eliza, her brothers, John and Alexander, her sister, Sallie, and her aunt. Read more »

Many Bosnian St. Louisans have awaited this day, the beginning of Serbian military leader Ratko Mladic’s trial for war crimes. Mladic is accused of orchestrating the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, in which 8,000 men and boys were slaughtered, among other crimes.

St. Louis opened its doors to Bosnian refugees in the 1990s and is now home to more than 70,000 Bosnians, the largest population outside of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 2000 the Missouri History Museum published a book by Patrick McCarthy, After the Fall, focusing on a displaced family and their experiences. Read more »