The State Historical Society of Missouri

Oral History Program

The Oral History Program of the State Historical Society of Missouri is a joint collection with the University of Missouri’s Western Historical Manuscript Collection.  Since 1993, The State Historical Society has had a full-time oral historian recording and transcribing hundreds of oral history interviews that preserve Missouri’s history, culture, and heritage.

The first project of the oral history program focused on artists from Missouri's Bootheel region.  The project, a collaboration with the University of Missouri Folk Arts Program and Museum of Art and Archaeology, was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Missouri Arts Council.  Researchers collected oral history interviews and other recordings, which resulted in Art and Heritage of the Missouri Bootheel: A Resource Guide (pdf, 8mb).

With over 3,000 interviews, the oral history program continues to actively produce and collect oral history interviews that represent Missouri’s culture and history.  However, researchers will find our oral history collection reaches well beyond the Show-Me State’s borders.  

For information about the Oral History Program, please contact:

• Current Projects
• Collections
• FAQ
• Resources

Have a research question? Please see: http://shs.umsystem.edu/researchrequests.shtml
Comments about the web site? Contact the hargettd@umsystem.edu