House Speaker Dean Plocher and the Missouri House of Representatives are honored to announce the induction of Marie Watkins Oliver into the Hall of Famous Missourians.
Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher stands alongside the newly unveiled bust of Marie Watkins Oliver with her great-great grandson, Jack Oliver. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Marie Watkins Oliver, hailed as the “Betsy Ross of Missouri,” played a pivotal role in crafting the Missouri State Flag. In 1908, Oliver, the wife of Senator Robert Burett Oliver and a resident of Cape Girardeau, headed the committee formed by the Daughters of the American Revolution and took on the challenge of creating an official state flag.
Her resulting masterpiece integrated red, white, and blue, symbolizing Missouri’s federal ties while embodying local autonomy and self-governance. The central coat-of-arms denotes Missouri’s geographical significance, while twenty-four stars on the blue band mark the state’s place as the twenty-fourth state in the Union. Each color carried profound meaning: blue for vigilance, permanency, and justice; red for valor; and white for purity.
Despite setbacks, such as the loss of her original flag in a fire, Oliver’s resilience triumphed. Following numerous attempts to secure legislative approval, the Oliver Flag was officially adopted as the state flag on March 22, 1913. The silk flag she crafted stands proudly in Jefferson City, serving as a timeless testament to Oliver’s lasting legacy.
In recognition of her efforts and impact on the Show-Me State, Speaker Plocher presented the bust for Oliver as the latest member to join the Hall of Famous Missourians.
“In honoring Marie Watkins Oliver’s induction into the Hall of Famous Missourians, we celebrate not just a woman of historical significance, but a visionary who stitched together the very fabric of our state’s identity,” House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, said. “Like the stars on our flag, her contributions shine brightly, reminding us of the resilience and creativity that define Missouri. It’s a privilege to recognize her pivotal role in shaping our history and heritage.”
A rifle that was created in St. Louis and was integral to the shaping of the West is now Missouri’s Official State Rifle.
Representatives Doug Clemens and Mazzie Boyd, at the recent Hawken Classic, got to fire an original 190-year old Hawken as well as a replica.
The Hawken muzzle-loading rifle was created by Jacob and Samuel Hawken, brothers who learned gunsmithing from their father before opening a shop in St. Louis in 1815. As the Rocky Mountain fur trade was getting underway, the brothers created the rifle meet the needs of fur trappers, explorers, traders, and others venturing out into then-largely unexplored parts of what today is the United States, west of Missouri.
Legislators hope that by making this one of the symbols of the state, it will draw people to learn more about this part of history.
Representative Doug Clemens (D-St. Ann) also carried the state rifle legislation, after a gunsmith friend of his approached him about the idea. Clemens, who has a minor in history, said the Hawken gave those in the frontier a reliable, high-quality weapon that was effective at very long range.
Representatives Clemens and Boyd (back row, at left) were joined in the Capitol by several historians and enthusiasts who testified on their Hawken rifle legislation .
House members this past session heard from historians who said giving the Hawken this state designation would be appropriate.
Representatives Boyd and Clemens both, at the recent Hawken Classic event in Defiance, had to chance to fire both an original Hawken and a replica. Both say they shot well with it, and they were given plaques for supporting the rifle’s state symbol designation this year. Both said it was an honor to fire the 190 year-old original, which Boyd notes, is very valuable.
Representative Mazzie Boyd holds an original Hawken rifle that was brought to her office in the Capitol on the day her bill was heard in committee.
The replica Hawken they fired is expected to go on display in the Missouri Capitol, as an addition to the State Museum on the Capitol’s first floor. Clemens is looking forward to having fun with that.
Missouri becomes at least the 10th state to have a firearm among its state symbols. That Hawken rifle language was added to Senate Bill 139, which was signed into law in July.
When the Missouri House convened in January for this, the 102nd General Assembly, it did so in a freshly renovated House Chamber featuring new voting and message boards; refinished woodwork; updated wiring; and most importantly, badly needed new carpeting.
You can see photos from before, after, and throughout that project in the gallery below (and linked here), and scroll down to read more about it.
The work done during the summer and fall of 2022 was overseen by the Chief Clerk and Administrator of the House, Dana Rademan Miller. Among other things, Miller has a deep appreciation for the history and cultural significance of the Capitol, and she brought that to this project.
House Chief Clerk Dana Rademan Miller explains the design that was selected for new carpeting in the House Chamber. (Photo: Mike Lear, Missouri House Communications)
She tells us that when the Capitol was being built more than 100 years ago the carpeting in the House was originally wool. It has been replaced several times since then, the last time having been in 2008.
In what was intended to be a cost saving decision the carpet installed at that time was synthetic. Instead of saving money, this proved to be a costly choice that hampered business in the Chamber because the synthetic carpet built up static electricity more quickly than had the wool.
This problem developed at the beginning of a session, and obviously the voting system was of primary importance, so staff at the time had to quickly come up with a short-term fix.
The wiring in the chamber was replaced that next summer to alleviate the static issues. Now the Chamber is back to having wool carpeting not just for the sake of historical significance and functionality, but also because wool holds up better than did the synthetic.
A lot of thought was put into the visual design elements of this new carpeting by Miller and others with a mind for history. It leans heavily on symbology already found elsewhere in the Chamber.
This image illustrates how features already in the House’s artwork (left) were recreated in the new carpet pattern (right). Here, the egg and dart border around a hawthorn blossom as seen in the ceiling of the House is recreated in the new carpet. (Photos: Tim Bommel and Mike Lear, Missouri House Communications)
Miller said when these symbols were built into the Chamber they were meant to represent qualities that, it was hoped, would be found in the representatives in the House as well as in all people.
In these images can been seen the laurel pattern found on the ceiling (upper right and bottom images) that is recreated in the new carpet in the side galleries of the House Chamber. (Photos: Tim Bommel and Mike Lear, House Communications)
Among other work done during this time, professional woodworkers refinished the fine features of the dais and rostrum. When carpet was removed from the stairs leading up either side of the dais, a fine cork floor – chosen for that structure in part to control sound – was uncovered, and it was able to be saved.
The members’ desks from the House floor were sent to a St. Louis company to be refinished for the first time in about 35 years, and before-and-after photos show that now they look virtually new. Most of these desks are original to the building, their number having increased as the size of the House has increased since 1917.
The removal of the carpeting and those desks also presented an opportunity to update the wiring beneath the Chamber floor. This work will better serve the modern laptops and new voting boards. It also added a system that will help the hearing impaired.
The replacement of the voting boards had been a priority for Miller for years. The old ones dated back to 1997 and were still running on a program that relied on Windows ’97.
Finally, the sound desk – which had not been original to a Chamber that originally had no sound system – was updated to a smaller, more efficient design.
For Miller, as someone who admittedly loves the Capitol and its history, it has felt good to get to leave her stamp on the Chamber by having a project like this take place during her time as Clerk.
She says there is still work to be done in the Chamber, including some plaster detailing and decorative paintings that need to be touched up. She said there has been money set aside by the General Assembly for restoration of the Capitol as a whole, but the legislature will have to give more attention to that issue.
A cemetery that is historically significant, especially for the African American community at Clinton, Missouri, could be preserved by the Department of Natural Resources under a bill signed into law this year.
One of the veterans buried in Antioch Cemetery is Otis Remus Lyle, who served during World War I. He is buried next to his father, George. Otis’ wife, Nellie, remarried after his death and is also buried in Antioch. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The legislation authorizes the state DNR to acquire Antioch Cemetery in Clinton. It could turn the cemetery into an educational site to be operated by the state Division of Parks.
Many of those interred in the five-acre cemetery are people who were once enslaved. It was established in 1885, but the first burial occurred 17 years earlier; that of 36 year old James F. Davis, who died in 1868. Two acres of the site were deeded to Clinton’s African American residents in 1888, for $50. More land was gifted in 1940.
There are many homemade headstones at Antioch Cemetery, including that of Charley Kerr, who died in 1914 as the result of a stab wound. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The earliest born individual in Antioch Cemetery is identified only as Aunt Mason, who was reportedly 106 years old when she died in 1887. Contemporary newspaper accounts said she was “probably” the oldest person in the state at the time. Papers recalled that while enslaved, Aunt Mason had been owned by at least four families, serving as a nurse for one. One of those may have been the family of a man who was a state representative at the time the Civil War broke out. It was around that time that she was freed, and for much of the time after that she lived alone. Papers claim she was later shunned by her neighbors as a “witch and a soothsayer,” but recall she was “remarkable,” and retained vivid memories of her early life. Hers is one of the many graves in Antioch that lacks a marker.
Representative Rodger Reedy stands at the grave of World War I veteran Gove Swindell, in Antioch Cemetery in Clinton. Reedy sponsored a bill aimed at ensuring the long-term preservation of Antioch. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The cemetery is also the final resting place of several veterans, including Jackson “Uncle Jack” Hall, who fought in the Civil War and died in 1911, at the age of 108.
It also includes brothers Charles and Clarence “Pete” Wilson, who served in World Wars I and II, respectively. Charles served in France with the 92nd Infantry Division; a segregated infantry division of the U.S. Army that inherited the “Buffalo Soldiers” nickname given to African American cavalrymen in the 19th century. Clarence was a Sergeant in the Army Air Corps.
Those in the cemetery haven’t always been allowed to rest peacefully. In 1891, about two weeks after he was buried, the grave of Mat Wilson was desecrated and someone stole his body, leaving behind only his head and feet.
Burials at Antioch Cemetery have continued into the modern era, and the legislation will allow that to continue.
Click the left and right arrows below for more photos from Antioch Cemetery:
A museum telling an important story in the nation’s sports and cultural histories is featured on a new license plate that will soon be available to Missourians.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City began in a one-room office in 1990 and today is in a 10,000 square-foot home among the Museums at 18th & Vine in Kansas City. It is the only museum dedicated to the Negro Leagues, which originated in Kansas City in 1920 and offered people of color a chance to play professional baseball at a time when they were barred from playing in the major and minor leagues due to racism.
License plates bearing the Museum’s logo will soon be available. It will cost $15 more than a regular license plate registration, and applicants can opt to donate $10 to the museum. This is the result of legislation carried by Representative Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City).
Sharp said the legacy of the Negro Leagues goes far beyond sports, having just as much to do with United States’ history and culture, and it meant a lot to him personally.
Sharp carried Senate Bill 189 which included language that he also sponsored in House Bill 100, to create the plate. The proposal received broad, bipartisan support in both chambers.
The last living model for one of the Missouri State Capitol’s best-known artistic features paid a visit to his likeness today, giving in what could prove to be a “fond farewell.”
Harold Brown, Junior, in front of his likeness (the baby whose diaper is being changed) in the Benton Mural, “The Social History of Missouri,” in the Missouri State Capitol (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communcations)
In 1935, the legislature commissioned Thomas Hart Benton to paint the walls of the House of Representatives’ Lounge on the Capitol’s third floor. Benton called it “The Social History of Missouri;” a history that he felt would be incomplete without a baby, for without children there would have been no expansion into the west.
Enter Harold Brown, Junior, then the 1 year-old son of Missouri Adjutant General Harold Brown, Senior. While Benton was visiting the General’s home he saw young Harold crawling on a blanket and asked to include him in the mural. The Browns agreed and Benton sketched the youngster.
It is Harold’s likeness that became a baby having his diaper changed while a political rally plays out behind.
Thomas Hart Benton’s sketch of one year-old Harold Brown, Junior, who he later included in his mural on the walls of the House Lounge in the Missouri State Capitol. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Brown, now 86, said with a wry smile that he’s “getting pretty feeble,” so he’s not sure how many more times he will be able to visit the mural.
His father is also in the mural. Benton was actually at the family’s home to sketch Harold, Senior’s likeness when he got the idea to include Harold, Junior. The elder Brown is the foreman of a jury in a courtroom scene near the southeast corner of the Lounge.
Brown also has the sketches Benton made of him and of his father. The sketch of his one-year-old self includes blotches of paint; the artist’s reminders to himself of what colors to use for the infant’s skin and eyes.
Benton signed the sketch, “To the Browns with apologies.” Brown explains, Benton was concerned Brown’s parents wouldn’t appreciate his rendition of their baby boy.
Harold’s father, Harold Brown Senior, also made it into Benton’s mural. He is the jury foreman in this scene – he can be seen with his left hand over his wright wrist. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Brown, Junior’s bare-bottomed likeness and the rest of the “Social History of Missouri” can be seen during guided tours of the Missouri State Capitol, which are offered by staff of the State Museum.
A woman described as a “political trailblazer” is the latest inductee into the Hall of Famous Missourians.
The bust of Annie White Baxter, being added to the Hall of Famous Missourians, is joined by Representatives Sonya Anderson, Gina Mitten, Peggy McGaugh, and Ann Kelley (L-R). (Photo courtesy: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Annie White Baxter was the first woman elected to public office in Missouri and the first female county clerk in the United States. Baxter was elected Jasper County Clerk in 1890, 30 years before women were eligible to vote. She later served as the state registrar of lands from 1908 to 1916, and as the financial secretary of the Missouri Constitutional Convention in 1922.
Baxter earned a reputation as one of the state’s best county clerks. She played a role in the planning and early work in constructing the current Jasper County Courthouse. Then-governor David R. Francis named her an honorary colonel for her work, leading to one of her nicknames, “Colonel Baxter.”
“Today is such a proud moment in the preservation of our Missouri history,” said Wendy Doyle, President and CEO of the Women’s Foundation.
Doyle said this recognition for Baxter is long overdue, and will inspire future generations.
“It is important to recognize women’s historical contributions in historic sites, state parks, and other public spaces. We are stronger when we can see ourselves in the lives and legacies of those who came before us … we know that recognizing the historical contributions that women have made in the past is an important part of empowering and inspiring women of all generations today,” said Doyle. “Today is a moment of great Missouri pride.”
The House Speaker selects inductees to the Hall. Speaker Elijah Haahr (R-Springfield) said people like Baxter paved the way for those who have influenced his life and the lives of those close to him.
Women’s Foundation President & CEO Wendy Doyle speaks during the ceremony to induct Annie White Baxter in the Hall of Famous Missourians. (Photo courtesy: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
He said it was his mother who was the first political advisor in his life, “who really gave me the words of wisdom that ended up putting me on course to take the job that I have today. I pass that along to my children, especially my three daughters who will grow up in a world where they don’t have to think about not having the opportunity to vote and not having the opportunity to run for office. It’s moments like these that I feel especially excited about not just what we’ve learned from the past but about the future of our state and our country,” said Haahr.
Current Jasper County Clerk Charlie Davis said Baxter’s efforts lead the way for women not just in his county or Missouri, but nationwide.
“Today I cannot even imagine our country or our counties or our state being run without women … but you know there are places all across this globe that women don’t have the right. They don’t have the right to vote, they don’t have the right to participate in any politics, and I think some of that needs to change, because I look at our country. Our country is much better today than it was in 1890 when Annie White Baxter was the first woman elected in the State of Missouri and the first woman elected as county clerk in our country,” said Davis.
Baxter’s induction came one week after the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Doyle called that an event of, “great significance for Annie White Baxter, knowing she oversaw the very elections that she couldn’t even vote in.”
The Hall of Famous Missourians is located in the third floor Rotunda of the Missouri State Capitol, between the House and Senate chambers. Others in the Hall include Walt Disney, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Josephine Baker.
For the first time since 1924 the statue of Ceres is no longer on the top of the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.
The statue of Ceres from the top of the Missouri State Capitol building is removed for cleaning and restoration. The removal is part of a years-long project to restore and preserve the Capitol. (Photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The 10-foot, four inches tall and 2,000 pound bronze statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, was placed on the Capitol dome on October 29, 1924. It was taken down off of the dome Thursday morning by crane so that it can undergo cleaning and conservation.
The removal of the statue from the top of the dome took approximately five hours.
The statue was available for public viewing on the south side of the Capitol for a few hours before crews began preparing it to be taken to Chicago. It is expected to be placed back atop the dome after roughly a year.
Ceres’ removal and restoration is part of an approximately $50-million project to restore and repair the exterior of the Capitol.
The Ceres statue is 10-feet and 4-inches tall and was sculpted by Sherry Fry of Iowa. (Photo; Mike Lear, Missouri House Communications)
Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe said the Capitol’s water damage is somewhat visible from the ground, but when he was up on the dome with the crews that prepared the Ceres statue for removal, it was much more apparent.
Dana Miller is the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House and Chairwoman of the Missouri Capitol Commission. She said the removal of Ceres is the latest step in the years-long project to restore the Capitol. She said the exterior work represents the second phase of that project, which is about one-third complete.
The statue of Ceres will be taken to a Chicago firm for restoration and cleaning. Several hundred people turned out to see the statue being taken down from the dome and during a public viewing after it was lowered. (Photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
After the second Capitol building in Jefferson City was destroyed by fire following a lightning strike in 1911, Missourians voted to approve tax funding for a new Capitol. The tax generated approximately $1-million more money than was needed for construction of the Capitol, but all the money it generated had to be used on the building. The remaining $1-million went into the artwork found around and throughout the Capitol, including the Ceres statue.
Historian and author Bob Priddy said that commission chose Ceres to adorn the dome because Missouri is an agrarian state. Some have suggested that she should then face north because most of Missouri’s best cropland is found in that half of the state. Priddy said she faces south because the main entrance of the Capitol is on its south side.
Brown said the plan is to restore Ceres to her south-facing position when the statute is returned to the dome.
Kehoe noted that just as this Capitol’s predecessor was struck by lightning there is evidence that the Ceres statue has been struck as well.
The Ceres statue is hoisted onto a truck before being viewed by the public. It took crews approximately five hours to slowly and gently lower the statute from the top of the dome. (photo; Mike Lear, Missouri House Communications)
The Ceres statue will be taken to the Conservation of Sculpture and Objects Studio, Inc, in Chicago, for cleaning and conservation. The last time it underwent such work was in 1995 when a crew restored her to prevent deterioration, but the work was done while the statue remained on the dome.
The statue was created by sculptor Sherry Fry of Iowa. Some historians believe the statue was modeled after Audrey Munson, a silent film star known as America’s first supermodel, who was the model for countless statues in the nineteen teens and nineteen twenties.
Brown said those who didn’t get to see the statue up close today will have another chance before it is returned to the top of the dome.
