Topic Histories
Department/Commission
-
Roads & Their Builders (1971) A compilation of specially themed MoDOT annual reports for 1966 (The First 200 Years), 1967 (The Years Between), and 1968 (The Modern Years).
-
Missouri: A Guide to the "Show Me" State (1941) See Transportation chapter. Also has section on individual cities. Later editions are not available digitally.
Divisions and Sections
Centennial
-
Celebrating a Century Webpage Includes event timeline.
Early Road Legislation
-
King Road Bill (1945) Text of the act that created the County Aid Road Fund.
-
King Road Bill (1947) Amended from 1945 bill.
Early Road History
-
Testimonials on Missouri Roads Missouri State Board of Agriculture Highway Department, 1909.
-
A Century of Transportation in Missouri Missouri Historical Review October 1920, pages 126-162.
-
Missouri, Mother of the West, Williams & Shoemaker (1930) See Chapter 25: The Road History of Missouri.
-
Early Roads in Missouri, Wood (1936) Also available in print at the State Library.
-
Missouri and Missourians, Shoemaker (1943) See Chapter 62: Modern Highway Development.
-
Missouri: A Guide to the "Show Me" State (1941) See the Transportation chapter on page 159. Compiled by workers of the Writers' program of the Work Projects Administration in the state of Missouri.
-
The Story of Transportation in Missouri, Shoemaker (1976) Written for the Missouri Motor News.
-
Out of the Mud, Into the Future: Transportation Leads the Way (2010) By the Transportation Engineers Association of Missouri.
For route-level information, the patron may need to file a Sunshine request with the Commission.
Missouri Historic Bridge Inventory (Fraser, 1996) (MoDOT staff only)
-
Traffic Engineering Conference Proceedings Collection contains issues from 1948 to present. Available in print only. Early on, the series was sponsored by the University of Missouri College of Engineering. Currently known as TEAM conference (sponsored by MoDOT).
Route/Highway historical societies or websites, such as the Route 66 Association of Missouri, can offer useful resources.
-
HABR/HAER/HALS Use geographic index or search by name of structure.
Maps
-
Project History Maps Produced by MoDOT, also known as "rag" maps. Not updated after 2000.
-
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Missouri Collection Shows the layout of 390 Missouri cities from 1883-1951.
-
State Highway Maps Archive Produced by MoDOT. Contains maps from the years 1918, 1926-present.
County Plat Maps
-
The State Historical Society of Missouri Ranges from 1875-1917.
-
Missouri Digital Heritage Ranges from 1875-1930.
-
University of Missouri at Columbia Late 1920s-early 1930s.
You can also search for individual plat maps in MOBIUS catalog.
County Highway Maps (produced by MoDOT)
-
Early MoDOT County Highways Maps, 1937-1961 Missouri State Archives retains originals.
-
The State Historical Society of Missouri's Library Catalog Search for city or county highway maps. Maps only available in print.
-
Current Maps Available online.
State Library Reference Services map case includes county maps from October 1976 and from January 1988. Only available in print.
For aerial maps, see aerial images under Still Images/Photographs
Moving Images/Videos
-
16 mm Film Collection Owned by Missouri State Archives.
Research Aids
-
Missouri County History BooksThe Missouri County History Project is home to county histories gathered from all over the state and contributed to by libraries throughout Missouri. A part of Missouri Digital Heritage collections.
-
Missouri, Day by Day byPublished 1942-1943. Articles revised and supplemented, which were originally issued as a weekly series of press releases, known as "This Week in Missouri History".
-
Automobile Blue BooksSeries of road guides published between 1901-1929. Only certain years are available through Internet Archive.
-
University of Missouri Digital Library CollectionsIncludes historical maps, newspapers, photographs, and books on counties and cities from the Missouriana Digital Text Collection.
For other county history books, see a print list of county histories at the State Archives reference desk.
-
Missouri Highways Sometimes includes features on popular routes. Only available in print.
-
Missouri Historical Review on Missouri Digital Heritage Only contains 1906-2002 issues digitally.
-
Missouri Historical Review in the State Library Only available in print. Contains issues from 1906 to present.
For project-level information, see Chief Engineer Monthly Reports 1967-1984 (incomplete). Hard copy is available in Missouri State Archives. Patron may need to file a Sunshine request with the Commission.
-
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers The Library of Congress's digital collection covers papers from 1836-1922.
-
Catalog of Microfilmed Papers You must submit a research request, as they are not digitized.
-
Newspapers.com Newspapers.com provides online access to many small Missouri newspaper titles from 1700s to 2000s. Must visit, or be a valid library card holder of, a library that subscribes, like Mid-Continent Public Library.
City Specific Newspaper Resources
Jefferson City
- News-Tribune/Post-Tribune (1927-2006; 2007-date) available on microfilm at Missouri River Regional Library, except for most current issues in hard copy.
- News-Tribune: NewsBank database at Missouri River Regional Library (1999-date). Must have a library card to access. Not all articles (like obituaries) are online.
- News-Tribune archives search (March 1999-date): Has limited full-text searching and offers articles for a small fee.
Columbia
- Columbia-Missourian (1926-date) available on microfilm at Mizzou Library.
- Selected years (1908, 1909, 1929, 1966, and 1966-1985) available online in Missouri Digital Heritage.
- Columbia Daily Tribune: Search 2009-current issues online, or 1993-2009 in archives by going to the main page, clicking on the search button, and then selecting 'Current' or 'Archive' to search.
Kansas City
- 1966-2005 issues of the Kansas City Star on microfilm at the State Library.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- 1966-2007 issues on microfilm at the State Library.
- Indexes for 1987-2005 issues at the State Library.
- Online access may be available onsite at area libraries such as University of Missouri (selected coverage back to 1879).
-
State Highway Engineer Report Excerpts Pre-Commission. State Board of Agriculture Annual Reports covering years 1906 (39th)-1912 (45th).
-
Current Meeting Minutes 2008-present.
-
Biennial Reports through HathiTrust Commission. Contains the years 1917/18-1974/76. Only Vol. 1 (1917/18)-Vol. 3 (1920/22), Vol. 7 (1928-1930), and Vol. 11 (1936-38) are full text. Remaining volumes are searchable but not viewable.
-
Biennial Reports through MoDOT Library Commission. Contains the years 1917/18-1984/86. Only available in print.
-
MoDOT Annual Report 2003-present.
-
Commission Meeting Minutes (MoDOT staff only) 1921-present. Available to MoDOT staff only.
Need to check out materials from the MoDOT Library or the Missouri State Library? You'll need a Missouri State Library card! 
Apply for a card from the Get a Library Card page of the Reference Services website.
Still Images and Photographs
Aerial Images
-
MoDOT Aerial Images MoDOT Library's copies now owned by Missouri State Archives, but MoDOT Design/CADD Division retains originals. Contact them for further information.
-
State Historical Society Aerial Photograph Collection Aerial Photographs of Missouri by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (1938-1979). There should be an index map at the beginning of each county in the collection. Land coordinates would be needed to find a specific feature. To view the photos, you must visit the SHS-Columbia in person.
Albums and Collections
-
Missouri Bridges Album Missouri State Historical Society, c. 1930.
-
Missouri State Archives MoDOT Photograph Collection The primary collection mostly consists of photos from the years 1929-1975. The aerial photograph collection, made up of more than 200,000 photos, ranges from 1955 to 2004. Only about 3,700 negatives have been digitized. The image files are only viewable on disc onsite at the Missouri State Archives.
Local Historical Photos
Try local historical societies or museums in your area of research.
Missouri Digital Heritage's Digital Collections may contain local photos.
97 Missouri cities or counties featured in Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series.
Not Finding What You're Looking For?
Call, email, or visit your local County Historical Society. See also their newsletters.
Call, email, or visit The State Historical Society of Missouri.
Check with the Missouri Department of Transportation (District office). You may have to submit a Sunshine request.
Can This Guide Be More Helpful?
Are there topics or resources of interest not included here that you would like to see?
Let the MoDOT Librarian know!