Missouri is located in the Midwestern area of the United States of America and is popularly known as the “Cave State” because of the state’s 6,000+ reported caverns. Jefferson City, named after the third US president, Thomas Jefferson, is the state capital and is often recognized as America’s most beautiful town.
Missouri is a southern/midwestern state with an abundance of wildlife due to its terrain and climate, which is humid continental in the north and humid subtropical in the remainder of the state. Missouri’s abundant bodies of water, public forests, and wilderness areas, including the well-known Mark Twain National Forest, also benefit wild creatures.
Top 7 BEST Hidden Gem Attractions in Missouri
Missouri, the nation’s 18th most populated state, has given birth to some notable Americans, including Mark Twain, Chuck Berry, Walt Disney, and Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States of America.
Missouri, the ‘Show Me’ state, is regarded in American history and culture as a pool of different options and attractions. The state has seen and done it everything, from indigenous tribes to twenty-first-century literati. Let us take a time to go deeper and discover Missouri’s greatest hidden jewels so we may enjoy them for years to come.
The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
The mansion, which opened in 1882 as the Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum, houses one of the biggest and greatest collections of historic toys and miniatures in the United States of America. The Museum was awarded its present ‘national’ status in 2015. It began with a collection curated by Mary Harris Francis and Barbara Marshall.
Expect to see ancient dollhouses that appear 1000 times better than the real ones we live in, wooden boats, vintage automobiles, tin toys, and thought-provoking miniature reproductions that look like shrunken versions of the original goods.
Bothwell Lodge
The structure, formerly known as the Stonyridge Farm, was erected over 30 years ago as a hideaway for rich barrister John Homer Bothwell and his associates. The Lodge, which covered 12,000 square feet, featured 31 rooms and was built in the medieval European style.
Whilst the structure itself was stunning, the three underground caverns uncovered during construction were the most interesting element of the Bothwell Lodge. To take advantage of this natural occurrence, Bothwell had various access points installed within the structure so that fresh, natural air could circulate through the whole residence.
Turtle Playground
The Turtle Playground, built in the late 1990s, has concrete sculptures of reptiles that are larger than life. The majority of the park’s’reptiles’ were inspired by indigenous animals found in the region. The Turtle Playground’s typical residents include several turtles and a very long snake whose body is supposed to act as an entrance to the park.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum
Laura Ingalls Wilder, widely known for her children’s book series “Little House on the Prairie,” enjoyed traveling and spent a lot of time exploring the states of Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Missouri.
While there are numerous major locations along the path dedicated to her life and travels, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum in Mansfield, Missouri, highlights her last years when she lived with Almanzo and their daughter, Rose, and penned her Little House series.
World Chess Hall of Fame
The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a museum, an instructional facility, a monument, and a dream destination for every chess fan on the planet. WCHOF, America’s only museum of its sort, was founded in 2011 and is operated by the United States Chess Trust.
A book autographed by Bobby Fisher depicting numerous chess openings, a Senet piece as ancient as 500 years, Paul Murphy’s silver chess set, and the first chess-playing computer stand out as noteworthy attractions among the many famous objects in the museum.
Lyle Van Houten’s Automotive Museum
The Automotive Museum, located off Highway 36 in Clarence, Missouri, was founded by former owner and operator Lyle Van Houten, who, rather than selling his little station after 40 years of operation, decided to turn it into a display of vintage cars stuck in the classic era filling station in America.
After retiring, Houten dedicated his time to conserving the original filling pumps and signboards, as well as a collection of vintage automobiles with mannequins dressed in period clothes.
Among the remarkable displays are an old Clarence police car, a couple driving their expensive automobile, and an odd taxi loaded with figurines dressed as marching band monkeys.
Missouri State Penitentiary
Missouri became a state in 1821, and Jefferson City was designated as the state capital barely a year later. But, the then-governor, John Miller, recognized that efforts needed to be taken to actualize the city’s significance. As a result, he directed the building of Missouri State Prison, a maximum-security prison for the most notorious criminals.
The first convict arrived in the Penitentiary in 1836, while the first female inmate arrived in 1842. The convicts at the Prison built the cells and any other neighboring houses. With almost 5,000 convicts, the facility was reputed to house the nation’s greatest outlaw population in 1932.
Nevertheless, a large uprising in 1954, as well as numerous associated injuries and deaths, earned the State Prison the moniker “the deadliest 47.”
