Office of the Secretary of State, Publications Division
Portrait Collection, 6,500 prints, mid-1930s, to the present

This collection is comprised of the official portraits of Missouri's state representatives, senators, elected officials, and division heads. Also included are general subject files that document government buildings, historic sites, and state institutions.

Office of the Secretary of State, Publications Division
Vanishing Missouri, Official Manual Contests, 3,000 prints, 1880-1998

Since 1987, the Office of the Secretary of State has conducted a photograph contest called "Vanishing Missouri."   Entries become part of the Vanishing Missouri Collection and winning entries are printed in the Official Manual of the State of Missouri.  Throughout this collection are color and black and white images of rural and urban Missouri. Photographs of old cars, railroad depots, threshing scenes, stores, turn of the century barns and homes, logging and mining industries, and family portraits, can all be found in this collection.

Missouri Department of Transportation, approximately 25,000 negatives, 1916-1965

This collection illustrates the development of Missouri’s highway system in the first half of the century. Photographers were responsible for documenting all phases of road building, bridge construction, viaduct and overpass construction, and traffic at major intersections statewide.In addition to documenting Missouri’s urban and rural infrastructures, this collection captures, on film, parks and recreation areas, historic buildings, and important events.

Missouri Department of Corrections, 528 prints, 1900-1990

This collection includes photographs of inmate life at the Missouri State Penitentiary, prison structures within the Corrections system, inmates, prison farms, prison wardens and other employees, and the 1954 Missouri State Penitentiary prison riot.

Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri State Fair Collection, 5,000 prints, 1930-1992

These photographs highlight the Missouri State Fair, in Sedalia, including the fairgrounds and buildings, entertainment, fair events and contests, exhibits, parades, queen candidates, people, agriculture, and animal contests.

Capitol Construction Commission, 140 prints and negatives, 1913-1917

Missouri's fourth capitol building burned to the ground February 5, 1911. The Capitol Construction Commission was created to organize the building for the fifth and current statehouse. Thomas Cooper, a Jefferson City photographer, was in charge of photographing all stages of construction for this new building, from the foundation work to the capping of the dome. Related materials can be found in the Missouri State Archives Manuscript Collections.

Kansas City Parks and Recreation Collection,1,500 negatives, 1900-1960

This collection shows the construction and improvement of Kansas City’s parks, boulevards, and avenues, as well as some of its prominent structures such as the County Club Plaza and Liberty Memorial. Also featured are some WPA projects and portraits of past park commissioners.

Civilian Conservation Corps, 165 prints and negatives, 1935-1942

CCC camps at New Madrid, Palmyra, and Kahoka, Missouri are represented in this collection. The photographs depict camp personnel, buildings, work scenes, and camp life. Photographers are Fred R Jacoby, Cecil Westmorland, and Archie W. Durham.

Little River Drainage District, 3,094 contact prints, 1909-1940s

The Little River Drainage District in Southeast Missouri carefully documented the construction of the Headwater Diversion Channel and levee, the five parallel floodway ditches, and hundreds of miles of additional ditches. While the majority of prints record the construction, other subjects are found among the photographs. Floods and overflows, particularly the 1937 Mississippi River flood, are included. Agriculture and the changing landscape, development of the railway system, construction of numerous communities, Civilian Conservation Corps, and individuals important in the development of the District are also contained within the collection.

Gerald R. Massie Collection, 933 prints, 768 negatives, mid-1930s-1974

This collection contains Massie’s work while employed with Commerce and Industrial Development and his early photography while living in Kansas City, Missouri, in the 1930s. As state photographer, Massie was in charge of developing the visual concepts for Missouri’s regional booklets and tourist advertising. This collection, like the Commerce and Industrial Development Collection, depicts Missouri scenery, industry, agriculture, and recreation, as well as special events such as President Harry Truman’s visit to Westminster in Fulton, Missouri.

Dr. Joseph Summers Collection, 1,852 prints and 300 negatives, 1850-1990

The Summers Collection is an excellent resource for Jefferson City, Missouri, history. Arranged alphabetically by subject, this collection provides imagery of Jefferson City businesses, streets, buildings, people, schools, clubs, churches, institutions, and the State Capitol building.