Every Lake
Missouri
Two great rivers meet on this board — and the Bootheel hangs off the corner because one man asked.
Missouri in relief
The land itself, cut in six steps of birch from the lowlands to the high ground — the cities starred, the summit and rise on the title block. No counties, no roads: just the shape of Missouri.
About Missouri
Missouri is the crossroads of American water. The Mississippi runs the whole eastern edge, the Missouri comes in from the west and turns at the middle of the state to meet it above St. Louis, and the two together drain most of the continent. North of the Missouri the land is glaciated plain; south of it the Ozark Plateau lifts into hills, bluffs and the biggest concentration of springs and caves in the country. The Bootheel juts off the southeast corner because a landowner named John Hardeman Walker lobbied to be included. One hundred fourteen counties plus the independent city of St. Louis.
Missouri entered on August 10, 1821 as the 24th state, the deal that produced the Missouri Compromise. Jefferson City was chosen the same year as a new capital on a bluff over the Missouri near the center of the state, named for the president who bought the territory. The map is the jumping-off place: the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails all started at Independence and Westport, Route 66 crossed to Joplin, and I-70 and I-44 follow both today.
- Six layers of birch — the land in elevation steps
- The summit and total rise on the title block
- The major cities, starred and named
- Title block with the admission date and capital
- A double rule engraved around the edge
- Every county line and the state border
- The interstates with their shields — 11 on this board
- The major cities, starred and named
- Title block with the admission date and capital
- A mile ruler engraved around the frame
