G-3 Curtis Laws Wilson Library
Missouri University of Science & Technology
400 W. 14th St., Rolla, MO 65409-1420

Phone: (573) 341-4440
Email: rolla@shsmo.org
Web Address: https://shsmo.org/visit/rolla

The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center Collection is a joint collection of the State Historical Society of Missouri and the University of Missouri. Established in 1943 at Columbia, the collections were physically combined in 1963 and operations expanded to the Kansas City, Rolla, and St. Louis campuses in 1968.  The Research Center’s mission is to collect, preserve, and make available personal and institutional records that illuminate the history of Missouri and the broader region to which it belongs. The collection is the state’s most comprehensive repository of primary historical documents, with holdings spanning pre-statehood days to the present .

The mission of the Rolla branch is to support the research and teaching endeavors of the University of Missouri System, Missouri residents, and the general public by collecting and preserving materials focusing on the history of southern Missouri and the Ozark Highland. Major collections include the records of the St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Railway Company, the St. Joe Minerals Corporation, and the American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Company. Transportation, mining, and industrial collections complement the heritage and curriculum at Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly the Missouri School of Mines & Metallurgy and the University of Missouri-Rolla); the Rolla branch also holds personal and family papers, the records of businesses, churches, and social organizations, images, and ephemeral material documenting the lives of Missourians in fifty-three counties in southern Missouri.

Each collection is described and fully indexed. Access to finding aids may be had through the State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Rolla webpage, email and telephone, or by visiting the Rolla office. With advance notice, any item in the entire combined collection can be made available to researchers at any of the University of Missouri campuses via the University courier service. Inquiries regarding donations of historical items are always welcomed. The Rolla office is open Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the exception of University holidays.

Browse all collections contributed by the State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Rolla