photo by gusto

Another of the many Missouri towns that prospered as an outfitting post for westward migrants (in this case thanks to its proximity to the Boone’s Lick Trail), Columbia has also distinguished itself through other enterprises.

Area residents raised the funds to establish the first public university west of the Mississippi, in 1839. The University of Missouri is now one of three institutions of higher learning in this town of 69,100; the other two are Columbia College and Stephens College.

Six stately Ionic columns, all that remain of the university’s first administrative building, now stand sentinel in Francis Quadrangle. Thomas Jefferson’s original tombstone also lies nearby. The State Historical Society of Missouri, in the university’s Ellis Library, has changing exhibits about the region.

Also of interest is the Walters-Boone County Historical Museum.

As a vibrant college town and the hub of mid-Missouri, Columbia has a good assortment of cafès, restaurants, and shopping areas in its historic downtown area.

Columbia lies midway between St Louis and Kansas City on I-70, and is serviced by buses. It also has its own airport.