May 30th This Day in Missouri

All day

On May 30, the following notable historical events related to Missouri occurred:

  • 1806: St. Louis, a Missouri trade hub, saw active spring fur trading with Native American tribes, though no specific event is noted.
  • 1854: The Kansas-Nebraska Act, repealing the Missouri Compromise, created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, intensifying national slavery debates tied to Missouri’s border conflicts.
  • 1856: Missouri’s pro-slavery “Border Ruffians” raided Kansas anti-slavery settlers in “Bleeding Kansas,” driving violence as spring campaigns intensified.
  • 1861: Union General Henry W. Halleck in St. Louis fortified federal control, while Confederate guerrillas in rural Missouri launched spring attacks, fueling Civil War strife.
  • 1864: Confederate General Sterling Price’s Missouri forces in Arkansas prepared for spring operations, with Missouri itself under Union control and minimal Confederate action.
  • 1888: Southeast Missouri’s Missouri Pacific Railroad, linking Cape Girardeau to markets, drove economic growth, with late May freight operations surging.
  • 1929: Missouri’s urban centers, Kansas City and St. Louis, reeled from Great Depression unemployment, with spring public works projects providing temporary relief.