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History and Heritage:
Resources for Social Studies Teachers and Researchers
Whether you're looking for primary sources to include in a lesson plan or for help finding information about your antebellum home and the people who lived there, the following collection of non-subscription sites near and far will help get you started.
We begin with word-searchable PDFs [free Adobe Reader available via the link in the column to the left] of the Preservation Issues newsletter published by the State Historic Preservation Office with a grant from the National Park Service, 1991-1997. As is the case with the nominations linked from our National Register pages, entering a specific name or word in the search box in the black bar above will search the Department of Natural Resources' entire website... including the contents of the National Register nominations and newletters posted on the SHPO pages!
- Preservation Issues, vol. 1, no. 1 (Jan. - Feb. 1991)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 1, no. 2 (March - April 1991)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 1, no. 3 (May - June 1991)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 1, no. 4 (July - Aug. 1991)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 1, no. 5 (Sept. - Oct. 1991)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 1, no. 6 (Nov. - Dec. 1991)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 2, no. 1 (Jan. - Feb. 1992)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 2, no. 2 (March - April 1992)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 2, no. 3 (May - June 1992)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 2, no. 4 (July - Aug. 1992)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 2, no. 5 (Sept. - Oct. 1992)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 2, no. 6 (Nov. - Dec. 1992)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 3, no. 1 (Jan. - Feb. 1993)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 3, no. 2 (March - April 1993)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 3, no. 3 (May - June 1993)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 3, no. 4 (July - Aug. 1993)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 3, no. 5 (Sept. - Oct. 1993)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 3, no. 6 (Nov. - Dec. 1993)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 4, no. 1 (Jan. - Feb. 1994)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 4, no. 2 (March - April 1994)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 4, no. 3 (May - June 1994)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 4, no. 4 (July - Aug. 1994)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 4, no. 5 (Sept. - Oct. 1994)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 4, no. 6 (Nov. - Dec. 1994)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 5, no. 1 (Jan. - Feb. 1995)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 5, no. 2 (March - April 1995)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 5, no. 3 (May - June 1995)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 5, no. 4 (July - Aug. 1995)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 5, no. 5 (Sept. - Oct. 1995)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 5, no. 6 (Nov. - Dec. 1995)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 6, no. 1 (Jan. - Feb. 1996)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 6, no. 2 (March - April 1996)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 6, no. 3 (May - June 1996)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 6, no. 4 (July - Aug. 1996)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 6, no. 5 (Sept. - Oct. 1996)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 6, no. 6 (Nov. - Dec. 1996)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 7, no. 1 (Jan. - Feb. 1997)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 7, no. 2 (March - April 1997)
- Preservation Issues, vol. 7, no. 3 (Sept. - Oct. 1997)
Overviews and Lesson Plans:
- Teaching with Historic Places from the National Park Service
- Missouri Heritage Project (from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)
- Invisible History: Preserving the African American Past in Missouri
- Missouri Archaeology Month
- Timeline of African American History in Missouri (from the Missouri State Archives)
- Africans in America (from PBS)
- Slavery in America: Lesson Plans, Teachiers' Resources, Narratives, Biographies, Geography and more (from slaveryinamerica.org)
- Before Dred and Harriet Scott: Freedom Suits in Missouri: Lesson Plan (from the Missouri State Archives)
- A History of Freedom Suits in Missouri (from the Missouri State Archives and Washington University)
- United States Colored Troops in Missouri: Lesson Plan (from the Missouri State Archives)
- National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program (from the National Park Service)
- Underground Railroad Activity in St. Louis (from St. Louis Magazine)
- Underground Railroad Theme Study (from the National Park Service)
- Underground Railroad Interactive Journey (from National Geographic)
- Researching and Interpreting the Underground Railroad (from the National Park Service)
- Harrisonville Courthouse Square Project: Hands-On Local History
Primarily for Research:
- Origins of Missouri Counties (from the Missouri State Archives)
- Historical Census Data (from the University of Virginia)
- 1850 Federal Census - Missouri
- St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records Project: Freedom Suits and suits related to Lewis and Clark (from Missouri State Archives and Washington University)
- St. Louis Probate Records, 1802-1900 (from Missouri State Archives)
- Database of Servitude and Emancipation Records in Illinois (1722-1863) (from Illinois State Archives)
- Illinois Statewide Marriage Index (1763-1900) (from Illinois State Archives)
- Slavery and Freedom -- lists of emancipations registered, free licenses issued, and sales of enslaved persons ordered at St. Louis' Old Courthouse, part of the National Park Service's Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
- North American Slave Narratives (word searchable collections from the University of North Carolina)
- First-Person Narratives of the American South (word searchable collections from the University of North Carolina)
- The Church in the Southern Black Community (word searchable collections from the University of North Carolina)
- American Memory (word searchable collections from the Library of Congress)
- Making of America (word searchable books and articles from the University of Michigan)
- Making of America (word searchable books and articles from Cornell University)
For assistance using any of these sites, please refer to the contact information listed on the individual sites or contact State Historic Preservation Office staff member Kris Zapalac via e-mail or at 314-416-2960 x270 or 800-334-6946.
We have additional links to federal, state, and local agencies and nonprofits dealing with heritage, history, preservation and related issues.
