The emphasis of our organization is to collect and preserve historical material, reprint historical books and pamphlets, continue to record cemeteries, and to make the public aware of the rich heritage in Jefferson County, Missouri. The following will give you a little history of the Jefferson County Historical Society from our humble beginnings to what we are today.

1968 - A steering committee was appointed to investigate the feasibility of organizing a group with the purpose of preserving Jefferson County history.

December 1968 - Eighty-five interested people met at the courthouse to get a formal organization together to preserve the history and heritage of Jefferson County. The name chosen for this new organization was the Jefferson Heritage and Landmark Corporation.

1969-72 - The organization started efforts to raise funds to purchase the Governor Thomas Clement Fletcher House.

February 1972 - Finally ... we reached our goal and the Fletcher house was purchased!

December 1973 - Ownership of the Fletcher House was transferred to Jefferson County Planning and Recreation Commission.

1980 - The history center was started at Jefferson College, where probate and other important documents are held.

1980s - Fund raising took place throughout this decade for furnishing the Fletcher House. The Society also began its recording of old cemeteries in Jefferson County ... and aren't you glad we did -- you can now see the results of all our hard work online!

March 1985 - Our name was changed to the Jefferson Heritage and Landmark Society.

April 1997 - We are legally chartered under our current name of the Jefferson County Historical Society.

October 2005 - Our website gets a new owner, and it quickly becomes the premiere site for county researchers as many records are added to the site.

2005 - 2009 - We are going strong and are continuously researching and adding the rich history of our county to the web where all can freely access it!