Historical Note:

Jesse James bites the dust . . .

On April 3, 1882 notorious bank and train robber, Jesse James was killed by his 19-year old cousin, Bob Ford. As James stood on a chair to dust a picture, Ford crept up and shot him in the back of the head. Ford later told his aunt, James's mother, that his "gun went off by accident," but the truth was the $10,000 reward was too much for him to resist. A year later Jesse's brother, Frank James, turned himself in to the authorities, ending the 15-year menace of Missouri's famous James gang.

Name Origin: Algonquian. ("muddy water")

Capital: Jefferson City

Population: 5,278,000

Area: 69,697 square miles

Statehood: August 10, 1821 (24th)

Nickname: The Show-Me State

Motto: "The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law"

Famous For: Center of Continental United States, "Gateway to the West," Livestock, Ozark Plateau, Cottontail Rabbits, Dairy, Corn, Wheat, Cotton, Lead, Zinc, Lime, Cement, Timber, Aircraft, Automobiles, Spacecraft