The records contain the correspondence, grants, working files, and research materials supporting projects and publications of the Missouri Cultural Heritage Center.
The Missouri Cultural Research Center was established in the summer of 1982 on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus as an extension of the Graduate School and Office of Research. Howard Marshall was hired as the Center’s director. He received his doctorate in Folklore from Indiana University and is the author of numerous books and articles on Missouri history.
The focus of the Center was to encourage and foster research in Missouri’s cultural heritage with outreach activities and public programs such as exhibits, performances, published materials, and oral history. It also served as a clearinghouse for the study of Missouri’s folk arts and provided students with opportunities to work in that field. The Center was almost entirely supported by national grants.
The Missouri Cultural Heritage Center closed on June 30, 1993, due to university budget cuts. The Center’s administrative records were sent to the University of Missouri Archives. The Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program and Missouri Performing Traditions were combined to form the Missouri Folk Arts Program now with the Museum of Art and Archaeology. Center employees over the years included Thomas Prater, Mary Hinton, Lisa Redfern, Pat Kelley, Amy Skillman, Ray Brassieur, Patrick Janson, Julie Youmans, Toni Prawl, Carol Grove, Edgar McKinney, Barry Bergey, Michael Everman, and Margot Ford McMillian.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The Missouri Cultural Heritage Center Records are arranged into the following thirteen series: Publications; Small Projects; Alive and Kicking: The Missouri Mule, Then and Now, 1976-1989; Conley House Restoration Project, 1982-1990; Missouri’s Judicial History; The German Housebarn in Missouri: Object and Image; Now That’s A Good Tune Fiddle Album; Cornett Farm Historic Preservation Project; Missouree vs. Missourah; Hardship and Hope Theater Program; Seeds of Change: Heartland Harvest; Slides and Photographs; and Audio/Video.
The Publications series is arranged alphabetically by title and is largely the work of Center staff on cultural heritage topics.
The Small Projects are arranged chronologically. The bulk of the collection consists of records for nine large projects, and includes information such as funding proposals, grants, correspondence, photographs, slides, and research files to support those projects.
The Slides and Photographs date from the 1980s and document Cultural Heritage Center projects in addition to early architectural surveys around the state of Missouri.
The Audio/Video series includes recordings of Center events, oral histories that support Center projects, and recordings of Missouri fiddlers for the Now That’s a Good Tune album.