It's fair to say that no other immigrant group has had a greater influence on Missouri as the Germans. They swarmed into St. Louis and then followed the Missouri River westward in the early 1800s, finding in our rolling hills and broad valleys a beautiful country that reminded them of their beloved homeland in the Old World.

This book is your personal tour guide into that unique heritage. It includes rare archival materials as well as places you can visit today to help you explore that history or let you sample their culture with all your senses. We hope this book encourages greater appreciation of Missouri Germans' influence upon our state's development, including their bedrock antislavery principles and support of the Union, their industrious work ethic and craftsmanship that shaped so much of our built environment, and a talent for fun that germinated so many breweries, wineries, bandstands, and other treasured aspects of our culture. We can practically guarantee your amazement at some of the legacies these German immigrants left that still surround us.

Immigration is one of the most debated political topics in our country today; it's hard to see clearly beyond the present situation. By looking back at the surprisingly parallel situation of Missouri's German immigrants beginning almost 200 years ago, perhaps we can better envision reaching our target of a diverse yet unified Missouri in the future.