Sam Bushman,

presiding commissioner, retraces how Cole County has grown and prospered in its 200 years of existence.

Cole County was established on Nov. 16, 1820, by Missouri territorial Gov. Alexander McNair and the Legislature meeting in St. Charles. John Vivion, Jason Harrison and James Stark were appointed the first Cole County judges (commissioners) with the county seat in Marion and a total population of 1,028 citizens.

Fast forward 100 years to 1920. World War I was behind us, and the Cole County Courthouse had just been rebuilt after a fire in 1918 had left only the walls and bell tower standing. The presiding judge was William Bauer. The population of Cole County was 24,680.

The year 2020 is the bicentennial of Cole County, and it is my privilege to be the presiding commissioner of our county. So much has changed in the 200 years since our creation. Our population today is approximately 78,000, but with these who travel from our surrounding counties for work, shopping, recreation, conventions and sporting events, we can increase to 90,000 or more at times. With the Missouri capital in Cole County, this gives us much more importance than counties our size.

Looking back to 1820, the rivers were our main means of transportation. We had no roads or highways, so the rivers were our only source of travel. In fact, the Missouri Legislature mandated the capital of the state must be located on the Missouri River within 40 miles from the mouth of the Osage River. Jefferson City was selected as the site of Missouri’s capital and was built for this reason.

In the 200 years since then, we have seen trails become roads and roads become highways. We have seen horsedrawn wagons replaced by automobiles and airplanes, and man walk on the moon — then there are computers, laptops and smartphones! Cole County and the world have changed so much in 200 years that if we could bring Judge John Vivion to our courthouse today, he wouldn’t be able to understand!

Today, we are working on creating our Heartland Port out east on Algoa. In 2020, we are looking at returning to the rivers for our transportation. The Heartland Port can be the biggest thing to happen to Jefferson City since we became the capital. With the proper development, we can become a regional riverport, shipping products all over the world. For farmers who are transporting their crops, it is eight times less expensive to ship by barge than by truck. There are now river container ships that can move the cargo trailers to St. Louis, New Orleans and all over the world! Even the military is looking at using America’s maritime highways as a means of operations and supply. After 200 years, we are returning to our roots.

Cole County has grown and prospered in 200 years, and these are wondrous times to be living. We have never experienced anything like COVID-19 in our lifetime, and I hope a cure is in sight. One hundred years ago in 1920, Presiding Judge William Bauer was celebrating the centennial, the end of World War I and the end of the Spanish flu that killed almost 100 million people throughout the world. Let’s hope that in 2120, Cole County’s presiding commissioner has as much to celebrate as I do, but with no pandemic!

I want to thank our bicentennial committee and our chairman, Marc Ellinger, for all they have done to make Cole County’s birthday memorable. Marc’s father, John, was the chairman of Cole County’s 150th birthday, and I’ll wager that on our 250th birthday, Marc’s sons and grandchildren will chair this celebration! I’ll also wager that Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin will be there in her hover-round Corvette, taking selfies!

Happy 200th birthday, Cole County!

Sam Bushman is the presiding commissioner of Cole County.