The Cole County Historical Society Museum in Jefferson City, Missouri, is on the National Registry of Historic Buildings. The building stands as a historical site, built by Governor B. Gratz Brown in 1871 and today draws visitors as a tourist attraction. The museum’s collection of artifacts, antiques and historical documents add distinction to our county and state. Across the street, the Governor’s Mansion adds to the historical grace of the museum. The Cole County Historical Society Museum features the only county museum in the country to own and display inaugural gowns of its state’s first ladies on a rotating basis. The Museum features a Victorian style parlor, the James Foster McHenry Civil War room that includes a room length mural, a diorama of Jefferson City, period weapons, small memorabilia, costumes and the written word, to tell the story of Jefferson City and the state capital’s role in the American Civil War.