On February 7, 1973, the Columbia Missourian reported that the old Hinkson Creek Bridge was permanently closed to motor vehicles and would likely be preserved as a historic site and pedestrian crossing. It is at the site of the original crossing of Ashland Gravel Road over Hinkson Creek and was built in 1888 by H.W. Sebastian & Co to replace an earlier wooden bridge. Ashland Gravel Road was the main route to the town of Ashland and beyond to Jefferson City.

On January 5, 1926, the internationally renowned pianist J.W. “Blind” Boone announced his retirement in an interview with the Columbia Missourian saying, “I am going to retire and live in the happiness I have wrought from others and in a final pursuit of those stray tones which I have not yet found in life.” Boone spoke publicly about retirement as early as 1921, but the Missourian interview was published after special New Years Eve performances on both KFRU, a radio station only a year old, and Stephens College Radio. Boone, who was rarely in his hometown for New Years, would keep a busy January schedule.

On January 4, 1971, the Columbia Public Library opened at a new location on the southwest corner of Broadway and Garth. Six days earlier, library patrons moved the book collection by hand, forming a “book brigade” that stretched over half a mile from the previous location at Broadway and Seventh Street in the Gentry Building. Prior to this new building, the effort to maintain a public library for the citizens of Columbia had a long history.

On January 3, 1905, the Pratt Family (George, Georgina, J.K., and Charles) registered the addition of eighteen large lots to the City of Columbia in what is now known as the East Campus Neighborhood. The addition is between today’s Rosemary and Wilson streets and contains many fine examples of residential architecture.

On January 2, 1862, the 2nd Missouri Cavalry Regiment, commonly known as “Merrill's Horse” arrived in Columbia and pitched their tents on the University of Missouri campus. This Union military unit fought widely in Missouri and Arkansas during the American Civil War. It was commanded by Colonel Lewis Merrill, and upon entering Columbia consisted of around three hundred men.