On January 22, 1799, John Hiram Lathrop was born in Sherburne, New York. He arrived in Columbia in 1841 to take a job as the first President of the University of Missouri. Lathrop would be hugely influential in the university’s development and in Columbia more generally. He was educated at Hamilton College and then Yale University . As a young man he taught at schools and colleges in New England and, when offered the job in Missouri, was a professor of law, civil polity, and political economy at Hamilton College. When he arrived at the University of Missouri he found an institution that was not yet functioning.

On January 21, 2004, the Ballenger Building in Downtown Columbia, Missouri was placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its long association with a series of businesses. Over 130 years old, it is located at the northwest corner of 9th Street and Cherry. In 2023, it is one of the oldest continually operating commercial buildings in Downtown Columbia and “reflects Downtown Columbia’s long history as the dominate commercial center in Mid-Missouri.” It was built in 1892 for its first tenant, G.F. Troxell Furniture. The basement of the building was constructed over a natural spring, one of several in Downtown Columbia.

On January 20, 2005, the Central Dairy Building in Downtown Columbia was placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its outstanding architecture and its historic use as a commercial dairy. Central Dairy was founded in Columbia in 1920 by Dot Sappington and Clyde Shepard, both Boone Countians. After operating for seven years at two other locations downtown they built the Central Dairy Building in 1927 to house the growing dairy operation. The exceptional terra cotta ornamentation is very rare for Mid-Missouri and is likely the finest example in Downtown Columbia.

On January 19, 1929, Mayor W.J. Hetzler announced he would run for a second term. He had come to Columbia from Canton, Missouri in 1905 with his brother J.P. Hetzler. They built an ice plant and meat locker in 1906 that still stands at the southeast corner of Providence and Broadway. This was the first ice plant in Columbia, before ice was shipped in by train or manufactured from local bodies of water. The timber used for construction was from temporary structures at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The limestone was from the quarries on Rock Quarry Road and cut on site.

On January 18, 1884, an elaborate opera house opened at the northeast corner of 9th and Broadway. Called Haden’s Opera House after its owner Joel H. Haden; it was on the second and third stories of an ornate three story building. The building was constructed around 1878 and had been known as Garth Hall. Haden remodeled the building to seat 1,246 with two balconies and four private boxes. Although the Haden Opera House lasted for less than twenty years, burning in a fire in 1901, it was the center of social life for Columbia. It hosted traveling actors, minstrel shows, lectures, and local musicians.

On January 17, 1929, Slater Ensor Lenoir died at his home of Maplewood, he was 95. He had come to Missouri when less than a year old, with his family, in 1834, and grew up and lived at Greenwood (see January 15th entry), which was built for his father, Walter Raleigh Lenoir. Slater Lenoir would attend the University of Missouri and participate in the California Gold Rush of 1850. He returned to Columbia in 1851 by sea, crossing the isthmus of Panama. After marrying Margaret A. Bradford in 1864 they continued to live at Greenwood until 1877, at which point they constructed a home and 427-acre farm south of the City of Columbia on the gravel road to Ashland. This home, named Maplewood, was located in a large grove of sugar maple trees.

On January 16, 1970, the Columbia Missourian reported that 120 Hickman High School students received special permission to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Russell Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Less than two years earlier the civil rights leader and champion of non-violence had been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray, who was convicted of the murder, escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City by hiding in a bread truck in 1967 before assassinating King in 1968.

On January 15, 1979, Greenwood, one of Columbia’s oldest surviving brick structures, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home, is “a remarkable example of the Federal style as interpreted locally and exhibits a high degree of preservation of original features.” It was the home of Walter Raleigh Lenoir, a member of a wealthy and influential family. There is some debate over when the oldest part of Greenwood was built, but at earliest it was 1827 and at latest 1839; Columbia was founded in 1821. The house is still occupied and used as a family home today. It is very likely the oldest brick structure in Columbia.

On January 14, 1911, Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School held its first day of classes welcoming students from 1st to 6th grade. It is named after the 18th president of the United States who, prior to being elected, was Commanding General of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Grant School was built to relieve overcrowding in the Columbia Public School District. Its architect was St. Louis based William B. Ittner, who has been called the most influential man in school architecture in the United States. Construction took only 10 months, beginning in March 1910, and was completed in time for the building’s opening on January, 14, 1911.

On January 12, 1975, the Columbia Missourian reported on the controversy surrounding the announcement of Dr. Arland F. Christ-Janer as the new President of Stephens College. The College, still marketed as a women’s college today, was founded as the Columbia Female Academy in 1833. The original Columbia College (see yesterday’s entry) was chartered that same year for the education of men.

On January 11, 1839, the Geyer Act was introduced and passed the Missouri House of Representatives. After then passing the Missouri Senate, it was signed by the Governor on February 11, 1839, creating the University of Missouri and the state’s first system of public education. It described an elaborate system of primary schools, secondary schools, and colleges, all under the control of the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

On January 10, 1910, the University Missourian reported Columbia citizens had experienced a lack of electricity for parts of the previous three nights due to a broken valve and demand for electricity outstripping the power plant’s capacity. The city’s first power plant was built less than twenty years earlier in 1892 by the private company Columbia Water and Light. The company was founded after a massive fire (see yesterday's entry) destroyed the main building of the University of Missouri.

On January 8, 2020, legendary local historian Alan R. Havig died at age 79, after contributing a massive body of work about American history. His over 50-year-long association with Stephens College, first as a professor, then college archivist, made him not only a primary source of information about that institution but a beloved teacher and Columbian. He joined the Stephens College faculty in 1967 after receiving his M.A. and Ph.D. in American history from the University of Missouri. He taught American history, American studies, and popular culture until his retirement in 2005. Upon which he became College Archivist for over 10 years. The Stephens College Archives were located in the basement of Tower Hall on the North Residential Quad. One of the most prominent buildings on campus, Tower Hall, opened in 1938, and continues to be a dormitory in 2023.

On January 6, 1916, a new library building at the University of Missouri was dedicated. Known as Ellis Library since 1972, it was the first building on campus built specifically as a library. In fact, there were two libraries sharing one building: the Library of the University and the Library of the State Historical Society of Missouri. The main entrance fronted Lowry Street (now Lowry Mall) and was designed by the St. Louis firm, Jamieson & Spearl, the architects of many other university buildings and Columbia homes. The library and Lowry Mall are the central, connecting link between the older Red Campus surrounding Francis Quadrangle, and the younger White campus marked by Memorial Union

On February 14, 2023, the Candy Factory continued its long tradition of selling chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day. The company was founded in 1974 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024. The northeast corner of 7th and Cherry, the location that the Candy Factory now occupies, was once home to the Coombe Brothers Wagon Shop and Motors. The current building was likely constructed for the Columbia Daily Tribune, which occupied it from 1946-1973. In 1975, the building became the original location of Deja Vu, a bar and music venue that soon morphed into a legendary comedy club.

On February 10, 1966, the Columbia Missourian reported on overcrowding at Eugene Field Elementary School, saying, “they serve lunch in the gym, give speech lessons in the sick bay, and violin lessons in the hall.” The school was attended by 427 students, who used just 14 classrooms. Field Elementary was erected in 1916 as part of a large expansion project for Columbia Public Schools, it was the 4th elementary school in Columbia.

On February 9, 1975 the Columbia Missourian reported on efforts to “recycle” “rundown buildings” in Columbia. The Hays Hardware Building at 812 East Broadway was given as a prominent example. The building was constructed for the Hays Hardware company around 1870, which occupied it for 99 years, until they went out of business in 1969. The building sat vacant until 1973 when Jackie Slater of Missouri Arts and Craft Company leased it.

On February 8, 1970, the Columbia Missourian reported that a local observance of national “Negro History Week” would be held at the J.W. “Blind” Boone Community Center. Negro History Week was started in 1926 and scheduled in February to mark the birthday’s of Frederick Douglass (February 14) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12). The weeklong celebration of black history grew into what is now celebrated as Black History Month.