Jefferson City, city (1990 pop. 35,481), state capital and seat of Cole co., central Mo., on the south bank of the Missouri River, near the mouth of the Osage; inc. 1825. The state government is the major employer, but the city, with rail and river facilities, is also the commercial and processing center of an agricultural area. Machinery, construction materials, dairy products, furniture, and transportation equipment are produced. It was a small river village when it was chosen (1821) for the state capital; the legislature moved there from St. Charles in 1826. Because of divided loyalties and the difficulties of holding the state in the Union, Jefferson City was occupied by Union troops during the Civil War. The Italian-Renaissance capitol of Carthage marble (completed 1917) contains murals by Thomas Hart Benton and N. C. Wyeth, and is the site of the Missouri state museum. In the city are Lincoln Univ., the state penitentiary, and a national cemetery.
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