On February 4, 1929 the Columbia Missourian reported on a meeting of University of Missouri athletic officials to discuss the urgent need for a field house. Rothwell Gymnasium (1906) and McKee Gymnasium (1922) were at capacity and the growing university needed a larger area, especially for basketball. Plans moved quickly and on February 8, 1930, Brewer Fieldhouse was dedicated during a MU vs. KU basketball game attended by 4,500 people. The fieldhouse was named in honor of Chester Brewer, who served at different times as athletic director, and as head coach of football, basketball, and baseball.

On February 3, 1862, an order was issued by the Union Army requiring the president, professor, curators, and other officers of the University of Missouri take an oath of allegiance to Missouri and the Federal Government. Major General Hallack’s order stated that “this institution having been endowed by the government of the United States, its funds should not be used to teach treason or to instruct traitors.” Refusal was allowed, but if those named “shall thereafter attempt to obtain pay, or perform the functions of such office, he will be tried and punished for military offense.”

On January 2, 1978, the Columbia Missourian reported that the University of Missouri Lab School would close; it was over 110 years old at the time and budget cuts were blamed. For most of its history it was a combined elementary and high school on campus, commonly known University High or U-High. At the time of its closing in 1978, there were 180 student were enrolled in grades 1-6; the high school had already been shuttered in 1973. The school was a venue for teacher training, educational experimentation, and application of new teaching techniques.

On February 1, 2007, the Columbia Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery was established in the 1820s just before or during, the founding of Columbia in 1821. At first it was a simple common burial ground, but in 1858 the Columbia Cemetery Association expanded the area into a more formal cemetery. The Columbia Cemetery of 2023 spans 26 acres and now includes three smaller cemeteries with separate, but closely related histories.

On January 31, 1921, Beulah Ralph was born in Hardin, Missouri. Beulah moved to Columbia as a child and graduated from the black only Douglass High School at a time when public education was still segregated by race. After graduating she returned to Columbia Public Schools and Douglass as an employee. Her almost sixty year long carrier as an educator would span the period of desegregation, a process she helped guide the district through.

On January 30, 1857 the Boone County & Jefferson City Railroad Company was incorporated in the state of Missouri. The company’s goal was to construct a railroad from the coming North Missouri Railroad in northern Boone County through Columbia to the Pacific Railroad in Jefferson City. After being put on hold during the Civil War, the line was completed in 1867. Although the line from Columbia to Jefferson City was never constructed the railroad from Centralia to Columbia was the city’s first rail connection. In 2023, it is known as the COLT Railroad and is Columbia’s only active railroad.

On January 29, 1979, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Depot was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1908-1909 and served as the terminal for the 8.5 mile Columbia spur of the M.K.T. Railroad which connected downtown Columbia to the mainline of the railroad at McBain. The mainline, which ran along the Missouri River, connected to St. Louis, Kansas City, and beyond.

On January 28, 1919, a sumptuous banquet was held in the ball room of the Daniel Boone Tavern on Broadway. The occasion was to celebrate E.W. Stephens 70th birthday. Stephens was the leader of the effort to erect the Daniel Boone Tavern, which opened in 1917. It is not an exaggeration to claim Edwin William Stephens is the most consequential figure in Columbia history; he is rivaled only by the earlier James S. Rollins, father of the University of Missouri.

On January 27, 1985, Rock Bridge High School announced it was erecting a new sign to help people find the 11 year old high school. The Columbia Missourian reported (on page 11) that the building was “hidden by a mass of trees” and PTA Treasurer Georgianna Garst said “there is a history of complaints from people who unknowingly pass by it.” Rock Bridge High School was built after overcrowding at Hickman High School in the 1960s. In 1968, the Columbia Board of Education purchased 42 acres on south Providence Road, although the site was just inside recently expanded city limits the board was criticized for choosing a location so far outside of town. When construction began in 1969 and for some years after, the school was surrounded by corn fields and other agricultural land.

On January 26, 1980, the Columbia Missourian published a two page special report on a proposal to redevelop the area along Flat Branch Creek, south of Broadway, into a hotel, convention center, retail, residential, and business center. The Flat Branch Project, as it was known, was focus of intense debate among leaders, businesspeople, and Columbians in general. The project was sparked when rumors began to fly of a separate project to build a large regional mall. The Flat Branch Project was defeated by voters in April of 1980. The rumors were true and in 1985 the Columbia Mall opened near Stadium and I-70. The battle over private and public interest along Flat Branch Creek has continued for decades.