Two of the town's oldest stories sit within a few minutes' walk of the Capitol. On the bluff stands the Governor's Mansion, home to Missouri's governors since 1871. Below it, at the water's edge, is Jefferson Landing, where the river trade that built the town once tied up.
The Governor's Mansion
The mansion was completed in 1871 and is still the official home of the governor, which makes it one of the oldest governor's residences in the country still in use. It is a tall red-brick house in the high Victorian style, with a mansard roof and a grand staircase inside. The ground-floor rooms are furnished in period style and are shown on guided tours on set days; because it is a working residence, tour days are limited and sometimes cancelled for official events. Check before you plan your day around it.
Even without a tour, the walk past it is worth making. The house and its garden face the river, and the view from the street in front explains why the state chose this bluff in the first place. The story of that choice is in How Jefferson City became the capital.
Jefferson Landing
Before railways and highways, Jefferson City lived off the Missouri River. Steamboats brought goods, lawmakers and settlers to the landing below the bluff, and the stone and brick buildings that served them are preserved as Jefferson Landing State Historic Site. The oldest of them dates from the 1830s and once held a warehouse, a store and a tavern under one roof.
Inside, small exhibits cover river life and the town's early years. It is a short visit, half an hour or so, but it puts the rest of the town in context: the capital was a river town long before it was anything else.
Putting the stops together
The mansion, the landing and the start of the Bicentennial Bridge are all close to each other on the north side of the Capitol. A good order is the Capitol first, then the mansion, then down to the landing, and finally across the bridge to Adrian's Island for the river view. Allow an hour for the mansion and the landing together, more if you join a mansion tour.