Jefferson City is the state capital of Missouri and the seat of Cole County. The city began as a community surrounding Lohman's Landing, a steamboat port and riverfront warehouse on the Missouri River. When the town was chosen as the state capital in 1821, the Missouri legislature proposed changing its name to "Missouriopolis." However, they instead decided to name the capital for Thomas Jefferson, hence Jefferson City.

The city lies in the center of Missouri, in the Ozark Mountains just southwest of the Missouri River. The first two capitol buildings, built high atop a bluff overlooking the Missouri River, were destroyed by fire. The third, built on the same spot as its predecessors, was completed in 1917. A bronze statue of Ceres, goddess of grain, stands atop the dome as a symbol of the state's agricultural heritage.