JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -- “From the day I landed in Kirksville in 1874, Osteopathy made some progress.”  These words can be found in one of hundreds of original manuscripts and documents from the collection of papers of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, the father of Osteopathic medicine. More than 650 pages from this collection are available online for the first time at the Missouri Digital Heritage website (www.missouridigitalheritage.com). 

“I am pleased that my office was able to partner with the Still National Osteopathic Museum to allow Missourians to see these documents,” Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said. “This collection highlights some of the contributions our state has made to the world in the field of medicine.” 

A strong abolitionist and Union Army civil war veteran, Andrew Taylor Still, M.D., D.O., created a philosophy of medicine that focused on the unity of all body parts, which differed from the practice of his day. He recognized the body's ability to heal itself and stressed preventive medicine, eating properly and keeping fit. Fellow Missourian Samuel Clemens was also a strong advocate of Osteopathic medicine. In a letter Clemens wrote to an acquaintance in July of 1899, Clemens stated “Damn all the cures…this is the satisfactory one.”

When Still’s theories were initially rejected, he moved from Kansas to Kirksville in 1874 and established a small office in the town square. His practice flourished, and in 1892 he founded the first college of osteopathic medicine, the American School of Osteopathy, which is now the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Through the Missouri State Library, a division of Carnahan’s office, the Still National Osteopathic Museum received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services funded by the Library Services and Technology Act to help get these documents online. In 2008 Carnahan created the Missouri Digital Heritage website, which makes millions of historical documents available online to the public.