Creation of this database began in November, 1993, as a project to expedite searching through thousands of handwritten city records. At first, I recorded all new bills being introduced, a short description, when or if a bill were passed, record of the vote, etc. Then, as time permitted, I began recording past bills and ordinances. Soon, as more and more city departments requested information from the database, it became apparent that it would be very useful to include as many past records as possible.

After some thought, I decided to approach the Secretary of State's Office which oversees record management and archives in the State of Missouri. I asked them to consider providing a state grant for the project. In 1994 my office applied for a grant to hire a data entry worker and was approved. Using that first grant we were able to enter handwritten data from 1994 through 1974. In 1995 we reapplied for a second grant and once again the Secretary of State awarded the funds necessary to enter data from 1973 through 1929. Finally, after receiving a third grant in 2002, we were able to finish entering data all the way back to the first city council meeting in 1839.

This database is now available to the general public. It has more than 15,000 records and is growing. The web version is in a SQL (pronounced: see·quel ) database which allows for fast and efficient searches. Our web server uses MySQL which is the same server software used by companies like Silicon Graphics and Siemans. MySQL has successfully handled databases with as many as 50 million records and 10,000 tables with little or no detriment to search performance.

SQL (Structured Query Language) is one of the most powerful database languages in the world. SQL databases use tables with rows and columns to maximize search speed. This particular search engine uses the Boolean Operator AND by default which means that if you use multiple search words or phrases in multiple fields the search engine will locate all records which contain all the keywords in your query.

Examples:

You may search by search word or phrase. For instance, let's say you want to find every mention of McCarty Street. If you type in the word McCarty in the Description field and click on Search you would find every occurence of:

McCarty Street
E. McCarty St.
McCarty and Lafayette
McCarty Street Exit
West McCarty

However, if you type in the phrase "East McCarty St." (enclosed with quotes) you will find only records with that exact phrase. Your search would find only records with:

East McCarty

Your search would miss E. McCarty or even East McCarty Street because you used the abbreviation St. instead of Street in the search.

In addtion to searching for "exact phrases" you can use other Google-like enhancements like adding + or - signs in front of search words. For instance, searching for:

Your search will produce records which contain McCarty but DO NOT contain any mention of the word Dunklin. You can also use wildcard designations with * and ?.