Randolph County, Missouri in the context of "Perche Creek"

The Columbia metropolitan area is the region centered around the City of Columbia in the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in Mid-Missouri, it consists of five counties: Boone, Audrain, Randolph, Cooper, and Howard. The population was estimated at 256,640 in 2017, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in Missouri. Columbia is home to the University of Missouri, and is Missouri's fourth most-populous and fastest growing city, with an estimated 121,717 residents as of 2017. Other significant cities in the area include Moberly, Mexico, Boonville, Vandalia, Centralia, and Fayette. There is also a 9-county Columbia–Jefferson City–Moberly combined statistical area with 415,747 residents.

The area was originally called the Boonslick and settled mainly by Kentuckians following the Boone's Lick Road starting around 1812. The town of Franklin, now washed into the Missouri River, was an early commercial center and start of the Santa Fe Trail. Columbia was founded as county seat of Boone County in 1821. The region was considered for the location of the Missouri State Capitol, but eventually a site was chosen 30 miles (48 km) south of Columbia and Jefferson City was created to serve that purpose. Today, Interstate 70, and U.S. Highways 63, 54, 24, and 40 link the urban areas. The U.S. census defines the Columbia MSA as Boone, Cooper, and Howard counties while the addition of the Jefferson City MSA along with Audrain and Randolph form the combined statistical area.

Moberly is a city in Randolph County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,783 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Columbia metropolitan area and the 9-county Columbia–Jefferson City–Moberly combined statistical area that has 415,747 residents.

Omar Nelson Bradley (12 February 1893 – 8 April 1981) was a senior officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army. He was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and oversaw the U.S. military's policy-making in the Korean War.

Born in Randolph County, Missouri, he worked as a boilermaker before entering the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated from the academy in 1915 alongside Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of "the class the stars fell on." During World War I, he guarded copper mines in Montana. After the war, he taught at West Point and served in other roles before taking a position at the War Department under General George Marshall. In 1941, he became commander of the United States Army Infantry School.