The Supreme Court of Missouri Historical Society was incorporated as a Missouri non-profit corporation on July 21, 1983. Incorporators were William H. Leedy, William A.R. Dalton, William E. Tipton, Virginia Henwood Gottlieb, all children of former judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri, and Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr., then President of The Missouri Bar. Judge Warren D. Welliver was a driving force behind the establishment of the Society. Stated purposes included the following:

1. To establish, restore, preserve and maintain, with the consent of the State of Missouri, the interior furnishings and fixtures of the historical Supreme Court Building;
2. To establish and maintain therein, with the consent of the State of Missouri, such educational facilities for the general public as may prove desirable;
3. To acquire, by purchase, loan, lease or gift, such item or items as may be desirable for the enhancement, betterment or improvement of the Supreme Court Building;
4. To survey and evaluate the Supreme Court Building for the purpose of seeing to the preservation of that which is considered of worth historically and architecturally and to employ all legal means deemed advisable for such preservation;
5. To disseminate knowledge of and provide opportunity for research into the Supreme Court of Missouri and its place in the history of Missouri and the United States;
6. To make the knowledge and materials acquired available to scholars, historians and the public as prescribed by the Board of Directors;
7. To accept contributions from the public in varying amounts in return for membership in the Society and the benefits derived therefrom, or any otherwise lawful contributions independent of membership.

Subsequently, bylaws were adopted, and officers and trustees were elected. A Revenue Ruling establishing that dues and contributions to the Society are tax deductible was obtained.

Early activities of the Society included research necessary to the ultimate publication of a history of the Supreme Court of Missouri, commencement of an oral history project, efforts to locate and obtain memorabilia of persons connected with the court, needed restoration of portraits of former judges, and efforts to increase the membership of the Society.