Organizers in the metro continued to get set on Monday for the first total solar eclipse in the area in over 200 years.
Next week, people in St. Joseph will have one of the best views across the country of the occurrence.
The last time the metro area saw a total solar eclipse was in 1806. Back then, historian Sarah Elder said the area was much different.
"It was just wide open. There wasn't anybody out here. No settlements at all," she explained. "It's just prairie grass, buffalo roaming, a lot of vegetation and a lot of animals."
Elder told 41 Action News the eclipse occurred before Kansas City and the state of Missouri were even around.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition may have also missed the experience, since the group was around the Idaho area at the time.
"Interestingly enough, they don't mention the partial eclipse in their journals," she explained. "They were not in the path of totality."
Over 200 years later, the metro will be ready next Monday.
Thousands of people are expected to head to St. Joseph to witness the event.
A week before the experience, the St. Joseph Museum continued to put final preparations in place.
"For our event, I've got people coming from New York City and Hollywood, California," explained staff member Kathy Reno, who said almost every state would be represented in the area next Monday.
Reno said the facility started planning for the event around a year and a half ago with lots of focus on parking, concessions, emergency planning and exhibits.
"You think of everything that might come up," she explained. "Then you try and think of the things that you haven't thought of."
With the metro getting one of the best views next week, Elder said people should find the time to experience the moment of the total solar eclipse.
"It truly is a once in a lifetime experience," she explained. "Even for children who are 8- or 9-years-old, this is their chance to see something totally phenomenal that they may never see again in their lives."
