Opinions


This statue of Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, a West Point grad, stands in Keokuk, Iowa, where Curtis served as mayor before being elected to Congress before the Civil War. He resigned to rejoin the Union Army when the Civil war started and commanded the Union forces at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Many historians today consider him the most successful Union general west of the Mississippi.
Following the Battle of Wilson Creek on Aug. 10, 1861, during the opening months of the Civil War, the victorious Confederate forces swept north and east from Springfield, hoping to capture St. Louis. Of course, they met opposition—but they also faced one of the worst Missouri winters on record. ...

The identities of the couple sitting on the board-topped wire fence bordering the front lawn of the late Willard and Alta Boone’s home (now the parking lot behind the Ozark County Historium) aren’t known, but the picture provides a glimpse of the former M. E. Church that was once a Gainesville landmark. The photo is from the collection of Judy Ford Lyons.
When my wife, Doris, and I acquired the commercial buildings at 434 and 438 Third Street in Gainesville, we never expected them to take us on an Ozark Journey, but they did. The journey began when Mary Ruth Sparks, who compiles the Times Past column for the Times, recently shared with us an...

The identities of the couple sitting on the board-topped wire fence bordering the front lawn of the late Willard and Alta Boone’s home (now the parking lot behind the Ozark County Historium) aren’t known, but the picture provides a glimpse of the former M. E. Church that was once a Gainesville landmark. The photo is from the collection of Judy Ford Lyons.
When my wife, Doris, and I acquired the commercial buildings at 434 and 438 Third Street in Gainesville, we never expected them to take us on an Ozark Journey, but they did. The journey began when Mary Ruth Sparks, who compiles the Times Past column for the Times, recently shared with us an...

Blogger Jane Elder
Editor’s note:  To read more of retired Gainesville educator Jane Elder’s blog, “Ozark Road,” visit gainesvillemo.blogspot.com.   The mules pictures here were our companions for the past weekend. Kit and Kate. A pair of sister mules. They were hitched up to the sorghum mill as we made sorghum...

Wayne Sayles
When we think of “the mills of Ozark County” we generally envision a few water-powered mills on fairly large streams or constantly flowing springs. But what about those mills that have vanished over time? In a short article titled “Our Water Supply” published in the Sept. 24, 1909, edition of the...

Blogger Jane Elder
Editor’s note:  To read more of retired Gainesville educator Jane Elder’s blog, “Ozark Road,” visit gainesvillemo.blogspot.com.   The mules pictures here were our companions for the past weekend. Kit and Kate. A pair of sister mules. They were hitched up to the sorghum mill as we made sorghum...

Wayne Sayles
When we think of “the mills of Ozark County” we generally envision a few water-powered mills on fairly large streams or constantly flowing springs. But what about those mills that have vanished over time? In a short article titled “Our Water Supply” published in the Sept. 24, 1909, edition of the...

After James Sallee’s first wife, Emily, died in childbirth in 1866, he married a widow, Emerine (Martin) Sallee, shown with him here.
The history of Ozark County is a wonderful tapestry of adventure, survival, courage, growth and human interaction on virtually every plane. Whether it was in the 19th century’s westward expansion of settlers or in our own day and age, those who have come here to live have, without exception,...

After James Sallee’s first wife, Emily, died in childbirth in 1866, he married a widow, Emerine (Martin) Sallee, shown with him here.
The history of Ozark County is a wonderful tapestry of adventure, survival, courage, growth and human interaction on virtually every plane. Whether it was in the 19th century’s westward expansion of settlers or in our own day and age, those who have come here to live have, without exception, become...

This Google Earth satellite photo shows the Noble “square” where Davis’ Mill once stood. Civil War correspondence from Capt. William Piland in 1865 carried the heading “Davis’ Mill – Ozark County,” indicating that the infantry company he commanded was headquartered here at the time.
Following the outbreak of the Civil War, the Ozark County Home Guard was organized in June 1861 by order of Gen. Nathaniel Lyon. It was tasked with scouting operations along the Old Salt Road, then called the “State Road,” which ran from Springfield to Jacksonport, Arkansas. Actually, the Home...

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Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423