Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Cassville, the seat of Barry County, lies in a scenic area of notable beauty where rolling prairie contrasts with rugged Ozark hill land. In the Civil War, Cassville served as the Confederate Capital of Missouri for eight days, Oct. 31 to Nov. 7, 1861.

After Missouri's pro-Southern government was ousted by the State Convention, it met first at Neosho in Newton County. There it passed an ordinance seceding Missouri from the United States and an act ratifying the Provisional Confederate Constitution. The Approach of Union troops forced flight to Cassville. Here the "Rebel Legislature" chose delegates to the Confederate Congress and Gov. Claiborne F. Jackson is thought to have signed the act of secession. In the Civil War, Union troops occupied Cassville as an area headquarters and ravaging guerrilla warfare tore the country side.

South of Cassville is Roaring River State park, 2,946 Ozark acres featuring Roaring River Spring. At the base of a big recessed cliff, the spring sends forth a daily average flow of 28 million gallons. T.M. Sayman donated the original park site, 1928.

Center of a famed resort area and of an agricultural county, Cassville was laid out, 1845. Named for statesman Lewis Cass, it is the third town to serve as the seat of Barry County. Named for Postmaster General W.T. Barry and organized, 1835, the county originally included a vast area and as new counties were formed from it the county seat was relocated.

As the devastating effects of the Civil War began to fade and with the coming of the St. Louis and San Francisco R.R. in the late 1870's the county began to prosper. The railroad, by advertising the 140,000 acres of Barry County land it owned, brought in a large immigration. Several foreign colonies were established in the region.

When the Frisco R.R. was laid through Barry County, Cassville was bypassed by 5 miles, and a connecting line, the Cassville and Exeter R.R., was laid, 1896. Still running, it is said to be the shortest broad-guage railroad in the U.S. An important division point on the Frisco railroad was laid out to the north, 1887, and called Monett for a railroad employee.

Comments (1)

Jim Kuntz: ... The Cassville and Exeter Railroad discontinued operations 1956. 1 May 07, 2007

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment