The first known grist mill along Camden County’s Little Niangua River was burned to the ground by unknown assailants in the middle of the night. It was 1864, and the mill family barely escaped alive. Today, nothing remains of Burnt … Read More
There’s a reason it’s called Blue Spring.
Many floaters miss the stunning blue water of Blue Spring, even though it’s only a quarter mile from the Current River, an easy hike beside the spring’s rushing stream. The water’s vivid color comes from dissolved limestone suspended in this … Read More
Many Springs. One Pole.
Been through hundreds of small towns, none smaller than Many Springs, on Highway 160, so small that the city limit signs are on the same pole, back-to-back.
Seven Wonders of Shannon County: Devil’s Well
Paraphrasing Jerry Vineyard, Missouri’s preeminent geologist-explorer, Devil’s Well is a big stomach. It’s mother nature’s idea of an indoor pool, except that it’s cold and dark and scary as hell, hence the name. It is perhaps the world’s most dramatic … Read More
Seven Wonders of Shannon County: Welch Spring
Upriver from Akers Ferry, which connects the wilderness north of the Current River to the wilderness on the south, Welch Spring is home to an abandoned country hospital. Nearly a century ago, a physician built a stone sanitarium at the … Read More
Seven Wonders of Shannon County: Round Spring
Highway 19 crosses the Current at Round Spring, another wonder to the eyes, but also a wonder down under. That’s because geologists believe the spring crosses under the Current before it empties into the river. Just north, two towns named … Read More
Seven Wonders of Shannon County: Blue Spring
Most of these half million floaters miss Blue Spring, even though it’s only a quarter mile from the Current, an easy hike beside the spring’s gushing stream. Called Spring of the Summer Sky by native inhabitants, the water charges from … Read More
The Seven Wonders of Shannon County: Rocky Falls
Most of the creeks that feed these rivers emanate from springs in the steep hills. Many must make a special effort to bust through barriers to reach the bigger streams. One such robust creek flows over Rocky Falls, and when … Read More
The Wild Horses of Shannon County
Downstream a bit, a feud has brewed for decades. At the heart of the fights are horses along the Jacks Fork and Current rivers. Back during the Great Depression, a farmer turned his herd of 30 or so horses loose … Read More