Springfield, Missouri


Huh, the city of Springfield, Missouri who got its name via free whiskey.  The story of the name of Springfield is like this:

The city was named for Springfield, Massachusetts, James Wilson who lived in the area of this unnamed city, offered free whiskey to anyone who would vote for the name Springfield.

So I guess I would think a lot of people had some Whiskey.

But in 1883, historian R.I. Holcombe wrote:

The town took its name from the circumstance of there being a spring under the hill, on the creek, while on top of the hill, where the principal portion of the town lay, there was a field.”

There you go. I like the whiskey one myself.

Location

History

There was an early settlement of the European-American settlement of the area. John Campbell got up to 50 acres for the creation of the count seat in 1830. He formed the city with streets and lots. It was known by the “Queen City of the Ozarks”/

In 1861, the population is about 2,000 people it was a hub you could say. During the civil war, both the Union and Confederate armies wanted to control the city and it changed hands a few times.

  • Wild Bill Hickok lived there
  • Lynchings were a common thing
  • Country Music was a big hit in the 1950s

I could go on and on, but you can find out more information on wikipedia.org

Bass Pro Shops

It was founded there in 1971 by Johnny Morris, and it grew from there.  The largest store is here. We will talk about this on a different post.


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