Battlefield is a small town a few miles southwest of Springfield a mile or so south of the James River Freeway (Highway 60). The town was laid out in 1907 along the Missouri Pacific Railroad that was being constructed through the area. It was initially called Stewart before the name was quickly changed to Battlefield, in honor of the nearby Civil War battlefield where the Battle of Wilson's Creek occurred. The town got a post office in 1908, which remained until 1940, when it was discontinued. Since 1940, Battlefield has gotten its mail through the Brookline Post Office.
During its early years, Battlefield was never much more than a railroad stop and a wide place in the road. That was the case in 1913, when a Springfield newspaperman visited the community. At the time, Battlefield had a bank, a Methodist Church, a "good school organization," a general store, and perhaps one or two other businesses, but the reporter thought the place needed an infusion of energy if it expected to grow.
Through the first half of the 20th century and into the second half, Battlefield remained a small community with perhaps a few hundred residents, at most. That changed after the community incorporated as a village in 1967 and then reincorporated as a fourth-class city in 1971, just four years later.
By 1980, the town had a population of 1,227, and its growth really took off during the first decade of the new millennium. From 2000 to 2010, Battlefield's population more than doubled from 2,385 to 5,590. Today, it is an important bedroom community for people who work in Springfield.
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