La Russell, Missouri

La Russell is a small village in eastern Jasper County very near the Lawrence County line. It was laid out in 1903 during construction of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and named for railroad official Russell Harding. The community became an important railroad stop and shipping point in 1905 with the completion of the White River Line connecting Carthage to northern Arkansas.  

La Russell thrived during its first decade of existence, being at the peak of its prosperity when a Springfield newspaperman visited the place in 1911. The reporter found a booming little village with a population of about 260 people. Among its businesses, the town had a bank, a hotel, a hardware store, and a general merchandise store. It also had "many good homes," two churches, and a "substantial brick high school."

The newspaperman mentioned a "water system" that the town had installed. This was likely a reference to the hand water pump that, to this day, still stands in the middle of La Russell's main street. Over the years, the pump has been blamed for numerous vehicle accidents, and some people have sought to have it removed as a safety measure. Those who oppose such a move, however, argue that the pump is a historic landmark that should be preserved. 

In the years and decades that followed the newspaperman's visit in 1911, La Russell declined in population rather precipitously. By 1950, the population stood at only 82 residents. It has since rebounded somewhat and nowadays has a population of about 135 people.

Fair Play, Missouri

I've previously written on this blog about the Fair Play fire of 1887, which destroyed much of the business district of the town. Today, I thought I'd dig a little more into the history of the town.

Fair Play came into existence as a named place in 1852, when it received its first post office. Early settlers in the area, including John W. Wakefield, wanted to name the place Oaklawn, but a post office by that name already existed, and Wakefield supposedly declared, "We'll just call it Fair Play." 

During its early history, Fair Play was likely little more than a general store and post office, although it was a significant enough place at the beginning of the Civil War that Cedar County lawyer Joseph Gravely, later a Union colonel, gave a speech there in 1861. 

When the Kansas City, Clinton and Springfield Railroad was built in 1884-1885, the line slightly bypassed Fair Play. So, the town essentially picked up and relocated a mile to the north to be near the tracks. Fair Play quickly became a shipping point for surrounding farmers, and it began to thrive. 

At the time of the disastrous fire of 1887, Fair Play had a population of about 250 people. Despite the setback, the town quickly rebuilt, and it continued a slow but steady growth into the 20th century.

When a Springfield newspaperman visited the community in 1911, Fair Play had slightly over 400 people. It had only one main street, according to the reporter, but it had two banks, a newspaper, and various other businesses. The town also had a school and several "good churches." 

During the 100+ years since the newspaperman's visit to Fair Play, its population has remained fairly steady, never rising above the high 400s nor sinking below the low 300s. Today, its population stands at slightly over 400. 

Iberia, Missouri

Iberia is a town in southeast Miller County along Highway 17 about midway between Tuscumbia, the Miller County seat, and Crocker in northern Pulaski County. A post office named Iberia first came into existence the late 1830s. It is thought that it was probably named by a Scott family, early settlers in the area from New Iberia, Louisiana. The town of Iberia, located about a mile from the post office, was not platted until 1859. 

The name of Iberia was changed to Oakhurst around the time of the Civil War, and it went by this name for about ten years. The community, under the name Iberia, was officially incorporated as a village in 1875. The population at this time was around 100 people.

By 1912, when a newspaperman from Springfield visited the town, Iberia's population had grown to about 500, although the newspaperman overestimated it at about 700. The reporter found the mountainous land south of Iberia to be "very picturesque," but the flat land north and west of the town was more conducive to farming. In addition to growing vegetables and fruits of all kinds, farmers in the area also raised cattle, hogs, sheep, and poultry.

At the time of the newspaperman's visit, Iberia had about twenty businesses, including two banks, two mills, a canning factory, and a weekly newspaper. It also had "good churches" and "an academy of forty-five students."

The academy of which the reporter spoke was Iberia Academy, founded in 1890 by a minister to provide a high school education to the previously unserved youth of the surrounding region. The school became Iberia Academy and Junior College in 1929 with the addition of college-level courses. The junior college operated under the auspices of Drury College in Springfield, and when the academy closed in 1951, Drury took over its records and library materials. Iberia Public High School, which had been siphoning off students from the private academy since its creation in 1937, more or less forced the closure of the older institution and became a de facto successor to Iberia Academy.

The population of Iberia has stayed fairly steady throughout the past 100+ years, reaching a peak of about 850 in 1980. Its current population is about 700.

Fairview, Missouri

Fairview, Missouri, in southeast Newton County, had a rural school and a church at least as early as 1880, but the community was not platted as a town until about 1907, when the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad was constructed through the area. The town also got its first post office about the same time. Its population quickly grew to about 270 presidents by 1910.

When a Springfield newspaperman visited Fairview in May of 1912, he found it to be a pleasant little village: "The town has good churches and an excellent High School building, a high-class banking institution, a bustling, enterprising realty firm, large elevator plant and much that speaks well of this, a comparatively new town.

The prairie land around Fairview was dedicated mostly to growing crops. Corn was the main grain crop, but rye, wheat, and other grasses were also grown. Small fruit was also a principal crop, especially strawberries and blackberries. The poultry industry was likewise a going enterprise.

Land around Fairview had become much more valuable with the coming of the railroad and formation of the town. According to the reporter, land which could have been purchased less than 10 years earlier for 15-25 dollars an acre was now going for 60-75 dollars an acre.

Fairview continued to flourish for the next decade or two after the newspaperman's visit and then began a period of decline during the mid-20th century. The town lost its school during the 1960s when the East Newton consolidated district was formed. However, Fairview rebounded somewhat beginning in the late 20th century, and today it has an estimated population of about 400.

Notable people from Fairview include Dabbs Greer, who played Rev. Alden on the Little House series, and John Q. Hammons, the well-known hotelier and housing developer who lived most of his life in Springfield.

Pomona, Missouri

Pomona, Missouri, located about halfway between Willow Springs and West Plains on Highway 63, started out in the 1880s as little more than a big fruit farm located along the line of the Memphis branch of the Frisco Railroad. When the town was platted and a post office established at the location in 1894, it was named Pomona after the Roman goddess of fruit trees.

The place became known for its fruit growing, mainly apples, and the town grew fairly rapidly. By the middle of the first decade of the 20th century, Pomona had a bank, a two-year school, at least one church, and several businesses.

When a Springfield newspaperman visited the place in early 1913, he estimated the town's population at about 700. Apple growing had slowed by this time, and Pomona was known more for its berries, especially strawberries. Among the town's businesses was at least one general store, a blacksmith/woodworker, a livestock dealer, a real estate agent, a doctor, and the bank. The newspaperman reported that Pomona was a "dry territory" and that the law was rigorously enforced.

Pomona has gradually dwindled in population over the years, and today its population is estimated at less than 200. The town no longer has a school of its own, but it does still have a post office and is still a fairly thriving place. For instance, the West Plains Municipal Airport is actually located at Pomona, midway between Howell County's two principal towns.

Nixa, Missouri

When I was growing up in Fair Grove in the 1950s, Nixa was not a whole lot bigger than Fair Grove was. Fair Grove had a population of about 250, and Nixa had maybe a couple of hundred more than that. But Nixa has completely outstripped Fair Grove (and most of the other towns in the Springfield area) in population growth over the past 60 or 70 years. Nixa's biggest growth spurt occurred during the 1990s, when it ballooned from a population of less than 5,000 to well over 12,000, an increase of almost 160 percent in just ten years. The rapid growth has continued, as the town's population stood at over 23,000 in 2020 and has no doubt surpassed 25,000 by now.

The irony is that Nixa is a relatively new town compared to Fair Grove and some of the other towns around Springfield. The first residence was not built in the future town of Nixa until 1873, and the place got its first post office in 1878. The post office took its name after the store in which it was located, Faught's store, which had come into existence not long before the post office. The place, therefore, became known as Faught. Although the post office served between 150 and 200 families living in the surrounding area, Faught was still not an actual village at this time. However, it became a stopover point for travelers between Arkansas and Springfield as well as a gathering spot for locals.

In 1881, the citizens of the fledgling community decided to come up with a new name, and they decided on Nixa in honor of a local blacksmith named Nicholas, whose middle initial was "A." The name Nixa was formed by combining a pluralized form of the man's nickname (Nick's or Nix) and his middle initial. The post office also changed its name at the same time. The village was not platted as a town, however, until 1889, and it was incorporated in 1902.

A Springfield newspaperman visited Nixa in early 1912 to report on the place. Interestingly, it took him two hours traveling "directly south on South Street" to reach Nixa from Springfield. At this time, Nixa had fifteen places of business, a hotel, and one church (Christian), according to the reporter. You could get a room at the hotel for one dollar per day. Land in the Nixa area was mostly improved and sold for anywhere from $45 to $100 an acre.

For a more complete history of Nixa, check out the one compiled by Paul Johns and Wayne Glenn that appears on the city's website: https://www.nixa.com/nixas-history/.

Fordland, Missouri

Fordland, located about 25 miles east of Springfield on U.S. Highway 60, was founded as a stop along the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad. The town was platted in 1882, when the railroad was constructed through the area, and it was named after J. S. Ford, a railroad official. The community also got its first post office in 1882. It was incorporated the following year, 1883. 

When a Springfield newspaper columnist visited Fordland in August 1911, he estimated the town's population at about 500 and said it was growing rapidly. The town served as a shipping and receiving point, and it was a trade center for folks living within an eight to ten-mile radius. Besides being home to a number of businesses, Fordland also had a bank, a canning factory, a roller mill, a high school and four churches. 

The Fordland School served grades 1-10, and according to the newspaperman, it had the largest graduating class in Webster County during the prior year, and the class also achieved the highest average grade of all the schools in the county. I find the first claim a little hard to believe, since Marshfield was over twice as populous as Fordland at this time.

The newspaperman said it had been six years since he'd last visited Fordland, and the going price for land surrounding the town had doubled since his last visit from an average of about $20 an acre to about $40 an acre. He thought the advance in price during the next five years would be equally great. 

If the Springfield man's estimate of Fordland's population in 1911 was accurate, then the town must have started losing residents fairly rapidly after 1911, because its official population in 1920 was only 248. It has gradually rebounded since then and now boasts about 800 residents.