The Missouri Fox Trotter

As we have pointed out so many times in articles here in THE MESSAGE TREE, there are many firsts that Missouri and the Ozarks can claim, things or even people that originated right here. In past issues we have discussed how the first “Wild West Style Gunfight” took place on the square in Springfield, the fact that George Washington Carver who brought so many wonderful inventions and developments (especially Peanut Butter) was a native of the Ozarks, and on and on, but did you know that the Ozarks even had its own horse? more…

by Ed Crabtree
copyright 2001-2002

Millions of years ago, tremendous natural forces pushed an immense amount of molten rock to the surface of the Earth. This limestone uplift as it cooled, created a broad plateau region, which fell victim to other, more subtle, forces of nature. Through the ages, the power of erosion cut rivers and deep valleys through the region creating some of the oldest mountains in the world. Surface water, mixed with carbon dioxide from the air, and acids from decaying organic material on the surface, seeped down through cracks in the old rock. This system of natural drains, otherwise known as “sinks,” left behind tunnels through the rock creating over 5000 known caverns. As these caverns enlarged, the ceilings of some, collapsed, creating topographical oddities such as natural bridges and gorges. Today this wonderland of geological curiosities, we know of as the Ozarks. more…

by Ed Crabtree
copyright 2001-2002

Many of our rural secondary routes throughout the Ozarks, are so twisting and winding, with curve after curve, that we have made up our own adages or speculated as to why the roads are so crooked. Have you ever heard a native Ozarker use the phrase, “as the crow flies” in reference to the distance between two points, inferring that the aerial mileage between two cities is much less than the surface route because the roads are so crooked. Some people have even joked that the engineer that surveyed the route must have been drunk to the point of staggering, which would seem to offer some explanation as to why the road was so crooked. Actually, in the good old days, engineers simply didn’t have the equipment with which to construct a road, such as the highways we build today. more…

By Ed Crabtree
If you have perused all three issues of The Message Tree, or you are a long time fan of Jim Barrett’s literary work, you have no doubt wondered just what did the wagons which the intrepid teamsters piloted up and down the Wilderness Road and it’s brethren routes look like. Through words both written and spoken, Mr. Barrett has painted wonderful vistas offering views in your mind of the roads and the vehicles that moved up and down the routes hauling freight between Springfield and points South. Some of these wagons were no doubt manufactured in Springfield and painted the now famous green and orange, with the yellow and black trim of the Springfield Wagon Company. more…