The Reflecting Pond: Little Big Town

Never make a promise you can't keep! I'm sure I got everyone excited about my "Blog Blitzkrieg"...and then....no blitz. I am like an author who says their much anticipated novel is coming out "THIS SUMMER," but then fails to deliver. So, I apologize for those of you who have been sitting on pins and needles for the past few days. Hopefully this post makes up for it!

(The clock in Waynesville was placed on the city square in 2006 as part of a downtown renewal/beautification project)

Last week, on my Wednesday travels to exotic locales, I decided to stay nearby and do a travelogue on the place I currently call home - Waynesville, MO.

Undoubtedly you've all been wondering when this day would finally come! I mean, Waynesville is THE COUNTY SEAT, and boasts THE LARGEST POPULATION (3,507 residents) in Pulaski County! It's what those in the more rural areas of the county consider "the city." And while I may jest about the bucolic bravado that Waynesville boasts, it has a pretty substantial history.

(Waynesville's Main Street - then Commercial Street - ca. 1888)

In 1808, the Osage Nation ceded all land east of Sibley, MO (then Fort Clark), south of the Missouri River, north of the Arkansas River, and extending to the Mississippi River, to the United States government. Called the Treaty of Fort Clark, this cessation of land was the first major treatise in the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. It effectively opened up the doors for westward expansion, and relegated the Osage - after 1816 - to move out of Missouri and to the north and west of the Sullivan Line into Iowa and Kansas.

Settlers from Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and the Carolinas poured into southern Missouri in the ensuing years via wagon trains. By 1830 Waynesville (also called Port Royal in certain historical documents) had become a well established trading post situated near the confluence of the Roubidoux Creek and Gasconade River (Missouri's longest river at 300 miles). The freshwater springs in the area, coupled with the wooded hills and abundant caves drew settlers in with their picturesque quality. The practicality of being so close to clean water and a means of transportation - along both the Gasconade and Big Piney Rivers - made them stay. By 1833 the city was established and officially named Waynesville in honor of the Revolutionary War hero, General "Mad Anthony" Wayne. Within just a few years of its establishment the town would play an important role in our nation's history, albeit somber.

In the 1820's and 30's the Cherokee, Chicsaw, Choctaw, Seminole and Muscogee-Creek (aka - The Five Civilized Tribes) were living as autonomous nations throughout the "Deep South" - South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missisippi & Louisiana. However, with Andrew Jackson's election to the Presidency in 1829, and his fervent hostility towards the Native American population, it was inevitable that the 8th president would put all of his political and military muscle behind what he deemed a necessary action: the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

By 1831 the Choctaw Indians were the first in a series of expulsed Native Americans to be forcibly moved and marched from their lands in the Southeast to reserved tracts of land in the mid-American plains. This "trail of tears" - so named due to the number of Choctaw who died in the first year (4,000 of 15,000) from exposure, disease and starvation en route to their "freedom" - weaved its way through the southeast and into parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and - finally - Missouri, before ending in Oklahoma.

Between the fall of 1837 and the winter of 1838/39, members of the Cherokee Nation moved through southern Missouri along the "Northern Trail" - skirting the Gasconade River - to their new homes in "Indian Territory." While many diaries were written at the time, documenting the tribes' westward journeys, three notable sources still exist which looked at the daily trials of the men, women and children that were forcibly moved into Oklahoma: Dr. W.I. Morrow's diary, the journal of Rev. Daniel S. Butrick, and the B. B. Cannon journal. These men traveled hundreds of miles with the tribes, recorded the number of deaths, the number of births, and the number of meals which the displaced received. They walked 10 to 20 miles a day with the emigration and documented each stop. Along the way each stayed at the Roubidoux Encampment in Waynesville, MO; "a delightful place, on the bank of the river, convenient to wood and water."

(A sign in the local park commemorates the encampment)

(A large black oak stands where the "volunteers" may have very well spent the night)

(The Roubidoux as it meanders through the park)

While the reason for Waynesville's early place in the history books of America may be relatively infamous, the town did offer a place of respite for more than the weary travelers on the Trail of Tears. By 1854 the city was on the stagecoach route from St. Louis to Springfield, and when the Civil War erupted in 1861 it became a noted place of interest for Union forces moving men and supplies from the railhead in Rolla to points in southern Missouri (Wilson's Creek) and northern Arkansas (Pea Ridge, Fayetteville, Ft. Smith).

In the same year a telegraph line was strung from St. Louis to Sprinfield along the old stage line, and the avenue became known as the "Telegraph/Wire Road." Occupying such a critical position, and with the elevation of the surrounding mountains offering pristine views of the trails and roads in the area, the Union forces under Col. Albert Sigel occupied Waynesville in 1862 - removing the Confederate flag flying over the courthouse, and building a small fort atop the hill overlooking the town square. In addition to the building of the fort, the army commandeered various homes and businesses in the downtown area, to include the Waynesville House/Old Stagecoach Stop, which was turned into a hospital for the duration of the war.

(The Waynesville House - Old Stage Coach Stop - ca. 1885)

(The Old Stage Coach Stop today. Following the Civil War the building spent 70 years as a hotel, falling to ruin after the decline of Route 66. Condemned in 1982, the building was nearly torn down before being saved by concerned citizens who realized its historic value and eventually got it placed on the National Historic Register of Places.)

With its location on a highly traveled route, Waynesville maintained its relevance up until the early 1970's, thanks primarily to Route 66 and heightened troop numbers at Ft. Leonard Wood during WWII and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.

(Main Street, Waynesville - 1920)

(Main Street / Route 66, Waynesville - 1943)

(Main Street / Route 66, Waynesville - 1950)

However, once Route 66 became overshadowed by the Interstate Highway System in the late 1950's, and following troop draw-downs at Leonard Wood - from our Far-East endeavors - the city became stagnant.

Still, those who had lived in Waynesville during its height were resolved to keep the city alive, and in the late 80's and early 90's the town came together to begin reviving the dying downtown district. As the town neared the turn of the century, it was reinvigorated by a population surge. As the number of troops at Ft. Leonard Wood increased - due to the post's evolution as an Engineer-centric base to a "Maneuver Support Center (MANSCEN)," where the joint assets of Engineers, Military Police and Chemical soldiers and officers in the U.S. Army would be trained - so did the communities in Pulaski County, especially Waynesville. By 2003, with the country at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of troops began to swell, and with it the communities around Army bases began to reach an all-time high; Waynesville was no exception.

In 2000 the population of Waynesville was 2,706 (relatively the same number of persons and households in the 80's - following the reduction in forces after Vietnam). In 2010 the population was 3,507 - comparable to the 1990 population, during the first Gulf War. Today, the lifeblood of of cities like Waynesville and others in Pulaski County are directly influenced by the health of the Army installation, Ft. Leonard Wood. Gone are the days of travel and trade, Americana and tourism - today Waynesville and the like survive from an influx of troops and the jobs created to support them.

While Waynesville is currently in a relatively prosperous place, when a troop draw-down occurs - foreseeably in the next few years - it may find itself in a precarious position once again. If history repeats itself, Waynesville will find itself in a lull - counting the days until the next caravan comes through or the next global conflict rears its ugly head. Let's hope it's somehow the former, and not the latter.