Our Ozark settlement pattern on the landscape has changed drastically through time. From circa 1880 to 1950 a family could make a living off of just 40 acres of land if most was arable. Roads led up almost every hollow to a homeplace and a small farm had a variety of outbuildings ranging from a smokehouse to a chicken house and a hay barn. Circa 1950 there was a radical shift in settlement pattern after the arrival of electrical power as folks moved closer to the main powerlines and built new houses. Next came paved roads which were a lure for new home construction. Many homes were abandoned and were often used for hay storage. Today a large percentage of the old houseplaces have been reclaimed by nature and all that remains are some foundation stones and perhaps the remains of a root cellar. There was a major shift in communities because of the paved roads and more bridges. The Current River united communities from both banks and now it divides communities. Communities had rural churches and schools but now more people attend church in towns and children ride buses to centralized schools. Often communities formed around gristmills which usually had a store nearby. With the advent of commercial flour and cornmeal the mills ceased and slowly sank into the Ozark landscape. A good example of that is Turner Mill near The Eleven Point River. The first photo is a depiction of the mill after it was abandoned circa 1930. The second photo shows what remains of the mill, the large waterwheel. All the other machinery was scrapped long ago. A central place and the hub of a community is no more. Where people once came to have their grain ground and buy provisions is now a silent place except for the sounds of nature and an occasional visitor to this place in Mark Twain National Forest. The settlement pattern has changed.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 21:56:31 +0000
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