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MY
HOME TOWN: AVA MISSOURI
by Ed Crabtree
If one
travels east from Springfield on Highway
60 then south on 5, you find some of the
most beautiful scenery in the Ozarks and
the seat of government for Douglas County,
Ava Missouri, a city that many Americans
proudly call their home town. While some
never ventured far from home, some left
seeking fame and fortune only to head the
call of Ava and return, other sons and
daughters have spread out across this
great nation and around the world.
James Hailey
laid out the town in 1871 and renamed it
Ava, the location having been previously
known as Militia or Military Springs, as
it had been used as a watering point by
federal troops during the Civil War.
Historians disagree on how the name Ava
was arrived at for the new community, some
attributing it to the name of a city
mentioned in the Holy Bible, while others
claim it is a derivation of a Hebrew word
for "overthrowing," due to the years of
bitter rivalry between the residents of
eastern and western Douglas County, who
were divided as to where the final seat of
county government was to be
located.
The first
courthouse at Vera Cruz, made of logs by
volunteer labor, was completed and
occupied by County officials on December
27, 1857. During the Civil War the
courthouse was fired upon and it was then
moved to Rome in southwest Douglas County
but then relocated back to Vera Cruz due
to military activity near Rome.
Beginning in
1866 a series of elections were held
attempting to move the county seat to
Arno. The elections failed but contributed
to intensified rivalry between east and
west. The struggle culminated with Arno
advocates "stealing the courthouse" (i.e.
county records) and moving them to the
home of the circuit clerk in Arno on
February 24, 1872. For two weeks no one
knew where the records were.
In
retaliation, citizens of Ava, constructed
a log courthouse and then stole the
records back, however that courthouse was
burnt by vandals, an account of the crime
in the Jefferson City People's Tribune was
very cynical in its outlook of the
prospect of the perpetrators being brought
to justice;
" . . .
who he is will probably never be found
out, or if so, he would never be punished,
as no crime committed in that county has
been punished since the war, at least so
far as we know." (1)
Citizens of
Ava promptly rebuilt a courthouse of
hand-hewn lumber, the first not of logs,
this structure being completed and
occupied on January 22, 1873. However the
rivalry over the final location of the
courthouse continued well into the 20th
century.
An arson fire
set to conceal embezzlement consumed the
1873 structure, then a 40-by-70-foot,
clapboard building with hip roof was built
in 1888 on the square in Ava. This
building continue to serve Douglas County
until 1937 when the present brick and
stone building at the southeast corner of
the square was completed. The 1888
building was then razed leaving the square
open as it is today, making Ava unique as
few cities in Missouri that are also
county seats have a central open
square.
For years Ava
enjoyed its status as a regional hub for
commerce and industry. The Kansas City and
Ozarks Southern railroad was completed in
1910, the short line hauling produce and
locally manufactured products to the
Frisco mainline in nearby Mansfield and
contributing greatly to the early
development of the region. THE MESSAGE
TREE featured an article entitled
Windows, Railroads, and The
Bluebird in our October/November
2002 issue, that told of this remarkable
short line railroad. http://www.geocities.com/themessagetree/bluebirdoctnov2002.htm
Today the
community continues to grow and plan for
the future. As more and more folks from
beyond the hills discover the amenities
that Ava has to offer, the opportunity for
entrepreneurs to open retail and service
businesses, increase exponentially. The
availability of a willing force, one
dedicated to traditional work ethic, makes
Ava a prime location for manufacturing
concerns.
Ava is also
renown as the home of the World
Headquarters for the Missouri Fox Trotting
Horse Breed Association. The fall "Show
and Celebration," held annually since 1959
is the Granddaddy of all Fox Trotting
Horse Shows. There are over 75,000 horses
registered with over 8,200 members in the
association. On some 68 acres of land is a
full access show arena, two warm up
arenas, 17 horse barns, and 360+ trailer
hookups to provide accommodations to Fox
Trotting enthusiasts attending the two
annual shows and the other events of the
association. (2)
Beginning
some five miles south of Ava in the
beautiful Mark Twain National Forest is a
high ridge road covering some 25 miles or
more of beautiful panoramas. The " GLADE
TOP TRAIL " is especially beautiful during
the month of October when the foliage is
in its splendid fall colors. The trail
runs through an area well populated with
deer, wild turkeys and many other animals
making the planned tour among the most
scenic in the nation in any season. Each
year on the third weekend in October Ava
sponsors a festival celebrating the Ozarks
"Flaming Fall Revue" when the viewing of
the the fall foliage is at its peak.
(For
more information see:
http://www.avachamber.org/index.htm)
THE MESSAGE
TREE also reported on the activities of
the Douglas County Historical Society and
Museum in March of this year, see:
http://www.themessagetree.com/march2003/douglascomarch2003.htm
With the
activities of such groups as the
Historical society, institutions such as
the Library and the Douglas County Herald
a fine newspaper that has been in
publication for over a hundred years, and
businesses throughout Ava including a soon
to be completed Wal-mart Super Center,
(the third building the retailer has
constructed and occupied in Ava, a sure
sign of the continued growth) the
twenty-first century promises to be as
bright and as exciting as the last
century.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(1)
http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/uedivis/ue6033.htm
and
Dr. Kenneth Brown
http://courses.smsu.edu/kwb237f/douglas/index.html
(2)
http://www.avachamber.org/index.htm
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