Lake of the Ozarks: The Early Years

by H. Dwight Weaver

Overview

Seventy years ago in the Ozarks of southern Missouri, Bagnell Dam was built across the Osage River, creating the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. Using over 200 images and in- depth captions, author H. Dwight Weaver takes readers back to the origins of this man-made treasure and the towns that surround it. Construction on Bagnell Dam began in 1929, employing thousands of men during the Great Depression. Inundation of the Osage River valley destroyed the area's most fertile farmlands, covered numerous historic sites, and even destroyed Linn Creek, the county seat. But the development also created new towns and a new economy. The images in this new book follow the growth of towns along U.S. Highway 54, including Eldon, Tuscumbia, Bagnell, Osage Beach, and Linn Creek, through the Depression, World War Two, and finally the booming 1950s.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439610978
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	11/09/2000
Series:	Images of America Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	57 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

H. Dwight Weaver, a resident of the Lake of the Ozarks area for three decades, is a past president of the Camden County Historical Society and is retired from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. By telling the history of the lake region through these vintage photographs, Mr. Weaver shows how the building of the lake brought about remarkable changes in south central Missouri, transforming a somewhat remote, rural Ozark region into a Midwest tourist destination visited by millions every year.