Former Navy Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), professional wrestler, actor, and Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura explores various conspiracy theories on subjects such as global warming, the September 11 attacks, secret societies, government surveillance, and secret weapons projects. The series features interviews with experts and eyewitnesses to learn more about topics like the JFK assassination, Area 51, and a possible plot to destroy the world.
The Ozark Mountains region in the United States is a source of identity and pride for Missourians and out-of-staters alike. The massive excavation uncovered in the Ozark Mountains during Season Three raises questions about government-related theories, such as FEMA camps. Award-winning journalist Sam Quinones discusses Ozark and its real-life parallels to Mexican drug cartels.
The series also explores the mysteries behind modern-day conspiracies, traveling across the United States. Members of the international elite, including the Illuminati, seem to think so, and have chosen the Ozark Mountain region to hide out. The theory around Jones Spring is that one of the caves collapsed and ruined the chances of it being discovered.
The series also features a historical novel about days past when fortunes were made and dreams shattered by a deciding few, and the future. Hannah Miller, a victim of a cybercrime special, becomes the target of a cybercriminal when armed officers burst through her flower shop. The series premiered on July 21, 2017, and explores the Byrdes’ dealings in the Ozarks and their interactions with local crime families.
📹 Government Doesn’t Want You To Know THIS About the Ozarks
There’s many terrifying things in the ozark mountains, supposed sightings of UFOs, light anomalies, among a host of other strange …
What does Ozark mean?
The Ozarks are a low mountain range situated in northwestern Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma. They are also known as the Ozark Mountains or the Ozark Plateau.
Where are the Ozarks in real life?
The Ozarks are a region in the United States consisting of five subregions: the Boston Mountains, Springfield Plateau, White River Hills, Salem Plateau, Courtois Hills, Osage-Gasconade Hills, Saint Francois Mountains, and the Missouri River and Mississippi River. These subregions are home to unique features such as springs, sinkholes, and caves, making Missouri known as “The Cave State”. The Ozark Plateaus aquifer system affects groundwater movement in all areas except the igneous core of the St. Francois Mountains.
Geographic features include limestone and dolomite glades, which are rocky, desert-like areas on hilltops, home to collared lizards, tarantulas, scorpions, cacti, and other species typical of the Desert Southwest. The Boston Mountains contain the highest elevations of the Ozarks, with peaks over 2, 500 feet (760 m). The Ouachita Mountains to the south rise a few hundred feet higher but are not geographically associated with the Ozarks.
The Boston Mountains portion of the Ozarks extends north of the Arkansas River Valley 20 to 35 miles (32 to 56 km) and is approximately 200 miles long. Summits can reach elevations of just over 2, 560 feet (780 m), with valleys 500 to 1, 550 feet (150 to 470 m) deep. Turner Ward Knob is the highest named peak, found in western Newton County, Arkansas, at 2, 463 feet (751 m).
Drainage is primarily to the White River, with the exception of the Illinois River, but there is considerable drainage from the south slopes of the Boston Mountains to the Arkansas River. Major streams of this type include Lee Creek, Frog Bayou, Mulberry River, Spadra Creek, Big Piney Creek, Little Piney Creek, Illinois Bayou, Point Remove Creek, and Cadron Creek. Many Ozark waterways have their headwaters in the uplands of the Boston formation.
Are the Ozarks a real place?
The Ozarks are a region in the United States consisting of five subregions: the Boston Mountains, Springfield Plateau, White River Hills, Salem Plateau, Courtois Hills, Osage-Gasconade Hills, Saint Francois Mountains, and the Missouri River and Mississippi River. These subregions are home to unique features such as springs, sinkholes, and caves, making Missouri known as “The Cave State”. The Ozark Plateaus aquifer system affects groundwater movement in all areas except the igneous core of the St. Francois Mountains.
Geographic features include limestone and dolomite glades, which are rocky, desert-like areas on hilltops, home to collared lizards, tarantulas, scorpions, cacti, and other species typical of the Desert Southwest. The Boston Mountains contain the highest elevations of the Ozarks, with peaks over 2, 500 feet (760 m). The Ouachita Mountains to the south rise a few hundred feet higher but are not geographically associated with the Ozarks.
The Boston Mountains portion of the Ozarks extends north of the Arkansas River Valley 20 to 35 miles (32 to 56 km) and is approximately 200 miles long. Summits can reach elevations of just over 2, 560 feet (780 m), with valleys 500 to 1, 550 feet (150 to 470 m) deep. Turner Ward Knob is the highest named peak, found in western Newton County, Arkansas, at 2, 463 feet (751 m).
Drainage is primarily to the White River, with the exception of the Illinois River, but there is considerable drainage from the south slopes of the Boston Mountains to the Arkansas River. Major streams of this type include Lee Creek, Frog Bayou, Mulberry River, Spadra Creek, Big Piney Creek, Little Piney Creek, Illinois Bayou, Point Remove Creek, and Cadron Creek. Many Ozark waterways have their headwaters in the uplands of the Boston formation.
Can you live in the Ozarks?
Ozark, a Netflix TV drama series, showcases the mountainous regions of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois as intense and chaotic. However, many locations in the Ozarks offer affordable housing, great connectivity, and friendly locals. Lake Ozark, located near the Lake of the Ozarks, is a prime location for recreational events and natural parks, such as swimming, surfing, and boating. Other popular areas include The Ridge Golf Course and Majestic Oaks RV Park.
With a median household income of $74, 094, Lake Ozark is a promising location to reside. Retirees need not worry about taxes as there are no state taxes on Social Security benefits in Missouri. The average home in Lake Ozark costs $284, 200, higher than the state average of $199, 400, but the stunning waterside locale justifies the price.
In summary, the Ozarks offer a unique blend of affordable housing, great connectivity, and friendly locals. Consider these towns and cities for a peaceful life in the American mountains in 2024.
Why did Ozark end so abruptly?
The showrunner aimed to end the series unexpectedly, causing viewers to question whether Jonah killing Mel is a positive or negative event. The Kennedy line was a homage to early Ozark, as it was raised in the season-two premiere, “Reparations”, when Marty and Wendy discuss their escape plans if they had to leave the Ozarks. Wendy suggests Hyannis Port, while Marty questions if they are the Kennedys now, referencing the myth that Joseph Kennedy made a fortune in the Prohibition. The showrunner aimed to make viewers think about the reality of the events and the characters’ future.
What is the story of the Ozarks series?
Ozark is an American crime drama television series created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams for Netflix and produced by MRC Television and Aggregate Films. The series stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as Marty and Wendy Byrde, a married couple who move their family to the Lake of the Ozarks to continue their work laundering money for a Mexican drug cartel. Bateman serves as a director and executive producer for the series.
The first three seasons were released in July 2017, August 31, 2018, and March 27, 2020, with each season consisting of 10 episodes. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a fourth season, consisting of 14 episodes split into two parts.
Ozark has received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its tone, directing, production values, and performances, particularly those of Bateman, Linney, and Julia Garner. The series has received 45 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including three for Outstanding Drama Series, with Bateman winning for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series in 2020. Garner has won three times for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2019, 2020, and 2022. Bateman has also received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.
Why do the Ozarks exist?
The Ozarks were formed through erosion rather than folding and faulting. The rocks were originally sand, silt, and marine animal remains from the Paleozoic Era, which began 542 million years ago. Over time, these sediment layers were deposited in layers, creating a mostly flat, slightly southward-sloping area of interbedded limestone, sandstone, shale, siltstone, and limestone.
During the Late Paleozoic Era, the region experienced geologic uplift, raising elevations and forming a large dome-shaped plateau. The original rock strata remained intact, but the rivers eroded their stream beds into the layers of mostly flat rock, exposing the strata in bluff faces. This process took considerable time but resulted in spectacular results.
The Ozarks are not primarily a mountain range but an old eroded plateau. The differential rates at which different layers of rock eroded led to the creation of step-sided mountains and sheer bluff faces, giving the region its distinctive flat-topped ridges and narrow hollows.
Why did Ozark get canceled?
Ozark, a Netflix original series, was decided to end after its fourth season. Initially intended to be five seasons long, the crew decided that a supersized final season was better than splitting the story into two. This decision indicates the show’s success, as not all Netflix originals have the same opportunity. After season 3, the decision was made to blend seasons four and five together, as the show was already reaching its natural conclusion. The creators have always spoken positively about the show’s ending, and there are still unresolved subplots, such as the future of the Byrde family and the FBI investigation into the cartel.
However, the creators have expressed interest in doing a spinoff in the future, as there are enough characters still alive for a spinoff to be a good idea. Any potential spinoffs would need to remain distinct from the original series to avoid ruining Ozark’s satisfying ending.
Why did they cancel Ozark?
Ozark, a Netflix original series, was decided to end after its fourth season. Initially intended to be five seasons long, the crew decided that a supersized final season was better than splitting the story into two. This decision indicates the show’s success, as not all Netflix originals have the same opportunity. After season 3, the decision was made to blend seasons four and five together, as the show was already reaching its natural conclusion. The creators have always spoken positively about the show’s ending, and there are still unresolved subplots, such as the future of the Byrde family and the FBI investigation into the cartel.
However, the creators have expressed interest in doing a spinoff in the future, as there are enough characters still alive for a spinoff to be a good idea. Any potential spinoffs would need to remain distinct from the original series to avoid ruining Ozark’s satisfying ending.
Is the Ozarks based on true events?
Sam Quinones, an award-winning journalist, has been reporting on drug cartels for almost 20 years. He spent a decade in Mexico and another decade at the Los Angeles Times, covering drug trafficking, gangs, and immigration. Quinones has written several nonfiction books, including Antonio’s Gun and Delfino’s Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration and Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic.
His most recent book, The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth, explores American life while attempting to answer the question of how Mexican methamphetamine ended up in one American town.
What is considered the Ozarks?
The Ozarks, a region of 13. 7 million hectares, spans across five states, with the majority located in Missouri and Arkansas. The region has a maximum north/south extent of 270 miles and an east/west extent of 340 miles. The Ozarks ecoregion is home to a wide range of habitat types, including rugged uplands, karst terrain, steep hills, valleys, ancient low mountains, alluvial terrain, and riparian features. The bedrock geology of the Ozarks includes Precambrian igneous rocks in the eastern part of the Missouri Ozarks, Paleozoic sandstone, and carbonate sedimentary rocks.
The Ozarks consist of a slowly uplifted and eroded dome, with the oldest igneous rocks exposed at the center of the uplift in southeast Missouri. The oldest igneous rocks are surrounded by Cambrian- and Ordovician-aged shallow water carbonates and beach sandstone strata, while younger Mississippian sedimentary rocks, including limestones, and limited riparian-derived freshwater sandstones, are further from the center.
📹 The Ozarks: America’s Identity Crisis
00:00 – Intro 00:29 – What are the Ozarks? 01:05 – The Ozarks’ Identity Crisis 03:52 – Early Ozarkian history. 06:32 – American …
My family is from Springdale. My grandparents always warned us NOT to follow that creek very far, there were “wild men” out there that would get you. We were also warned to NOT go into certain parts of Devils Den!! There were even worse things out there!!! They weren’t just trying to scare us, it was a REAL warning!!
Ahh the Ozark mystery… I grew up in Benton County Missouri on Lake of the Ozarks. My grandmother and I would go out to forage for mushrooms, she was born in a 2 room house near where we would look. Any time the woods would go silent she would grab my hand and tell me we were going home, and would walk straight out of the woods to our car and leave. I never asked about it because I kind of didn’t want to know the answer. Also. Do not let the Missouri conservation department lead you wrong, there are big cats in Missouri including cougars.
The Ozark Mystery. I’m in north central Arkansas, the legend and stories of “MoMo ” are abundant. There are some places, like near the state line between AR and MO, that are extremely wooded and thick underbrush. My parents and a few sibling live in that area and while there are a few bars, there the unmistakable sound of dead silence followed by an almost mournful sounding guttural howl that drifts across the property in late fall that freaking froze my blood every time I heard it. No deer would be spotted for at least a week after those times and it’s practically swarming with deer in that area
My great grandmother was born in 1888 in Barry Co Missouri. She told me about the boogers that would try to steal corn at night from the corn fields. Her father and brothers would guard the cornfield with shotguns. She said the boogers walked on two legs and looked a little like bears. They carried corn in their arms when they ran away with several stalks. Granny’s family lived along the Big Sugar creek.
I met my wife in 1987 zweibrucken germany while in the Army. She is from Elkins AR, I’m from Flint and grew up in the inner-city, so i learned to trust my gut when things are off. I got out of the Army after the Gulf War and moved to Elkins out in the country. KOOKY shit out there when it’s nighttime, I would smoke on the front or back porch. I never saw anything but would get hit with a strong garbage smell. The feeling I’m being watched or the whole area would just go silent like all at once. It would happen a few times a year. Live out there for 15 years.
The Ozark Mystery. I used to hunt on Upper Twin Creek years ago in extremely rough terrain. The mountains here are so steep that you have to grab a small sapling and repeat to help pull yourself up all the way to the top. I once heard a mountain lion there years ago. This isn’t far from the White river and my kinfolks settled in Stone Co. in 1839 on the White river.
Both mine and my late husband’s have roots in the Ozarks,in both Missouri and Arkansas. Never heard stories like these, but that doesn’t mean anything. I just know that they all left the mountains as soon as they could! Sadly, the old ones have almost all passed away and I’m not sure if any stories were passed on.
My dad and uncle are from the Ozarks. My Grandfather was a park ranger in the Mark Twain National Forest. They always claimed they heard the big furry men communicating with each other. They said it made the hair on their neck stand up. The woods of Arkansas and Missouri are still really thick. So I believe what y’all tell me.
These are terrifying I can’t imagine. But does anyone have the feeling where you’d rather encounter things like these instead of other humans? If you’ve ever heard that saying “I trust animals more than I trust other people” you’ll kinda know what I’m tryna say. Even if it’s supernatural… There’s just something truly off about random encounters with humans…
I have spoken at length with friends and family who believe in the paranormal as I do about visiting certain locations at some point in my life. And there is one very specific type of place that I’ve always been told to never go to. Mountain paths with notorious wooded areas surrounding them. These places, for whatever reason, harbour things that are far more ancient, far more powerful and far more dangerous than we are. Whether these entities are physical, spiritual or something darker, it doesn’t really matter. These creatures are not our friends. They do not want us in their lands. They want us to stay away. Most of them do, at least. Others want us there for a malicious intent. Common sense is a powerful thing. And unless you have no other choice, use common sense and stay far out of the way of these areas
My whole life we’ve known of the blue people. There’s actually a mountain called blue Mountain where they lived for a long time. Whole generation. I’m in the middle of cooking dinner and I will come back, but I’ve got all kinds of stories. I see there are others who live here as well. It’s always been well known depending on where you live, the spots that you should stay away from. Just a quick sidenote, I was told that the generations of the blue people lacked pigment of some form in their jeans and that’s why they were blue. There is a picture of them in a newspaper article somewhere that I seen when I was a kid. Anyway, I can’t burn the food. I’ll be back.
“The Ozark Mystery.” A few years ago, I went on one of those Big Foot searches with a group of people. They a couple of them had guns. I brought my violin. They were joking with me, “The Yank and his fiddle”. To make a long story short, we came to a spot where we smelled something really stinky. I then go out my violin and started to play the song “Silent Night.”. After a few minutes, we actually saw two very huge beings who stepped out from some trees. Everybody has wide eyed and their mouths wide open. The two very huge beings were swaying slowly to the music. I played other songs that were slow and melodic. I stopped playing. The two huge beings stepped back into the forest. (Next message)
My husband and I live down the road from the happenings of the Blue Man of Spring Creek in Douglas County, MO and we have now had countless experiences with Sasquatch in the Ozarks. We have a ton of audio evidence from a variety of locations including our tiny cabin near Ava, MO. I am so excited for the day we get to interact with them face to face. 🥰
The Ozark Mystery. Cool vid! I reside in AR. I had an experience in Vilonia at night. I don’t know exactly what it was I saw but one thing is for sure, this thing had giant wings (one wing easily measured 6 foot in wing span) and the 3 other passengers in my car saw it as well (my sunroof was also open) as it flew past us (approximately 10 feet from the ground) in the opposite direction! You could hear the flapping and wind (that’s how big its wings were!) I quickly circled around the small block to try and get a closer look at exactly what it was and the one girl was freaking out talking about Jeepers Creepers to which i told her to calm down, Jeepers Creepers ain’t real but I told her I think it could be The Moth Man. It happened to be a full moon that night and w my sunroof open we all kept our eyes in the sky in the direction we saw it as I circled the block. We saw nothing in the sky as we circled and nothing in the field we seen it by. This thing also had intelligence apparently as it hid from us. Till this day, I still don’t completely understand what we saw and although I’m brave, I am grateful it didn’t attack us.
i grew up and still live in Ozark county Missouri. i heard stories all my life from locals. they still have a presence in the area. if you want to know more about this Ozark legend look up the local newspapers of Ozark, Douglas and Howell counties. we have the oldest written history of bigfoot in the united statesand the papers go into more depth than what is here which caught the attention of the National Geographic show. they visited Ozark county in 2015 interviewing locals, and they got some article of the area where Sal Collins first saw the blue man. this is where the legendary stories of the boogeyman come from. And i have a copied picture from the internet that is supposed to be Sal Collins with the dead blue man hanging upside down, face away from the camera. i also read an account of when the blue man was hunted down and killed. a very unglorious encounter.
Back in 2002 my husband and I were newlyweds and we lived in Fayetteville. Couple miles down the road would be Elkins. He worked as a shift manager at Tyson’s so when he would come home in the evening we would always take a drive. We headed out towards Elkins like we always did put the windows down and the sunroof open. Going down the highway smelling the night air. We decided to go down this one road to relax and just flow the evening away. It was pretty late so people are pretty much snuggled in their beds and closed in their homes. We’re going down this two-lane road and about a half mile up the road we see something cross the road. From where we were saying it looks like it could have been a bear. Then all of a sudden we see it stand up. It starts going down this fence line. Then it starts walking on all fours. As we drove by my husband slowed the truck down as we were staring right into the eyes of whatever this was. It followed us with it’s eyes they seem to be reddish in color. My husband gets to the end of the road and starts to turn around. I immediately asked him what he thinks he is doing. I was in fear and did not want to go back fearing what could happen. I screamed at him not to go back. He tried to convince me into letting him go back up the road in which we came from. I began to panic and screamed no as it sounded as if I was going to cry. He decided not to drive back down the road and we drove off. What ever that was it was not a big foot or an human All I know is the fear stayed with me for a few hours.
I’m shaking. I’ve visited this area once in my life. My family had planned to go to Independence county in Arkansas, which is located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Before we left for the road trip, I had a terrifying dream (keep this in mind). Once we pulled up to my families property, I began freaking out because the gate and entrance to their property was exactly what I had seen in my nightmare the month or so before, where something terrible that was unforeseen had happened. I told my family I wanted to leave and was worried all night something bad was about to happen… I wonder if there was a spirit warning me of the area before we went (could have been my mom who passed away when I was younger)… crazy to think about. Great article! Edit: small detail I left out; it was the middle of the night when we got there and it was dark in my dream. The unforeseen event that happened in my dream felt like something happened to my cousin but it was not clear. My family is JW so I know the home was protected, so the spirit could have been a warning me to not be outside at night.
In about 2008, a teacher friend of mine that worked for Springdale Schools and worked driving a bus saw a reddish furred being cross the road out at Harmon Rd. west of Elm springs/ Springdale. It was following a creek and it was raining, and about 6 am. My family has been in the Ozarks for 200 yrs., from mid-south Mo down into NW Ar. I grew up in the foothills in the W. Ar. River valley. Sasquatch is all over. Ft. Chaffee sightings. My granny hid my mom and sisters one day when a growling thing came thru the yard about 2 miles from the river. Gramps was gone that day.
In the endless mountains and forests we have many strange Beings. The Norwegian version of Big Foot is called Troll and kidnaps young virgins, he cannot go out in the sun, then they turn to stone. We have the beautiful Huldra who lives in the forest and attracts young men. But she has a cow tail, so she hides it under her skirt. In rivers, waterfalls and water, Nøkken lives. If you go to him, you can become a master of the fiddle. Nissen lives on the farms and looks after the farm together with the other earthly ancestors. But he gets terribly angry if you forget to put out porridge for him on Christmas Eve. This custom still lives on today’s modern Farms. Trolls are larger than Big Foot, and some said that some mountains are Trolls turned in to stones.
We had a panther in the woods near our home in West Monroe Louisiana which btw isn’t too far from Arkansas. I actually crossed paths with it as a kid playing in the woods. No one would believe me although you could hear it sometimes at night that sounded like a baby’s cry or a woman’s scream so they finally got parks and wildlife to look into it and at first they came up with no findings. However a few years down the road they did wind up capturing it and relocated it to a safer place and then lied about it telling folks they fund nothing. They just didn’t want people to panic.
Northern Ozarks Missouri side. And yes if there’s a wood Booger around all the dogs will bark in the valley’s and hollers. Now if your dogs go silent just smoke your cig inside they smell him/her is close. Just let em pass. Dogs growl if it’s a non wood Booger, person regular animal etc. They don’t bark and carry on like “YOUR NOT SUPPOSE TO BE HERE bark”.
Never thought much of the mystery of the Ozarks until I had surgery for a ICD implant always go camping in the mountains sometime for weeks At a time and after The implant I went on a camping trip upon my return home went to My doctor and had readings recorded on My device that are impossible to explain and it has happened every time every year for 10 years now I still go camping in the same area every year and there’s nothing around that could cause this to happen always around the same time in the early morning
The Ozark Mystery. Oh, wait, I live in the Ozarks, jusf.a.ways out.of.Branson. In an area that is hilly and wooded. But have e seen this creatude, yet have heard some strange sounds. I think the neighbor in the valley scares them off with his shotgun when he goes squirrel hunting. Benadryl and good old calamine helps calm an itch Josh. Great article as all of yours are. Thanks cor mentioning our beloved and wild Ozarks. Have a good nigbt.
I have family living in this area. My son an avid hunter and fisherman. is quite familiar with the woods in a lot of this area, however he has never had an encounter with anything of this magnitude. However he has had a brush with something that seemed paranormal. I have a picture of him and my oldest grandson in his house taking a selfie. Later when looking at the picture they noticed a transparent figure in the picture, yet fairly clear in features of a man standing behind my grandson. My son said there was no one there at the time but the two of them. Very strange stuff. The picture creeped us all out.
I moved to Crawford county Missouri in the central Missouri ozarks two years ago. Literally from the moment I stepped into the woods on my property, we started having strange activity. Strange lights in the sky, owls that show up on a live camera feed but weren’t seen by the naked eye, something that looked like Batman with large glowing eyes caught on a camera that looked into our woods, a green beam from the sky that looked like it specifically electrified a large garden bed (also caught on camera), a creature hidden behind a large bush seen by me as I approached a wild blackberry bush in my woods and on and on and on. Before I moved here, these were the things of fairy tales only. Now they are a reality.
I live here right in the middle of it and with all the wild stuff I’ve seen and heard but I’m sure the government is building an underground city..don’t know why or for what but there is very good security..don’t ask I worked for the government/military……so yeah very good security. That’s all I got . Anyone else got any ideas or information?
i live in KC and make it down to lake of the ozarks occasionally. some of those bigfoot sightings may be me after a bit too much to drink… the ozark mystery is me. drunk and wandering the woods. im tall and hairy with very strange body proportions so yeah. anything in the last 30 years or so may just be me.
I enjoyed this article. Perhaps you should tell the story of the Ozark Howler and Teddy Roosevelt. You might mention the secret society (of which Roosevelt was a member) dedicated to protecting the settlers and general inhabitants of the Ozarks from the Howler. In fact, it still exists, albeit in a modified version. There are even deeper, more sinister aspects to this. Overall, it’s a weird and interesting story. Lol.
The board camp crystal mine in Mena Arkansas is a strange place . Saw weird “fairy type lights” and had something unknown throwing rocks at me and one of the owners while we walked the gravel path at night one evening. The owners have articles of floating or levitating rocks. It’s a pretty neat place,plus you can mine for quartz crystal!
I have a problem here behind my house is thick woods for miles every direction…Wabash river Indiana got a direct warning growl that shook me an my friend fishing a year ago one day..all this directly after three knocks…the growl shook everything to its core of silence an a look of disbelief and wonders as everything slowly came back to normal…now credits to the black bear are awarded and I’m a fool…only i have here and it’s still there also…an Indiana mystery
There are Black Panthers in NWA too and a large Wolf in the woods around Bentonville. As I was driving at night from the State Line before alcohol and liquor could be sold in Benton County I saw this huge Wolf standing on the side of the road (bypass) (now I-49) just past the large hill coming out of Bella Vista and this Wolf was huge. I think it had chased something from the woods that crossed the highway at the seconds I came to that area and the Wolf was stopped at the edge of the road and I saw it’s eyes looking right at me as my headlights reflected off its eyes and it gave me a chill and a sense of impending doom. I’d give anything if I had – had a dash camera recording all this but I don’t think I even had a cell phone back then.
I grew up in Southern Missouri, have seen the incredibly terrifying, ground shaking, and mysterious creatures some call the Squirrel. You sit by an old oak Tree on a late fall sundown, and you will hear what sounds like a herd a buffalo pulverizing the forest floor. The Mighty Squirrel 🐿️🐿️🐿️ Treacherous, terrifying, stampede of the varmint kind
The Ozark Mystery 🥶 i appreciate that you created these websites for our amusement, entertainment, and education. I have an entire travel itinerary based on locations you have covered in your articles. I will walk lightly & carry a pointy stick. 👾🤺 And probably bring backup. I’m convinced we live in a wacky little universe with a warped sense of humor and although highly amusing, completely unfathomable. Enjoy the adventure!
In Australia I’d heard of Wild people especially out bush in the Northern Territory that stay away from civilisation and we also have the Hairy Man these are people that have not Fur but, are really hairy & even their Face is hairy, they also have different complexions White, Yellow & Black & they live in dense rainforests & mangroves! I’m pretty sure that the Australian Governments are aware of them, they’re not Aliens, they’re just different species of Humans that live among us. I lived with an Indonesian Girl in Darwin & she had Stories of little people only about a foot high in Indonesia that had Spears & Bows & Arrows that would harass you if you’d encountered them!
Ive got a bunch of family down atound independence and my great great uncle shorty owned the last gristmill that was there. I remember picking watermelons and floating them to the house for picnics as a kid. Good times and shorty would tell us dont get out of sight of the house when wed go play hide and seek as kids.
Feral people? Sasquatch? No most likely people no longer engaged to modern society and prefer the freedom of the wild. During the 1800’s up in Alaska. Gold miners went into the woods and came across feral people. Unfortunately, they were Chinese laborers that got stranded after the ships they were on sunk after hitting shoreline rocks. The people were people from poor mountainous regions of Inner Mongolia and China. All were dressed in scrubs because no emergency party were ever sent to look for them. These people just became wild people, sort a like the American Indians European settlers came across. These wild mountainous people are probably tribes they never followed the Trail of tears under the President Andrew Jackson administration.
I currently live in Kirbyville just east of Branson, Mo but I have lived all over the Ozarks my whole life. Even went to basic training in Kentucky/Tennessee which was the Ozark Mountains as well. I’ve spent plenty of time in the woods and on all of the surrounding creeks/rivers. Not once have I heard anything like these stories nor have I felt scared or vulnerable while enjoying the great out doors. I recommend carrying your gun for defense against wild animals, crazy people and thieves.
Please know that as an epilepsy patient that I know the following: We all have a seizure threshold, and seizures come with retrograde amnesia. That means if something is a shock, good or bad, our minds bury the memory, yet they will not always remain hidden. They do resurface in time. When we don’t forget and tell someone who calls us liars, our mind is prone to hide it from us that way too. It creates cognitive dissonance. It’s two opposing truths about the same thing taking up the same space in our mind and results in our mind choosing to make us forget to preserve our sanity. So if you recall and incident from childhood decades later for the first time, since that memory was laid down, that’s why. You are not nuts.
In Joplin Mo my daughter, brother and I saw a cloaked figure which was featureless. It had no hands and no face around 6ft tall. Imagine a ghost you can’t see wearing a black hooded cloak that looked like a wool blanket playing peekaboo around objects that can make it self as small as a black trash bag and then fly away. This happened around 2012,2013 I know it was after the tornado of 2011.
Next message. I was asked, “How did you know how to do that?” I told them, “It’s very simple, animals or very primal beings respond to very soothing and slow music. I told them about a group of singers who went to Como Zoo in Minnesota. They sang slow songs to the Orangutans. They responded by swaying to the singing. And for a long time, I wondered, “Would this work on Big Foot?” I now have my answer. So, if anybody wants to see any kind of inexplicable being in the wild, just sing calm songs or play calm songs on the violin.
I helped my mom move back,her property was right against Arkansas and 21miles from Alton Mo and 7 miles down a dirt road,and a quarter mile of her drive way but All dirt roads,there is a secret military base back in the woods,we were out hunting and when you have black special opps come down from the trees on you, then they escort us all the way back to my mom’s house and they said that they were tracking a Big foot,me and mom looked at each other and laughed and told them that they would definitely find one because in that area they liked to travel up in the trees mostly oak only that strong enough to hold there weight
The Ozark mystery, I remember reading a long time ago in a science magazine about some people who live down in The Hills I forget what state do you have skin that is changed blue. Entire families but other than the color of the skin they were perfectly normal. Scientist who study them said the Fugate family of Kentucky consisted of six generations of inbreeding causing your skin to take on a blue color.
I live in the Missouri side of the Ozarks 1983 I lived in Camdenton Missouri where bridal cave is my parents live down the road across from where Riley came was all the roads have been renamed so I don’t know what it’s called now but I was driving home from my parents house I got 2 miles down the road it was just dusk and this thing come across the highway in front of me he took that road with two steps And I slammed on my brakes I was later told that was Momo the Missouri monster so I have known they’ve been in the area for a long time I still live in Missouri but not down there😮❤
Fun fact, as a European, I had no idea the Ozarks were a thing at all until I played the After the End mod for Crusader Kings 2. I looked around the are down there and saw like a kingdom of the Ozarks or something like that and thought “that’s a weird name, I bet it’s made up”. Spoiler alert, it was not.
As a person born in Springfield and raised in Branson, I am proud to tell others that I am from the region. I appreciate the time and effort you have put into this article to show others that we aren’t really “hicks” or “hillbillies” and the region in general laughs all the way to the bank by cashing in on the stereotypes that others love to come see and experience.
As a Missourian I’ve often felt that our state is an absolute hidden gem for it’s beauty and nature. I think it’s one of the reasons the state’s population may not agree on a lot of things but we can all agree on conservation and wildlife preservation. My whole family settled in the Ozarks by way of Tennessee and Arkansas and eventually landed in Saint Louis, Springfield, and Columbia with people scattered across the Saint Francois Mountain region. A truly beautiful area with bluffs, hills, dense forest, and of course, streams, creeks, and rivers. Thanks for the history lesson.
As an Oklahoman It was always strange how everyone thought we were entirely flat like the panhandle but the entire east half is either the Ozark foot hills or an entirely separate region of the Ouachita Mountains. Funnily enough even though the mountain range in the Ozarks touch the other, they are completely differently culturally somehow via the magic of the Arkansas river divide.
As a German- Scots Irish Hillbilly from the Ozarks, I kept waiting for you to screw up the history of my family/region, but you never did. The best explanation of the Ozarks ever. The only thing that was left out to my mind was the fact that the Boston Mountains are the Oldest (and therefore the smallest) Mountains on the Continent. Beautifully Well Done Sir.
As a Missourian from the southeast edge, I think you did the Ozarks a bit of justice here. I went to college in poplar bluff which I’ve often said is the edge of the world because it’s basically the southern gateway to the Ozarks and I have many fond memories of driving through the heavily wooded Ozark hills late into the night. Truly it is a place of comfort so thank you again.
The wife and I are motorcycle tourers. We live in Texas. Back in 2006 we rode up to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to participate in a small get together and fell in love with the Ozarks. Over the past 20 years we have ridden in all 49 states that have roads to them and nearly all of Canada. We have seen some amazing, beautiful and awesome places. But the only place we keep going back to is The Ozarks. We have ridden all over The Ozarks and now consider the area our second home. It’s a beautiful area and the people there are mostly good folks. We’ll keep going back.
The Osage were originally known as the Ni-U-Kon-Ska, which means “children of the middle waters”. The Osage inhabited a vast territory that formerly included Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas as well as the area between the Missouri and Red rivers, thus their name. Today they call themselves Wah-Zha-Zhi or Wahzhazhe, which was translated by French explorers and fur traders as Ouazhigi, which later became the English name Osage. Osage life centred on religious ceremonials in which clans were divided into symbolic sky and earth groups, with the latter further subdivided to represent dry land and water. The Osage were remarkable for their poetic rituals. Among them was the custom of reciting the history of the creation of the universe to each newborn infant. After they were forced off Kansas to Oklahoma, on reservation land that they bought, oil was discovered on their land in Oklahoma. They had retained communal mineral rights during the allotment process, and many Osage became wealthy through returns from leasing fees generated by their headrights. However, during the 1920s and what was known as the Reign of Terror, they suffered manipulation, fraud, and numerous murders by outsiders eager to take over their wealth.
It was so cool too watch this being born and raised in the Ozarks, then when you mentioned Brooks. I’m a Blevins and my family was full of good ole Missouri hillbillies, there are still some to this day. They originally were like any other settlers/pioneers but after long they either played into the label or never fully recovered from the Great Depression and left with no choice but to embrace the label. Being poor lead to a lack of proper dental care and medicine, strange diets, and strange means of being resourceful in the hills. These hardships helped them fit the criteria that much more. My family knows how to be goofy without worrying about judgement because they know people will assume whatever they want as long as the criteria fits. They are fun people and have lived quite the lives…I had a great uncle get kidnapped by Bonnie and Clyde during a shootout in the ozarks…..and a great grandpa who met Jesse James. They have the wildest stories I’ve ever heard and I even believe I’ve heard stories of Gold in caves.
Dude, this is awesome. I live on the Arkansas side of the Ozarks and there’s a ton more you could get into with all this. The town where I’m from, Cotter there’s a huge railroad boom down, as well as a place for steamboats to come down from Branson through the white river, and you could also mentioned the other theme park that didn’t make it nearly as far as Silverdollar city, Dogpatch, USA in Jasper, Arkansas
I’m a St. Louisan who spent my youth in the Ozarks on float trips, camping, on the lake, road trips. I went off and joined the Army and lived all over. Came back to St. Louis for a few years and always felt the calling to go back to the Ozarks. A couple years ago I moved to a tiny town of 345 in the St. Francois mountains. I’m at the age where unnecessary noise pisses me off, so I absolutely love it here. I’m a 5 minute walk to Big Creek and a 5 minute SxS ride to the Black River(which I grew up floating). It’s one of my favorite places on earth and I feel blessed to call this beautiful land my home. If you haven’t been, do yourself the favor of visiting. The people are wonderful, the scenery is majestic, and the food is country down home good.
I was a kid in Toronto in the mid 1970’s when I heard Ozark Mountain Daredevils on the radio. Next time I was at the public library (which was every week in those days before the internet was even a sparkle in the eye of TBL) I looked up Ozark and ended up doing a geography/social studies project on the area. Got a good grade too.
I live at the very southern tip of the Ozarks in northern-ish Arkansas. Seems like people always get bored with and used to the places they live/grow up in and take them for granted but I’ve lived here my entire 37 years and I’ve always thought there was something unique and interesting about the Ozarks – maybe even something approaching the spiritual or metaphysical. Like there are a lot of unique and interesting features concentrated here in one place that are similar to a wide range of other places – just like the diverse environments, ecology, geology, etc. Like it kind of seems like it’s right in the corner/on the edge of where several different natural boundaries/zones converge. Sort of like how the terrain of Arkansas feels like 4-5 states in one – with the Ozark Mountains in the northwest, the flat farmland out east, the riverlands/river valley in the central part, swamps in the south, almost sort of like semi-arid shrubland in the southwest by Texas, etc. The Ozarks themselves are kind of diverse like that. But I’ve always liked how the Ozarks are kind of an incognito hidden gem.
Granted that most of the Ozarks is in Missouri, I wished that you had given some attention to Northern Arkansas and the Cherokee Nation of Eastern Oklahoma in your doc. They are as much a part of the Ozarks as Southern Missouri is. I believe Eastern Oklahoma is “Where the Red Fern Grows” took place, and was just as much an important film and book about the Ozarks as “Shepherd of the Hills”
Im from Southwest Missouri and love this area. Im glad things move slower here and we’re a bit removed from a lot of the chaos in the world. Plus, it’s beautiful country out here and you can actually hear yourself think lol. The quote at the beginning, about stereotypes and a different attitude towards them when coming from “outsiders”, is definitely true. Enjoyed the article.
My family is from West Plains and Springfield before my mom moved to Michigan, so I spent my time growing up split living in Michigan and Missouri. As members of my family who lived in the Ozarks pass, and friends I had there move on, I’m slowly losing my connection to there, but I will always hold the land in my heart.
Im from Central Texas and when I went into the Ozarks for a camping trip I drove through areas where the trees were standing 5 feet from each other for miles. The thickest darkest forest I ever saw and I’ve been to many others. The road would be on a hill so as you went up you could see the tops of the trees and as you went down it got dark. It made me think if a tornado came on by I would have no way of seeing it until it hit me. I also stopped at the smallest Walmart I’ve ever seen in a small town in the middle of the forest for fishing supplies. The ceiling of this Walmart was only around 12 feet high. I’ve never seen a Walmart with a regular ceiling like that. They always have huge open ceilings but this one felt more like a bigger dollar store. It was strange. The shirts inside were funny though. Half had jokes about punching some random politician from either party or hunting/fishing. Was kinda cozy honestly. On my way out a good ol boy wearing only overalls and boots drove by smiling at my dog. I remember this guy because he looked like a stereotype of a hillbilly. So extreme you would think hes not real. Truck leaning to one side, half his teeth missing and one strap on his overalls. Dude was about that life I guess. My dog seemed to like him when he talked to us so he was good in my book lol
I grew up near Joplin, Missouri. I remember as a kid we were at Table Rock Lake in SWMO, and a cousin from Texas called me and my dad hillbillies, and I asked my dad “what’s a hillbilly?”, and he yelled back “WE are hillbillies!”. So l think I basically never knew what a hillbilly was, just that I was one apparently.
In 1978 we moved from San Diego to Northwest Arkansas to attend John Brown University. Mrs. Rick was from the Philippines, and to her San Diego and up the coast to San Jose pretty much represented America. She loved the beautiful Ozark scenery, and was absolutely fascinated when autumn came around and the leaves all changed colors. She had never seen anything like that before. In her tropical country the world is green, so green it can wash away everything else. Then the leaves all fell off the trees. She was devastated. She thought the entire world had died. Everywhere she looked was death to her eyes. Talk about spiraling into a depression. I kept telling her that spring would come, and the trees would get back their leaves again. She had no context as to what “spring” was. By the end of April she was beginning to get back to normal. Took several years for her to get accustomed to the four season cycle we see here. We live outside Chicago now, and we just came back from visiting the college for Homecoming last week. Still enjoy the area.
I’m from Hickory county, you are correct. I myself, know my assenters lived in Kentucky and moved out west to Fristoe Missouri because the land was very similar. Then the family moved farther south to Cross Timbers when they dammed the Osage River. Many of the old trading towns and farmland would soon find itself under 50’ of water once Truman lake was dammed.
My Dads family has lived in the southern Ozarks (South east of Lebannon) since the early 1800’s. Some of the first families to move to the area. We have a written family history. Farmers that were also school teachers. After WWII, my Dad settled in the northeast Ozarks. It’s a beautiful area, full of wildlife. As kids we would go to my grandparents and pick up truck beds full of walnuts. We’d pick huge wild blackberries and gooseberries. Grandma had a acre garden full of tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, potatoes, dill and other wonderful things. We canned for winter. We all loved the dill pickles we made. We had pie cherry trees all around the outside of the garden. We grew sweet corn and picked persimmons from 2 trees that grew in a field. We had chickens, pigs and beef cattle. My grandma’s brother had dairy cows and he’d bring her fresh milk and cream. There’s always a stream near by to take a swim in to cool off in summer or go fishing. We’d go to the river to gig for bull frogs. It’s a place that provides. If only the ticks and chiggers weren’t so bad. They didn’t seem as bad when I was a kid. I live in the northern Ozarks and I love it.
I’m from St. Louis, and my entire dad’s side of the family is from Taney County, the same county as Branson, and it’s a godsend to me. Just to get out there, away from the city does the soul good. I can have a bonfire on a small creek and feel like I’m completely away from civilization and not just an hour away from Springfield and Branson
I am from the Ozarks! I have always loved what we represented – a simple life and the values that most of America could have cared less about. After retiring from the military, I once again made the Ozarks my home. The only thing I hate about it is all of the outsiders moving in and diluting who we are. I have and am today, proud to be from this area.
The “Li’l Abner” comic strip went a long way toward popularizing the hillbilly stereotype. The town, in the comic strip, was called “Dogpatch, USA.” There was, for a time, a “Dogpatch USA” theme park in NW Arkansas. It closed in 1993. I remember seeing commercials for it when I was younger and living in rural southern Missouri.
Back in the 80s when I was still a youngster, I traveled from Ft. Smith to Fayetteville. It was still a two lane road. Now that route is a 4 lane divided highway if I’m not mistaken. I remember looking up and seeing an all wood house with a porch that ran across the entire front of it on the side of a hill. It had a couple of men barefoot in overalls sitting in rocking chairs with a dog lying at their feet. I remember wondering if that was for tourists. It was not
I’m born and raised in the NW Arkansas part of the Ozarks. My family is Scots-Irish origin and I have referred to my 21 aunts and uncles as a clan. Admittedly, half of them, through no fault of their own were born in Oklahoma. We still love them anyway. I grew up in what had been a coal mining boom town, next to Altus, AR where all the vineyards are located and about 10 miles from Ozark, AR. Watched a few Hillbilly football games with friends. We were poor, but didn’t know it. Just didn’t have a lot of stuff. I helped farm our land and my grandma’s farm and animals. We drew water from the well, it was from an underground spring and was delightful. No indoor plumbing until we moved to an old house we bought to fix up. I was 11 the first time I had a real bathroom in my house. We went to the Methodist church on Sundays and on Wednesday accompanied Grandma to the Church of Christ for “real church.” Grandma and the coal miners widows raised me because Dad worked for a road construction crew and was away on jobs and Mom was at the hospital with my brother who was born with a birth defect. Times in the 60’s were different. I was taught manners and respect for others. I’m 64 now and I am saddened by the loss of these things. My 2 brothers have genius IQ and are in MENSA. I’m above average IQ. School was important and it was important to have a good education. I think about the kids that dropped out of school by the 8th grade. It was a hard way to live. Today I am a retired nurse and disabled.
I live in East Tennessee and visited Branson this year and it was amazing how similar both regions are especially when compared to the Cumberland Plateau area. I was also surprised by how big the region was, I thought it was just a small area near Branson and didn’t know it spread all across southern Missouri.
Drove from Iowa to Waynesville MO to buy a truck. First half of the trek was quick for the most part until you hit Jefferson City. Everything south of there is winding roads exactly like Appalachia. On a bend there was a gas station. The worker inside was almost as depicted in the bug bunny cartoon but some of the customers were emo and even one in a suit. Felt like a Twilight Zone episode. (Also Jimmy Driftwood is the best Ozark artist out there).
Cool clip! My Scots-Irish great-great-great grandfather settled in the MO Ozarks. His son was a cavalry officer on the Union side at Wilson’s Creek. Then HIS son settled in Labette County, Kansas. The grandson of that man married my mother, who was from the western edge of Labette County. That’s where I live. It’s called ‘The Little Ozarks’, a region of about 100sq. miles. Cross west into Montgomery County and things begin to flatten out very quickly. An Osage village was excavated about a mile from where I live.
I grew up in the American west. I used to have the attitude that we had real mountains out there, with the Rockies and the Cascades— and that mountains out east were mere hills in comparison. Then I had to drive an overloaded moving truck across the Ozarks. I had woefully underestimated those “hills.” They were real mountains, and it was a struggle. Fortunately, the commercial truck drivers around me recognized what an idiot I was, and acted as my guardian angels. They safely shepherded me those “hills.” To this day, I am still thankful for their looking out for me. Don’t underestimate the Ozarks.
I grew up in Iron County in Missouri right at the foot of its highest point which is Taum Sauk Mountain. A place known as The Arcadia Valley which is one of Missouris most beautiful places. You got this pretty close as a summary of the basic Ozarks. But to be a true Ozarkian you need to go deeper into its history and the accomplishments of its people to get the complete story. One that includes more than just the Branson / Springfield affect. Because of all the marketing for Branson and the Springfield area everyone else gets left out. And yes I’m one of the few who will claim our cousins in Kansas. In Missouri anything north of Branson towards the Missouri River never gets much attention yet it harbors some of the Ozarks best areas. But for the most part you nailed it and I’m glad you did. Between my parents I am Scotch Irish, German and Welch. There are also a lot of French, Italians and other ethnic groups that make up a large part of our north eastern Ozarks. I am proud of my Ozark Hillbilly heritage and I’m very proud of our Ozarks. And just a foot note… every one north of the Missouri River has to have a green card to come south. Just kidding! 🙂
As an Appalachian, y’all are a whisper of what we have to offer. All in good jest. I’m a Kentuckian. The Ozarks are (to us) an extension of our own culture, and we love to see it. Beverly Hillbillies was a staple of my childhood (along with other American staples like the Andy Griffith Show and Grand Ole Opry Live, plus Renfro Valley Gatherin’ Radio). It’s basically you and us left of the old American tradition. Boonesborough and Cave City were once the vacation destinations of America. Now they are practically ghost towns.
Exciting to see a article like this made. I took a whole class last semester at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where I’m still studying, called Ozarkers. It went over much of what you’re talking about here. I even went and saw a talk by Brooks Blevins at the Fayetteville Public Library. Really good research on this article, all the way down to the bodark tree ;). Don’t know if you noticed the similarity in etymology there (Ozarks-Bodark). Folk don’t really understand that a lot of people here took on the hillbilly identity as a means of protection, like you said. There’s a neat novel by a local Ozarker named Donald Harrington called “Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks” that you might be interested in reading. It provides like a microcosm of Ozark development through the history of fictional town located in Newton County, AR. I just met a guy earlier this week (my girlfriend’s neighbor, actually) that said Donald Harrington used to be his roommate. The Ozarks are a small place. For myself growing up in North Central Arkansas, a pretty rural and poor part of the Ozarks, Ozark identity is marked by poverty first. The initial notion of backwoods folk living off the land wasn’t entirely false, and a lot of folk subsisted off of the land through hunting, trapping, fishing, or otherwise. But the loss of that land through an invasive tourist economy bringing rich recreationists with the money and time to buy large tracts of inexpensive land pushed a lot of those native folk out.
I have extended family who live there, in Missouri. They’re Lutheran and mostly live in the more German areas, although it is of course very mixed and Anglicized. There are quite a few small towns named after places in Germany and Poland, and you’ll find a lot of wineries. Much of the region has been plundered of its beauty by bad urban planning, but you will still find some places like Washington, Dutzow, and Hermann that are very comfy, especially during winter. The region has a vibe that makes me think EmpLemon could do a article on it. If there’s some kind of shamanic curse associated with Southern Missouri, I wouldn’t be too shocked. Arguably you do have the New Madrid Earthquake that many Indians saw as vindication of the leader Tecumseh’s movement.
Loved the article. Being a resident of the ozarks for many years now I must point out one missing piece…DOGPATCH U.S.A.! I actually worked there the last years it was open and there were families that had been coming for decades. True, it was not a major influence but it deserves a mention. And the Li’l Abner cartoon that inspired the park. Thanks for the article.
As an ethnic and somewhat-cultural Cajun, I felt very much that comment about certain terms (like hillbilly in the article) being used with a sense of pride by natives, but was seen as an attack (because, honestly, it often is) when used by outsiders against that culture. I’m sure people can guess the main term in my case.
I grew up in Ozark and I enjoyed this article very much. I have many fun stories about the area, including a cave being discovered in our backyard and National Geographic coming out. I’ve not seen our area get any recognition beyond Bass Pro Shops, and not many people even know that BP started in Springfield.
I was born & raised in the Joplin Missouri area. We spent summers going on vacation in Branson! Since I graduated from college I’ve lived in Northwest Arkansas and now Kansas City. I have love for the Ozarks and it’s awesome to see it getting some well-needed attention. Especially since the show “Ozark” was so good but not like reality at all!
I went to Silver Dollar City its first year when there were only two rides and it was all crafts. The area was just getting started with giving in to the whole Hillbilly chic thing. As hard as cash is to come by in the Ozarks folks would have learned to blow bubbles out their butts if it would have paid regular. That’s the problem with too many beautiful places, there’s no way to make cash money without destroying some of the beauty.
I had no idea! When I was a teenager, I traveled with my best friend to stay with her grandmother for two weeks in two separate summers in Dardanelle, Arkansas. Her grandmother took us around the Ozarks and into a place in Oklahoma with a fort. I have always remembered the beauty of the Ozarks, but really didn’t understand the history. It’s kind of a story of if you can’t beat them join them and maximize on that. Oh, her grandmother also took me to the very first Walmart I ever went to. I think that might’ve been the first Walmart in existence?
When I travel through the Ozarks, I think of my ancestors and how they longed to stop there because the area reminded them so much of their beloved Smoky Mountains they were forced out of during the Trail of Tears. I grew up hearing about how the whites living there chased them out of every town they came across. Our tribe was finally able to settle in the tail end of the Ozarks in Oklahoma.
Moved here 20 years ago and love it here. I could take a photo of the town square, remove a few wifi antennas and you wouldn’t know what decade it was. Neighbors who are there for you but give or take a gossup mill that moves faster than the internet mostly leave you be. Nice place, old ways people are still kind and respectful, if I got keys to my house I don’t know where they are and many still leave their keys in the cup holder. Feels a lot like Mayberry or something. It’s the way things should be. I did not know a lot of this. Thanks for the information
Awesome, had no idea you were from my region of the country. I grew up in St. Louis but I live in Columbia now. It’s always kind of surreal to hear place names I’m familiar with mentioned on YouTube haha. Boone County really is the very upper boundary of the Ozarks. Driving south on highway 63, Boone County starts out as flat and spacious as Iowa or Illinois, but starting around Columbia, it starts to get hillier and hillier and even Columbia itself is much flatter in the northern half of the city and much hillier starting along the Hinkson Creek and continuing south towards the Missouri River. There are some bluffs along the Hinkson with really nice views and of course Rock Bridge State Park has some really nice scenery as well. I’ve also driven to Little Rock from Columbia once or twice. There’s really no single highway or interstate that connects Columbia or even Springfield to Little Rock, so we were driving along a lot of two lane country roads. But man, some of the scenery through southern Missouri and northern Arkansas was gorgeous. At least as equally gorgeous as that in the Appalachians.
As someone from Rogers, AR, in beautiful Northwest Arkansas, I always thought it crazy the area of Walmart, JB Hunt, and Tyson was a “backwards” area, but I am also almost 33, so my scope doesn’t go back as far as even the Bugs Bunny cartoon by a LONG shot, but really, other than a lack of decent infrastructure for lots of people right now, it’s seriously one of the most pretty areas of America, and I’ve traveled and loved all over the country. We also have a world class art museum, one of the best bike trails in America, and we also have a rich, vibrant local art scene as well. There really is something for just about everyone these days ❤ I always recommend people come to the greater Northwest Arkansas area of Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, and Fayetteville, if you ever get the chance. I also understand we have some growing pain problems as well, but I’m curious to learn more about the area, how we can make it better, and maybe shed some stereotypes of the past
Born and raised in the Ozarks (but left years ago). It’s a weird blending of cultures. Overall it’s VERY southern leaning with massive Bible Belt influence. Mostly evangelical Christian, compared to the northern US, which is mostly Catholic and mainline Protestant. Religion influences all, in this swathe of land. In my experience, most of the Appalachian culture is gone, replaced by mega churches and unchecked suburban development.