the State Historical Society of Missouri
![Jolly Mill circa 2022. [Photo by Ross Brown]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2024-03/1.-jolly-mill.jpg?h=7e5f5b54&itok=YZl1LG4V "Jolly Mill circa 2022. [Photo by Ross Brown]")
Jolly Mill, a grist mill and whiskey distillery, was built in the late 1840s on Capps Creek in…
![The Figure 8 roller coaster at Lakeside Park, added in 1907, was a “huge reversing spiral” in which cars rushed down a half-mile curving track with “three figure eights in a descent of 50 feet.” [Courtesy of the Joplin Historical & Mineral Museum]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2023-06/1.%20Figure%208%20Roller%20Coaster%20Lakeside%20Park%20Joplin%20Museum%20Complex.JPG?h=c36628e1&itok=hcrmvx97 "The Figure 8 roller coaster at Lakeside Park, added in 1907, was a “huge reversing spiral” in which cars rushed down a half-mile curving track with “three figure eights in a descent of 50 feet.” [Courtesy of the Joplin Historical & Mineral Museum]")
“Once the most important and popular play place of the Tri-State district,” Lakeside Park in Jasper…
![Log City, circa 1942. [State Historical Society of Missouri, John F. Bradbury Jr. Postcard Collection, R1551]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2025-02/1.-log-city.jpg?h=faa43f9b&itok=BH2xWmeN "Log City, circa 1942. [State Historical Society of Missouri, John F. Bradbury Jr. Postcard Collection, R1551]")
Located in the southwest corner of Missouri, McDonald County borders Arkansas and Oklahoma. Situated within the…
![Morrow’s Station. [State Historical Society of Missouri, Morrow and Skaggs Families Papers, R1520]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2025-01/1.-morrows-station.jpg?h=f58e211d&itok=EHHoTkhZ "Morrow’s Station. [State Historical Society of Missouri, Morrow and Skaggs Families Papers, R1520]")
In 1932, George B. Morrow, a merchant and farmer from Iberia, Missouri, purchased three and a half acres of land at…
![The Nelson Hotel, formerly known as Nelson Tavern, in Lebanon, Missouri. [State Historical Society of Missouri, John F. Bradbury Jr. Postcard Collection, R1551]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2026-02/1.-nelsons-dream-village.jpg?itok=bNCVuc4O "The Nelson Hotel, formerly known as Nelson Tavern, in Lebanon, Missouri. [State Historical Society of Missouri, John F. Bradbury Jr. Postcard Collection, R1551]")
At the intersection of Route 66 and Highway 5 in Lebanon, Nelson’s Dream Village was one of the finest…
![Oasis Night Club. [State Historical Society of Missouri, Newspaper Collection, Joplin News Herald, November 29, 1937]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2026-06/1.-oasis_joplin_news_herald_1937_11_29_11.jpg?itok=hQ5jL3oG "Oasis Night Club. [State Historical Society of Missouri, Newspaper Collection, Joplin News Herald, November 29, 1937]")
The Oasis Night Club in Central City, Missouri, was one of the last businesses westbound travelers on Route…
![The O’Joe Club in Noel, Missouri. [Courtesy of Dorene Stiles and Noel Centennial, 1887–1987]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2026-01/1.-ojoe-club.jpg?itok=-TEcfm4d "The O’Joe Club in Noel, Missouri. [Courtesy of Dorene Stiles and Noel Centennial, 1887–1987]")
The O’Joe Club in Noel, Missouri, was one of the first commercial resorts in the Ozarks. Although it was not…
![Pippin Place. [State Historical Society of Missouri, John F. Bradbury Jr. Postcard Collection, R1551]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2025-08/1.-pippin-place.jpg?h=e4d128fe&itok=_doFS-wE "Pippin Place. [State Historical Society of Missouri, John F. Bradbury Jr. Postcard Collection, R1551]")
Pippin Place was a legendary Gasconade River resort in the Missouri Ozarks. With the spread of railroads…
![Red’s Giant Hamburg sometime after it closed in December 1984. [State Historical Society of Missouri, David Eslick Photograph Collection, SP0088, 1976-2001]](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header_image/public/2024-03/1.-reds-giant-hamburg.jpg?h=cb1fa88b&itok=MzxABlva "Red’s Giant Hamburg sometime after it closed in December 1984. [State Historical Society of Missouri, David Eslick Photograph Collection, SP0088, 1976-2001]")
The original Red’s Giant Hamburg on Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, was a legendary roadside spot for…