Cassville History
If you spent centuries past standing in one spot on that Cassville roadway– you would have been impressed to witness:

• An Indian Trail where Native Americans and fur traders first forged a pathway for trade.
• 16,000 Cherokees tragically removed to Oklahoma over what is now the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.
• Military caissons over the Old Military Road between Springfield, MO to Fayetteville, AR, and the military post in Ft. Smith, AR.
• Butterfield Overland Mail Stagecoaches rumbling on a 2,812 miles trip twice a week from Missouri to California.
• Legislators and a Governor fleeing to the Barry County seat and voting to secede from the Union – so Cassville became the State Capital for one week.
• Civil War Soldiers – Union and Confederate – wearily traipsing to and from battles at Wilson’s Creek near Springfield, MO and Pea Ridge, AR.
• A new communications marvel being strung – telegraph wire – along what came to be known next as the ‘Old Wire Road.’

•Belching smoke from the Cassville-Exeter Railroad – Cassville’s ‘claim to glory’ and the world’s shortest rail line for 60 years.
To learn more, a trip to Cassville’s Barry County Museum is a fun and memorable experience for the entire family.