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CONTENTS Chapter 1. ELDON, AURORA SPRINGS &
EL RANCHO JUNCTION
Eldon, the northern gateway to Lake of the Ozarks on U.S.
Highway 54, is rich in tourism and Rock Island Railroad history.
Before the railroad came, the mineral spa town of Aurora Springs
was its neighbor, now the two towns are one. After Bagnell
Dam was built, tourist attractions sprang up just south of
the city. This chapter features these show caves, nightclubs,
animal parks and other attractions that no longer exist.
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Chapter 2. OLD BAGNELL, DAMSITE & BAGNELL DAM
The towns of Bagnell and Damsite near Bagnell Dam prospered during
the construction of Bagnell Dam. During the last days of construction,
the town of Bagnell burned to the ground. Damsite vanished forever
within a few months. The airport that hosted the VIPS of the dam’s
construction and visitor Charles Lindbergh also vanished. This chapter
features rare photos of Bagnell, Damsite and Charles Lindbergh.
Chapter 3. LAKESIDE & LAKE OZARK
When the construction of Bagnell Dam was complete and Lake of the
Ozarks had formed, the former merchants of Damsite moved to the
west end of the dam and the town of Lake Ozark was born. This chapter
features vintage Lake Ozark roadside and lakeside accommodations
and attractions that no longer exist.
Chapter 4. OSAGE BEACH
As Lake of the Ozarks tourism grew into the mom and pop business
years of the 50s and 60s, Osage Beach came into its own as the areas
most diversified and prosperous resort center. Roadside curio stands
gave way to fine restaurants, retail shops, and the Grand Glaize
Bridge area developed into one of the most spectacular entertainment
area of the lake region. The early entertainment definitely had
a country western flavor.
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Chapter 5. KAISER & BRUMLEY
These two small Ozark towns, to the east of Osage Beach along
Highway 42, which is an eastern gateway to the Lake of the Ozarks,
acquired their own unique tourism qualities in the 50s and 60s,
focused on western entertainment, music, boating, swimming and
fishing recreational pursuits at Lake of the Ozarks State Park
and the headwaters of the Grand Glaize Arm of Lake of the Ozarks.
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Chapter 6. LINN CREEK & CAMDENTON
Inundated old Linn Creek and the attractions of its successor,
Camdenton, are featured in this chapter; See the Kiplinger Ferry and
its one-armed navigator; John McGowan, the area’s most famous
pre-lake fishing guide; J. W. Vincent, the cantankerous newspaper
editor who opposed the construction of Bagnell Dam; and two attractions
that put Camdenton on the map -- the Dogwood Festival and the J Bar
H Rodeo. And see the underground attraction that has been marrying
people down under for more than 50 years.
Chapter 7. HA HA TONKA
The most unique collection of natural wonders to be seen in the
Ozarks are found in Ha Ha Tonka State Park. See the man who built
Ha Ha Tonka Castle. See the natural bridge, caves and chasms that
hid outlaws of the 1830s. See the underground pools where blind
salamanders were first identified for science. And see the rustic
cabins of the early day tourists to the Ha Ha Tonka area.
Chapter 8. HURRICANE DECK & SUNRISE BEACH
One historic structure in the valley of the Osage River survived
the men who cleared the basin for Lake of the Ozarks – the
old Iron Smelter of 1872. It still stands with its feet in the water.
This is the land of old time fishing camps, the Governor McClurg
Ferry that became a famous show boat on the lake, and the land were
Sitting Bill, Chief of the Ozark Hillbillies used to spin his tall
tales about the early days of Lake of the Ozarks.
Chapter 9. GRAVOIS MILLS & VERSAILLES
Gravois Mills and Versailles are two areas with many contrasts where
the early day fishing guides were widely acclaimed, where the region’s
most unusual fishing pier was located, and where a chicken breeder
from Kansas City became one of the first fishing enthusiasts to
champion bass fishing at Lake of the Ozarks. It is also the location
of the oldest show cave at the lake.
Chapter 10. WARSAW
A town as old as the Rocky Mountain fur trade and the days of the
steamboats, Warsaw is at the headwaters of Lake of the Ozarks. It
is the land of swinging bridges, and today, the town between the
two largest man-made dams on the Osage River. See rare photos of
the swinging bridge that collapsed into the Osage River taking the
drover and his herd of cattle with it.
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