Newton-McDonald, MO-2015

Community Spotlight on our cities and villages

Our Cities...

Noel While Noel is known for its historic bluffs overlooking Elk River, it is most famous for its festive name. Known as the Christmas City, Noel became a tourist center when the railroad came through a portion of the town in the 1920s. Fortunately, the coming of the railroad coincided with the construction of the highway and the rapid growth of travel by automobile. Noel, surround- ed by the magnificent Ozark Mountains, became a resort- like area for people who love recreation and canoeing. Southwest City

Goodman The Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Rail- road came through the city of Goodman first. At that time, the city was known as the vil- lage of Donahue and a railroad depot was es- tablished here. Straw- berries and orchards

played an important role in the village’s early economy. At one time, orchards covered more than 2,500 acres in the area. The name of the vil- lage was changed from Donahue to Goodman in honor of Lowell Goodman, one of the owners of the Ozark Orchard Company.

The first settlement in Southwest City took place in 1842. By 1846,

a general store was established in the Honey Creek Valley. Southwest City

is the only tri- cornered part of the state on dry land. All other Missouri bound- aries are established by rivers or streams. Southwest

Lanagan When the New York Petroleum Co. began drilling for oil in 1886, the company had no idea it would strike a sulphur spring so powerful it would cause them to forfeit the lease. Things took a turn for the better when a man named Lanigan purchased 40 acres of the lease in 1887, anti-

City was situated along the Indian Territory border. It wasn’t long before the city became a social gathering

place for travelers, drummers, bootleg- gers and land spec- ulators. By 1886, the town had a pop- ulation of 1,500. Today, the town has a population under 1,000, but it retains its frontier appear- ance of long ago.

cipating the railroad would be routed along Indian Creek. In 1889, the railroad did arrive, and the newly estab- lished community was named Sulphur Wells City. When the Ozark Orchard Co. secured most of the land and a depot was constructed, the name was changed to Lanagan.

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