Newton-McDonald, MO-2019-Archive

Community Spotlight on our cities and villages

Our Cities... Southwest City

Our Villages... Splitlog

Splitlog was named for Mathias Splitlog, a wealthy Indian Chieftain and entrepreneur from Kansas City. He came to the northwest part of McDonald County in search of silver and gold. He built a railroad to the village, but it was re-routed to Goodman a few years later. The railroad was later purchased by Arthur Stillwell and became the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad.

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-cor- nered part of the state on dry land. All other Missouri bound- aries are estab- lished by rivers or streams.

Southwest City was situated along the Indian Territory border. It wasn’t long before the city became a social gathering place for travelers, drummers, bootleggers and land speculators. By 1886, the town had a population of 1,500. Today, the town has a population under 1,000, but it retains its frontier appearance of long ago.

Tiff City Located 18 miles northwest of the county seat of Pineville, Tiff City sits on the Oklahoma line on Buffalo Creek. Tiff City’s location was adja- cent to Indian Territory in its early days, creating opportunities for retail trade with Seneca Indian neighbors. The first post office was built in 1876. By 1881, the retail business prospered. Tiff City remains a small, close-knit community with an active retail force.

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