Newton-McDonald, MO-2019-Archive

Community Spotlight on our cities and villages

Our Villages... Seneca

Ginger Blue Village This village started as a summer resort lodge in 1915. It was built on the banks of the Elk River and named Ginger Blue after a Native American chief who lived near the site in the 1700s. The resort became a huge success and by 1920, visitors traveled by train from Kansas City, Tulsa and Wichita to explore the nearby caves and water and sulphur wells. Ginger Blue Village was incorporated and the local government was given the same rights as a city. Only a handful of people live in the village today, and they hope to revitalize the resort to its original grandeur.

Located on the Burlington Northern Railroad main line between St. Louis, MO and Tulsa, OK lies the thriving tiny city of Seneca. The city was settled around 1833 when a group of pioneers from Ohio came to the lush valley. They settled where Lost Creek and Little Lost Creek converge at the edge of Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.

With a population of roughly 2,300 people, Seneca still thrives at the foothills of the Ozarks in Lost Creek Valley. Seneca serves as a center for livestock, dairy, poultry and grain farming. Its past is preserved in the century-old homes and buildings scattered throughout the city, including the historic one-room schoolhouse and caboose. Seneca’s home-town atmosphere is complimented by tree-lined streets, and two creeks that provide fishing opportunities as well as a duck and geese habitat.

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