Lake of the Ozarks: The Early Years

Seventy years ago in the Ozarks of southern Missouri, Bagnell Dam was built across the Osage River, creating the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. Using over 200 images and in- depth captions, author H. Dwight Weaver takes readers back to the origins of this man-made treasure and the towns that surround it. Construction on Bagnell Dam began in 1929, employing thousands of men during the Great Depression. Inundation of the Osage River valley destroyed the area's most fertile farmlands, covered numerous historic sites, and even destroyed Linn Creek, the county seat. But the development also created new towns and a new economy. The images in this new book follow the growth of towns along U.S. Highway 54, including Eldon, Tuscumbia, Bagnell, Osage Beach, and Linn Creek, through the Depression, World War Two, and finally the booming 1950s.