In the past, even when degraded by early agriculture, clear Ozark creeks were apparently valued enough to be photographed. Present-day agriculturalists also appreciate their charm and take much better care of them.
This real photo postcard from the early 1900s shows a small, unnamed Ozark stream. It is a puzzlement. Why would Scott’s (?) Photographic Studio in Tuscumbia waste film on a picture lacking a conventional subject or purpose? Even the name of the studio embossed on the card is unclear. But someone valued it. The back has glue residue indicating it was once saved in an album.
The sad, battered $2.50 postcard also documents that subsistence farming was hard on waterways. Though fragments of fencing are visible, it’s likely livestock in search of water caused some of these crumbling stream banks. There are little vegetation and few trees to prevent erosion either. Extensive chert beds still clog Ozark rivers but today’s permanent pastures do not add much gravel as the old-time row cropping practices did.
Today, this place, likely in Miller County Missouri, would look less raw, dreary, and desolate even in winter. Farmers now will rarely allow cattle access to streams. They are watered in troughs or ponds. Streambank trees and vegetation inhibit erosion. Economics has caused the conversion of plowed fields into pastures and there is an accompanying sensitivity of agriculturalists to ecological benefits. The Missouri Department of Conservation has pointed this out and acquainted landowners with USDA cost-sharing programs that pay for creating stream buffers.
Several Lens & Pen Press books discuss the evolution of the Ozark landscape and our effects on its rivers. Check out Damming the Osage and James Fork of the White on www.beautifulozarks.com All our books are now on sale for half price, postage paid. Order on www.dammingtheosage.com