The Stone County Booklet of 1927 describes the small but then-bustling commercial burg of Reeds Spring: “Lying in a nook among the beautiful hills and around a mammoth spring of clear, cold water, where only a few years ago the cattle were want to loiter, lies one of the best trading points in Stone County.”
With its railroad connections, Reeds Spring was also a center point of the tomato canning industry, which provided employment and much needed cash to that rural economy, with twenty-two canning factories within twelve miles. Highways put Reeds Spring on the route to the Shepherd of the Hills Country and Branson. Signs decorate the spring’s shelter, promoting major tourist caves of the region – Spanish Cave, Fairy Cave (today called Talking Rocks Cavern) and Marvel Cave – are promoted . . . and don’t miss Mother’s Cafe. Businesses serving tourists – like souvenir and novelty shops – flourished.
Today the town has been bypassed by major highways, but has attracted artists and creative types. The spring is still a focal point of interest, its sheltering roof and shed now painted a warm brick red.
James Fork of the White is available on this website, on amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.