When John Joseph Hogan was looking for land for Irish immigrants in 1857, his second exploratory trip to the Ozarks took him from Shannon County as far west as Thomasville. He noted the “broad alluvial valley” spreading out around the headwaters of the Eleven Point River.
When Hogan and his friend Father Fox rode through tthis valley in 1857, it would have been planted in corn, not pasture grasses as it is today.
Just over a year ago, Thomasville was hit with the massive floods that affected the Irish Wilderness and much of the central Ozarks. Recovery is slow coming to the small town with a long history. It was laid out in 1846 and named for George Thomas who settled there in 1817. Thomasville is the oldest settlement and first county seat of Oregon County.
Mystery of the Irish Wilderness is available on this website, on amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.