Heritage of Lake of the Ozarks - Lake Ozark, Missouri

Hundreds of years ago the valleys, which are now submerged under the Lake of the Ozarks and its 617 billion gallons of water were inhabited by the Osage Native Americans. They roamed through the valleys and foothills hunting deer and turkey. They also walked the stream banks catching fish and trapping beavers. Just past the foothills are the flattened plateaus where they grew their crops of corn, beans, and pumpkins. Local farmers of these plateaus still plow up the occasional arrowhead. The many caves in the Ozark foothills provided excellent shelter to the Osage. These same caves can be explored today and are virtually unchanged since the time of the Osage.

As with all Native tribes the Osage inevitably encountered Europeans. Lake of the Ozarks Heritage

In 1710, the French explorer Claude DuTissent came upon the Osage. The relations were said to be friendly and DuTissent actually hunted with the tribe. However, it would be almost 100 years later before the wonders of the Ozarks were described to the modern world by Lewis and Clark who passed through the area on their journey west. The Ozarks received its name from the French after they established a post on the Arkansas River. They named the area Aux-Arcs, pronounced Ozarks, which means to Arkansas Post. Lake of the Ozarks Heritage

The Osage traded furs with the Europeans for years and eventually ceded land to the United States government. In 1825, the government moved the Osage to reservations in Kansas and Oklahoma and took the rest of their land. The Ozarks were opened to settlers, trappers and explorers like Daniel Boone who lived in small log cabin villages and survived by hunting, gathering and farming much as the Osage had before them.

Soon the peaceful living and tranquility of the area would be shattered by the Civil War. After the smoke cleared and the country was beginning to rebuild, several towns and small businesses began springing up around the Ozarks. A new appreciation for education and the arts brought people from the east and the area began to grow steadily right up to the population boom following WWII.