Blue Eye and the Wilderness Road

About 30 miles or so southwest of Branson Missouri is Blue Eye, stone counties most southern city.  It is so southern that there is a Blue Eye Missouri and a Blue Eye Arkansas. It is told that Indians use to live here prior to the white man coming here to settle.   Earlier settlers found numerous arrowheads, Stone hammers, and corn grinding trays which was made out of rock. The pioneers came from Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas. As more people moved into this area a rough wagon trail  was formed from Springfield through Reed Springs, Blue Eye, and then to the northern Arkansas and it was called the Wilderness Trail. As the locals hauled eggs, butter, poultry, and goods on a 60 mile or so trip to Springfield Missouri to sell and trade it took roughly 3 days 1 way. The wilderness trail partly exist still today along the state highway 13 wondering back and forth across the hills and hollers. Elbert Butler,  a dark haired, blue eyed veteran of the civil war was the first postmaster when the post office was established in 1870. Then called him blue eye's and this is one of the stories of how Blue Eye got its name. In the year of 1883 the first Baptist church was formed,  and in 1918 the Southern Baptist Conventional and locals built a school known as Mo-Ark Baptist Academy. My grandmother told me she would walk there from the Oak Grove area to school.  It closed in the 1930's and so, with help of the W.P.A. (work projects administration), a new school was built with part of it still including the Blue Eye school.  The old school building still stands on the Missouri and Arkansas line. These are the facts that I have found and apologize if any of them are incorrect.  The one thing this hillbilly can say is that I loved the school, teachers, and the community. The friend's and neighbor's was so good to help each other and I can't think of a better place to grow up in and live and raise my children and grandchildren.  In 1987 I graduated  in a class of 32 people that I love dearly, even though it was a small school we were always ahead in everything we did and kids now are even going to colleges like MIT and all over. Maybe its the times of growing up in school that I remember that we had a bible teacher that came to our classroom and and taught us about God in my younger years until the government said they couldn't.  I remember growing up with friend's that we went to church together before we even started school. I am so proud that even for many years the kids and teachers cant have a open bible class but they still teach and learn with all the honor, that they can give Christ the glory still.  If I offended you through my blogs talking about God I am sorry but I can't apologize.  Thank you for reading these words from someone born here in the Ozarks. God, family,  usa, may God bless us