An 1853 Ozarks Original . . . .
Marshfield, Missouri wasn’t on my list of must-see places, I confess. It is now!
When history-friend Hellen Newman reached out to me recently about this “sleepy little town” in the Ozarks, she described it as “nothing fancy. . . Just good, honest folks with small-town values.” That in itself sounded like a good reason to visit. But then she shared a bit of the town’s cool history.
Hellen’s a volunteer docent, you see. And though she’s a Kiwi by birth, she’s clearly fallen in love with Marshfield. Hellen kindly offered to write a guest-blog sharing the history of this fascinating, off-the-beaten-path place. And if you need any further inducement to seek it out during your next driving adventure, Marshfield’s right off Route 66.
Many thanks to Hellen for the story and pictures that follow!
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A Virtual Visit to the Callaway Cabin
by Hellen Newman
Tucked deep in the Ozark country of southwest Missouri lies a seemingly sleepy little town called Marshfield, established in 1856. Apart from a brush with marauding Confederate soldiers during the Civil War and nearly getting wiped off the map by a cyclone (tornado) in 1880, the town has a mostly quiet history. One claim to fame is it’s the birthplace of Edwin Hubble (of space telescope fame), who was born there in 1889. And one more thing the town is really proud of is hosting the longest continuously-running Fourth of July Parade in the country.
People like it here so well they tend to stay; a lot of folks are direct descendants of the settling families. And one of those deep-rooted families is the Callaway clan.
Settling on the outskirts of Marshfield in 1853, Parham and Nancy Callaway built a small one-room log cabin, which today remains one of the oldest standing structures in Webster County. Deeply involved in the Marshfield community, the Callaways contributed to the building of the original town square. And after the Cyclone of 1880 swept through, they also helped to rebuild most of it. While their own cabin was not directly affected, they did see a lot of their previous handiwork get blown to dust.
During the course of their lifetimes, Parham and Nancy Callaway birthed a total of 13 children. Two of those offspring perished young, but the other 11 were successfully raised and educated in their tiny one-room cabin, and some went on the raise large families of their own. Direct descendant Linda Rost Dickenson is now the Director of the local museum. Another local descendant is Dr. Callaway, who’s had a Cox Health clinic named in his honor.
In 1998, Dan and Zoann Beckner purchased a property in the center of town that includes 14 separate springs, and plans for a central park began to form. The Beckners saw the potential to create something meaningful. They proceeded the establish Hidden Waters Nature Preserve, adding land as it became available, and creating an entrance off historic Route 66.
In 2009 the Beckners were able to acquire the 156-year-old Callaway Cabin, which by then had fallen into disrepair. Through private donations and a grant from the local electric company, they disassembled the cabin and had all the logs professionally labeled in preparation for moving it to Hidden Waters. Log by log, dedicated volunteers reassembled the cabin over a span of many months. The work was successfully completed that same year (2009), and Callaway family members travelled from all over the US to help to celebrate the cabin’s dedication. In 2010, the Beckners donated the park to the City of Marshfield, which continues to care for the grounds using funding from donations and grants.
Thousands of visitors annually make the pilgrimage to Hidden Waters, now 10 acres in size, to see the Callaway Cabin and the beautiful park grounds. Volunteers oversee the annual planting of native species and additional flowers in the gardens, and the annual sprouting of daffodils and tulips is an especially beautiful time here. The cabin has been used for weddings, prom activities and other special events, making it one of the most-photographed places in Webster County.
In these days of modern conveniences, it still surprises young school children visiting the Cabin to find that there was no running water, no electricity, and no bathroom facility for the large Callaway family — just a fireplace in which meals were cooked for 11 people.
The cabin is open seasonally (during warmer months) on the second Saturday of every month, as well as by appointment. Volunteer docents greet Park and Cabin visitors alike, and allow them to soak in Marshfield’s remarkable history. I am honored to say that I am one of those volunteers. People enjoy seeing me in clothing of the period and hearing me share the history that is Callaway.
If you are in the area and would like to view the Cabin, please contact us. We are on Facebook and would appreciate at least a week’s notice for appointments. We would love to show you around!
Callaway Cabin, 716 W. Hubble Drive, Marshfield, MO.
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/HiddenWatersNaturePark
Email: hiddenwaters716@yahoo.com
A big thank-you to Hellen Newman for sharing this article and her photos!