With the
establishment of
the first US
Land Office in
Springfield in
1835 came a
migration of
rugged pioneer
families into
the virgin Ozark
wilderness of
Southwest
Missouri.
Malinda Fortner
was one of these
early pioneers.
Little is known
of her past or
why she chose
the demanding
life of a
homesteader. The
original 120
acre tract of
land on which
she established
her claim in
1867 was the
beginning for a
crossroads
settlement along
the West Bank of
Turkey Creek in
the early
1880's.
Around the turn
of the century,
Rueben Kirkham
opened a general
store and
applied to the
Post Office
Department for
permission to
establish a Post
Office
suggesting the
name HOLLISTER
after the birth
place of his
daughter in
Hollister,
California.
Permission was
granted and in
1904 the name of
the Ozarks
settlement was
established.
With the coming
of the St Louis
Iron Mountain &
Southern
Railroad the
area was opened
to new
expansion. It
became the
headquarters for
the Mo-Pac
Agricultural
Agent of the
White River
Division. The
area achieved
tremendous
agricultural
development.
Berries,
vegetables,
grape vineyards,
orchards, cotton
and tobacco
flourished and
the amount,
variety of stock
and produce
shipped from the
station in the
early years was
phenomenal.
W.H. Johnson and
Professor J.W.
Blankenship
platted and
started the
major
development of a
beautiful
English style
village which
attracted
visitors from
all over the
world. Johnson's
dream resulted
in the row of
quaint
Elizabethan
structures which
is now Downing
Street. His son
W.W. Johnson,
built the
historic Ye
English Inn in
1912 and it
became a
stopover for
travelers with
special trains
bringing
visitors to a
then remote
area.
Hollister was
incorporated as
a town in 1910
with Professor
J.W. Blankenship
becoming the
first mayor.
Hollister is
noted for
bringing to
Taney County the
first major
influx of
tourism. It had
the first iron
bridge in Taney
County which
still spans
Turkey Creek,
the first paved
street, electric
lights, movie
house, the first
registered
pharmacist and
modern steam
heated hotel.
The colorful
history of this
unusual Ozark
town is
fascinating and
covers and era
when stock wars
were waged
between
merchants and
stockmen. Grape
carnivals
promoted by the
railroad were
gala affairs
where men and
women of an age
gone by helped
to build an
unique English
Village in the
Ozarks. .
.Hollister,
Missouri
Local Historian,
Viola Hartman,
is credited with
Hollister's
being placed on
the National
Register of
Historical sites
In 1978.
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