Reed Log House

The Reed House, built in 1857 by a former squatter, Thomas Reed, provides a window into Ozark pioneer life. Its base log structure speaks to the abundance of forests and the emergence of a burgeoning lumber industry. The two additions (1885 and 1910) point to the evolution of Ozark life, notably the expansive cellar built when the railroad arrival increased the availability of goods. One of the home's residents during the twentieth century built the historic one-room Buttin Rock school, which served the community until 1960. 

White settlers began to significantly displace indigenous populations in Missouri during the nineteenth century, notably after the Louisiana Purchase. The least settled region for decades remained the rugged Ozark region with a populace of 0.5 persons per square mile in 1840, 1.61 in 1850, and still a meager 3.60 in 1860. Most migrants to Missouri arrived from Tennessee, Kentucky, and other parts of the South. 

The passage of three federal laws allowed for the settlement of The Ozarks. The first law allowed for the purchase of 640 acres at $1.25 per acre, but it proved futile as most moving to the Ozarks found squatting on the land a far more advantageous option, especially for those too poor to buy 640 acres of land. Congress responded by passing the Preemption Act in 1841, which offered squatters an opportunity to purchase the land they squatted after it was surveyed. Still, it wasn't until the Graduation Act of 1854 that settlers (and former squatters) began purchasing the land legally, buying up to 320 acres. One of these squatters who purchased land was Thomas Reed. He and his family squatted on land adjacent to the Current River for nearly twenty years, arriving in the late 1830s. Under the Graduation Act, Reed and his children purchased more than 1,000 acres from 1854 to 1856. 

Reed and his large family worked the farm, but Reed also served as Shannon County's first doctor. His wife, Mary, was part of one of the most prominent Ozark families: the Chiltons. The couple and their sons continued to wield influence in the community throughout their time in Shannon County. Reed hailed from eastern Tennessee and strongly opposed the Know-Nothings, a party that arose during the 1850s intent on shaping America in their image of temperance, Protestantism, self-reliance, and American nativism. However, it appears Reed mainly held disdain for politics in general. Instead, Reed cared more about his land and his family. 

Characteristics of the house offer insight into home construction prior to the Civil War. The clapboard siding was milled before the introduction of circular saws around 1870, an innovation that arose in mills rebuilt after the war. The stone fireplace speaks to its pre-war construction, as most homes installed factory-produced stoves by the 1870s. The home also represents a better time for the Reed family as they, like the majority of families in the Ozarks, suffered during the war; Dr. Reed and three of his children died in the course of the war. Thomas and Mary's son, David C. Reed, sold the land in 1871, although it took until 1884 for the county sheriff to resolve disputes regarding the Reed offspring's claims to the land. 

The property changed hands a couple of times before James and Lucy Prather took ownership in 1885; the Prathers served as the last family to own the land for any appreciable time from 1885 through 1907, having made significant improvements during that span. In that same period, the Missouri Ozarks underwent several changes, too, notably because of the arrival of the lumber and railroad industries. Land values increased and residents had access to a greater variety of goods. The Reed home demonstrates the changes with its 1885 addition, made with purchased lumber and milled with circular saws installed in mills built after the Civil War. The Prather family also removed the original fireplace and used the dressed stone from it in the cellar walls; they installed a railroad-transported, factory-made stove in its place. Despite the home's improvements and the arrival of commercial industries, Shannon County residents largely lived isolated, frontier-like lives throughout the first half of the twentieth century. 

The Prathers sold the property in 1907 to the Keller family, who sold it to the Moon-Larkin family, who held it until 1946. The Kellers added the concrete porch to the Reed House and they built the area's first school, a one-room, now-historic school house named Buttin Rock. The one-room schoolhouse served the community until 1960, becoming an integral part of the area's culture. A few years after the Buttin Rock school closed, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways took possession of the historic home (1967).

Blevins, Brooks. A History of the Ozarks, Volume 2: The Conflicted Ozarks. University of Illinois Press, 2019.

Little, Kimberly Scott. "Registration Form: Reed Log House." National Register of Historic Places mostateparks.com. 1991. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Reed%20Log%20House.pdf.

Powers, Mathew. "Buttin Rock School." Clio: Your Guide to History. August 15, 2022. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://www.theclio.com/entry/155994.