Wicked Springfield, Missouri: The Seamy Side of the Queen City

By Kortni Tucker

CREATED Dec. 6, 2012

  • Print

  • Wicked Springfield, Missouri: The Seamy Side of the Queen City Image by The History Press

Guest: Larry Wood

From its founding in the early 1830s, Springfield was a rough frontier town where whiskey flowed freely, gunplay and fistfights abounded and gambling thrived. The Civil War not only brought the horror of warfare home to Springfield but also introduced worldly vices like prostitution that were scarcely known in previous years. Yet throughout its history, Springfield has managed to maintain a veneer of respectability not shared by certain other towns of southwest Missouri that were founded as wild, wide-open mining camps, like Joplin and Granby. Join Larry Wood as he digs beneath the surface of Queen City history to expose notorious characters and capers that would make even Joplinites blush.

Listen to Nick's interview with Larry.

This author was featured on KSGF Mornings with Nick Reed on Thursday, December 6th.