McCroskey Home
“An old home, built by Will McCroskey, Ozark pioneer, in 1866, is one of the few remaining landmarks of Springfield’s early history. The house stands on a 32-acre tract, a part of an original 127-acre homestead, six miles south of Springfield on the Campbell Avenue road.
“McCroskey, married Emelia E. Payne, daughter of Archie Payne, Christian County early settlers, in 1866 and built a small log house for his bride. He hewed the logs and constructed the home by himself. A few years later he made an addition to the log house to care for his growing family.
“In this house, Mr. and Mrs. McCroskey reared a family of 14, seven girls and seven boys, some of whom now reside near the old home place.
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The house still is in fairly good condition, according to Walter McCroskey, a son now living at 219 West Commercial Street, who operates a shooting gallery. The old chimney fireplace, constructed of limestone, works as good as the first day it was built. The house is now occupied.
“Daughters and sons of the pioneers, Mr. and Mrs. McCroskey, now living are: Mrs. Eliza Cooper, of North Missouri; Mrs. Katie Mack, 819 South Campbell Avenue; Mrs. Nellie Glenn, Route 3, Springfield; Mrs. Treva Cufkner, Turner, Mo.; Mrs. Bertha Crawford, LeRoy, Mich.; Mrs. Crestia Meeks, Route 3, Springfield; Claude McCroskey, of Route 3, Springfield; Obra McCroskey, Wenicha, Wash.; Leck McCroskey, of Colorado, and Walter of Springfield. Walter lost his eyesight in a mine accident in 1900.”
The photo above accompanied the newspaper article. The map is from the 1876 Plat Book of Greene County and shows Township 28, Range 22, section 23. The blue line shows the approximate location of the modern South Campbell and the yellow lines denote the future locations of Plainveiw Road, at the top, and Steinert Road at the bottom. A.W. McCroskey, Will's brother, owned the adjoining property to the south.
Springfield Press March 29, 1929
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