This is the 38th article in our series about Ozarks culture and heritage in the counties of Missouri that are part of the Ozarks region. All or parts of 55 counties in Missouri are considered part of the Ozarks. Webster County is located directly west of Douglas County. Webster County was organized on March 3, 1855, and was named after U.S. Senator and U.S Secretary of State Daniel Webster. The county seat is Marshfield.
Marshfield is the highest county seat in the state of Missouri. Webster County encompasses 590 miles of the highest extensive upland area of Missouri's Ozarks. In Webster County, straddling the divide between the Missouri and Arkansas rivers rise the headwaters of the James, Niangua, Gasconade, and Pomme de Terre rivers. A part of the 1808 Osage Native American land cession, the county was settled in the early 1830s by pioneers from Kentucky and Tennessee. A Native American trail crossed southern Webster County and many prehistoric mounds are in the area.
Marshfield boasts the oldest Fourth of July celebration west of the Mississippi River and in the state of Missouri. This has attracted FIrst Families to choose Marshfield as a campaign stop on the nation's birthday. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman visited the city. On July 4, 1991, President George H.W. and Barbara Bush visited the annual Fourth of July parade.
There are two sites on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Webster County. The Hosmer Dairy Farm (also known as Walnut Springs Farm) Historic District is located near Marshfield while the Col. Thomas C. Love House is in Seymour.
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